Junior Year Schedule. Top Student

[Anonymous]

My son is considering taking the following classes…
AP Cal BC
AP Physics DP
AP Lang
AP World
Beyond AP CS (Formerly AP CS 2). He’s taking Java this year.
Easy Elective

How rough common is this schedule? He’s taking 2 APs as a sophomore NSL and Java. He has straight As but not 100s in his classes. He works hard for his grades.

He’s not a top student but is in a magnet program.

[Anonymous]

I’m confused. The title says top student and the post says he isn’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. The title says top student and the post says he isn’t.

OP here. He’s in a magnet program so he’s a strong/top student overall (county wide) but average in his program.

[Anonymous]

I have a kid at a W school who is a senior who had that schedule last year essentially, plus another AP. Seems like yes a top student but not extraordinary. Her school feels packed with kids taking these kinds of classes.

[Anonymous]

I assume it is Blair magnet. Why is he taking AP classes instead of magnet electives?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid at a W school who is a senior who had that schedule last year essentially, plus another AP. Seems like yes a top student but not extraordinary. Her school feels packed with kids taking these kinds of classes.

Thank you. As a parent, it seems like a lot. Glad to hear it’s doable.

[Anonymous]

No foreign language?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I assume it is Blair magnet. Why is he taking AP classes instead of magnet electives?

I assume not Blair Magnet since the math classes are APs not Magnet classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No foreign language?

Taking level 4 this year and is DONE. I would love for him to continue but am not pushing it. He literally complains about Spanish daily and his schedule next year is hard.

[Anonymous]

What magnet doesn’t have magnet classes in lieu of some of the APs? Confused.

[Anonymous]

“Beyond AP”? Never heard of a “Beyond AP” course. Which magnet program is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No foreign language?

Taking level 4 this year and is DONE. I would love for him to continue but am not pushing it. He literally complains about Spanish daily and his schedule next year is hard.

I wouldn’t push it either. Software like Google Translate and Say Hi and all the other apps available will mean that being bilingual is not as much of a benefit anymore. It’s so easy for anyone to translate almost any language using software! Not pushing it for my kid either.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is considering taking the following classes…
AP Cal BC
AP Physics DP
AP Lang
AP World
Beyond AP CS (Formerly AP CS 2). He’s taking Java this year.
Easy Elective

How rough common is this schedule? He’s taking 2 APs as a sophomore NSL and Java. He has straight As but not 100s in his classes. He works hard for his grades.

He’s not a top student but is in a magnet program.

You have a child who is willing to work hard to earn what they earn. What is better than that?

[Anonymous]

The only concern about that schedule is AP World. It is a slog. It’s a ton of material and memorization. Maybe it’s okay if there isn’t too much rote memorization required for the other classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No foreign language?

Taking level 4 this year and is DONE. I would love for him to continue but am not pushing it. He literally complains about Spanish daily and his schedule next year is hard.

Isn't it a big deal for colleges to see 3+ years of foreign language in high school? From everything I've heard, it doesn't matter how far a student gets in a language but instead how many years they take in high school. So even though he got to Spanish 4 in Sophomore year, colleges will see 2 years of language. Anyone please correct me if I'm wrong!