Need help selecting 10th grade courses for next year

[Anonymous]

I know course selection is completed for most students but we're going through it now and I could use some help. My son will be a 10th grader next year. He has a strong IEP and is strong in math/science and weak in humanities. As of the end of this year he will have completed his PE, Health, Tech, and 50% of his fine arts requirements. He does not like art or music.

This is what I'm thinking about for next year:

AP BC Calc
H. Chem
H. Eng 10
H. NSL
ASL 3
1/2 year Art or Music

That leaves either 1 or 2 periods to fill depending on the semester. I'm looking for full year course and a semester course.

Up for discussion are:

AP Physics E/M or C---would this be too much with Chem?
AP Macro or Micro--would be a nice complement to the 50% Art/Music requirement. I'm not sure if this is a full year or semester course in MCPS.
AP Stats--has completed a stats course outside of MCPS
AP Seminar in lieu of H.Eng 10--would probably be very difficult but could be valuable learning
AP Chem--I'm not sure if this is follow on course to H. Chem or could be done in lieu of H. Chem

I could use DCUMs input. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

AP Seminar would be hard, but good hard if you are up for supporting it.

H Chem before AP Chem

AP Econ before AP Physics C.
Don't waste Physics C on sophomore year. Strong math preparation is important. Yes, I know your kid is ready for calculus.
Econ is the mathiest Social Science, and he can supplement it with a little calc-based self-study to make economics more interesting and help prepare for physics.

AP Stats would be OK, but the "good" part is already done in that class he already took, for a STEMy kid.


What about AP CS A? (or maybe Principles, but your profile looks like someone who would be miserable in Principles). Or Foundations of Technology? (Or advanced tech courses). Does he have tech credit?

Or more art/music?


Congrats on getting to ASL 3 by grade 10! That's awesome!

[Anonymous]

AP computer science is a good suggestion. What does your child want. AP BC is really hard. I'd pick some easier classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP computer science is a good suggestion. What does your child want. AP BC is really hard. I'd pick some easier classes.

He's in H. PreCalc now. I thought AP BC was the next course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP computer science is a good suggestion. What does your child want. AP BC is really hard. I'd pick some easier classes.

He's in H. PreCalc now. I thought AP BC was the next course.

It can be. Its either AP AB or BC. My kid is on that track doing BC. Its doable just hard.

[Anonymous]

What is a strong IEP and what's it for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP Seminar would be hard, but good hard if you are up for supporting it.

H Chem before AP Chem

AP Econ before AP Physics C.
Don't waste Physics C on sophomore year. Strong math preparation is important. Yes, I know your kid is ready for calculus.
Econ is the mathiest Social Science, and he can supplement it with a little calc-based self-study to make economics more interesting and help prepare for physics.

AP Stats would be OK, but the "good" part is already done in that class he already took, for a STEMy kid.


What about AP CS A? (or maybe Principles, but your profile looks like someone who would be miserable in Principles). Or Foundations of Technology? (Or advanced tech courses). Does he have tech credit?

Or more art/music?


Congrats on getting to ASL 3 by grade 10! That's awesome!

He's taking Foundations of Computer Principles this year which meets his tech requirement. Thanks for the recommendation for AP CS A. I'll look into it.

[Anonymous]

Has he already had AP Physics 1 or Honors Physcis 1? My STEM-y kids have taken AP Physics 1 alongside Honors Chem sophomore year. AP Physics EM is probably too much for sophomore year alongside (rather than after) BC Calc. AP Physics 1 is commonly a substitute for honors Physics 1 among STEM-y kids.

My kids have also typically taken AP Stats sophomore or junior year along with another (calculus-based) math class. They say AP Stats isn't difficult.

On AB vs BC calc, ask the kid's teacher for advice. In my school, about 1/2 the kids in honors pre-calc take BC and about 1/2 take AB. BC is definitely doable. Note that it means you would need to take something like multivariate senior year (whereas if you take AB, then you take BC senior year). It sounds like your kid is great at math so this is probably fine, but just keep it in mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has he already had AP Physics 1 or Honors Physcis 1? My STEM-y kids have taken AP Physics 1 alongside Honors Chem sophomore year. AP Physics EM is probably too much for sophomore year alongside (rather than after) BC Calc. AP Physics 1 is commonly a substitute for honors Physics 1 among STEM-y kids.

My kids have also typically taken AP Stats sophomore or junior year along with another (calculus-based) math class. They say AP Stats isn't difficult.

On AB vs BC calc, ask the kid's teacher for advice. In my school, about 1/2 the kids in honors pre-calc take BC and about 1/2 take AB. BC is definitely doable. Note that it means you would need to take something like multivariate senior year (whereas if you take AB, then you take BC senior year). It sounds like your kid is great at math so this is probably fine, but just keep it in mind.

He would be thrilled to take AP Physics next year. I didn't know if doubling up on science classes was reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Take Photography 1 for Art. Take the full year. It is better second semester (more photography concepts) than first semester.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has he already had AP Physics 1 or Honors Physcis 1? My STEM-y kids have taken AP Physics 1 alongside Honors Chem sophomore year. AP Physics EM is probably too much for sophomore year alongside (rather than after) BC Calc. AP Physics 1 is commonly a substitute for honors Physics 1 among STEM-y kids.

My kids have also typically taken AP Stats sophomore or junior year along with another (calculus-based) math class. They say AP Stats isn't difficult.

On AB vs BC calc, ask the kid's teacher for advice. In my school, about 1/2 the kids in honors pre-calc take BC and about 1/2 take AB. BC is definitely doable. Note that it means you would need to take something like multivariate senior year (whereas if you take AB, then you take BC senior year). It sounds like your kid is great at math so this is probably fine, but just keep it in mind.

He would be thrilled to take AP Physics next year. I didn't know if doubling up on science classes was reasonable.

It's possible and common at our school. But note that I'm recognizing AP Physics 1- that's different from the ap physics courses you mentioned above.
It's an important difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has he already had AP Physics 1 or Honors Physcis 1? My STEM-y kids have taken AP Physics 1 alongside Honors Chem sophomore year. AP Physics EM is probably too much for sophomore year alongside (rather than after) BC Calc. AP Physics 1 is commonly a substitute for honors Physics 1 among STEM-y kids.

My kids have also typically taken AP Stats sophomore or junior year along with another (calculus-based) math class. They say AP Stats isn't difficult.

On AB vs BC calc, ask the kid's teacher for advice. In my school, about 1/2 the kids in honors pre-calc take BC and about 1/2 take AB. BC is definitely doable. Note that it means you would need to take something like multivariate senior year (whereas if you take AB, then you take BC senior year). It sounds like your kid is great at math so this is probably fine, but just keep it in mind.

I think OP's child is in 10th. Given that, I would suggest doing AP Calc AB next year, BC, the following year, and then multivariate senior year or AP stats. If student does BC sophmore year, they will potentially max out on courses jr year and need to go to MC for senior year math.

[Anonymous]

^^ Sorry, to be clear - OP's child is in 10th next year. So contemplating AB vs BC in 10th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has he already had AP Physics 1 or Honors Physcis 1? My STEM-y kids have taken AP Physics 1 alongside Honors Chem sophomore year. AP Physics EM is probably too much for sophomore year alongside (rather than after) BC Calc. AP Physics 1 is commonly a substitute for honors Physics 1 among STEM-y kids.

My kids have also typically taken AP Stats sophomore or junior year along with another (calculus-based) math class. They say AP Stats isn't difficult.

On AB vs BC calc, ask the kid's teacher for advice. In my school, about 1/2 the kids in honors pre-calc take BC and about 1/2 take AB. BC is definitely doable. Note that it means you would need to take something like multivariate senior year (whereas if you take AB, then you take BC senior year). It sounds like your kid is great at math so this is probably fine, but just keep it in mind.

I think OP's child is in 10th. Given that, I would suggest doing AP Calc AB next year, BC, the following year, and then multivariate senior year or AP stats. If student does BC sophmore year, they will potentially max out on courses jr year and need to go to MC for senior year math.

Do not do this. Don't give up the education in something he is interested in and has aptitude for.
15 years old is far to young an age for giving up on growth when facing a minor inconvenience.

[Anonymous]

What does your son think? Are there electives he wants to try? Extracurriculars he wants to make time for? Higher level electives he wants that have prerequisites? Subjects he loves and wants to dive into?

I think all of the classes you are considering sound like good options. Keep in mind, however, that there are lots of other classes that are also good options, that having challenging classes only reflect well if the student performs well in them, that the student needs sleep (and even some time to just relax and unwind, not to mention a social life), that colleges are also interested in extracurriculars, and that burnout is real.

It sounds like he is getting a strong foundation, so I’d let him chart his direction. If you’re worried about college admissions, my personal opinion is that it’s more important to choose the best college for a student, than what some list ranks as the “best” college.