Recommended number of AP for 9th grade

[Anonymous]

Is there any number of AP courses recommended for 9th grade? We are thinking about taking 2 AP. Wondering whether 3 AP is worth or too much. Any suggestion?

[Anonymous]

Which ones are you thinking about? It’s not the number of APs-it’s the level of difficulty…

[Anonymous]

AP Gov and AP Precalc

[Anonymous]

The two that come naturally in 9th grade are AP US Government and Politics, which is offered to all 9th graders, and a tech requirement, AP Computer Science Principles.

Other APs usually come with prerequisites, but you can try to get out of them, some STEM coordinators allow it on a case-by-case basis for AP Bio, for example. Some bilingual kids in weekend language schools take their AP exam in that language in 9th grade, but usually it's more like 10th or 11th grade. I think AP Java has a prerequisite too (maybe some kids satisfy that in middle school?).

3 APs in one year is not onerous, but in 9th grade you run the risk that your kid fails just because they don't have anything to compare it too and miscalculate the level of effort needed to score highly on each exam. So it's best to start with a couple tried and true, and then ramp up the year after, distributing APs reasonably equally in terms of difficulty for the 3 next years of high school. Some APs are notoriously more difficult or time-consuming than others, such as AP World History, AP Calc BC or AP Physics C... but some kids have no problems with those because they're right in their wheelhouse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP Gov and AP Precalc

Which high school is offering AP Precalc? My kid’s school doesn’t offer that AP. Precalc is just an honors level prerequisite

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP Gov and AP Precalc

A lot of schools don't offer AP Precalc. It's generally suggested for kids who are in 12th grade and at the end of their math track. Your counselor might recommend Honors precalc instead. This is a rare case where an AP designation doesn't mean it's better than the Honors version (the other case is AP Physics 1 compared to Honors Physics)... and college admissions officers know this very well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The two that come naturally in 9th grade are AP US Government and Politics, which is offered to all 9th graders, and a tech requirement, AP Computer Science Principles.

Other APs usually come with prerequisites, but you can try to get out of them, some STEM coordinators allow it on a case-by-case basis for AP Bio, for example. Some bilingual kids in weekend language schools take their AP exam in that language in 9th grade, but usually it's more like 10th or 11th grade. I think AP Java has a prerequisite too (maybe some kids satisfy that in middle school?).

3 APs in one year is not onerous, but in 9th grade you run the risk that your kid fails just because they don't have anything to compare it too and miscalculate the level of effort needed to score highly on each exam. So it's best to start with a couple tried and true, and then ramp up the year after, distributing APs reasonably equally in terms of difficulty for the 3 next years of high school. Some APs are notoriously more difficult or time-consuming than others, such as AP World History, AP Calc BC or AP Physics C... but some kids have no problems with those because they're right in their wheelhouse.

Thank you for the details.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP Gov and AP Precalc

A lot of schools don't offer AP Precalc. It's generally suggested for kids who are in 12th grade and at the end of their math track. Your counselor might recommend Honors precalc instead. This is a rare case where an AP designation doesn't mean it's better than the Honors version (the other case is AP Physics 1 compared to Honors Physics)... and college admissions officers know this very well.

There are some schools that no longer offer honors pre-calc. Only AP or on level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AP Gov and AP Precalc

AP precalc is easier than honors. Just FYI in case your kid is looking for more rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AP Gov and AP Precalc

Which high school is offering AP Precalc? My kid’s school doesn’t offer that AP. Precalc is just an honors level prerequisite

It’s new and most don’t offer it.

[Anonymous]

As others have said, AP Pre-Calculus is a waste for a freshman because it's designed for kids who will *only* reach pre-calculus in HS and therefore it is not going to prepare your kid for AP Calculus AB or BC in 10th grade.

The other thing to know is that the hard part of APs for freshmen isn't usually the classwork, it's the study skills. Most MCPS kids have never taken a big year-long cumulative assessment, let alone more than one in a two-week period.

I would start with two, and have one of them be pretty easy (AP Gov or AP CS Principles) just to build the muscle of studying 9 months of material at once.

[Anonymous]

Some take 5. If they don't take it in school, they self study for exams so at end of Freshman year they will be done with 5 AP exams either via in-school or from self-study. Every kid is different. Some don't take an AP until Junior or Senior year or ever. They may do a college level course at a college instead of AP.

[Anonymous]

Don’t take any. Let your kid get used to high school.
PP is incorrect that AP gov is offered to all 9th graders. Not at Blair.

Most magnet kids in the toughest classes don’t take any APs in freshman year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t take any. Let your kid get used to high school.
PP is incorrect that AP gov is offered to all 9th graders. Not at Blair.

Most magnet kids in the toughest classes don’t take any APs in freshman year.

Not everyone is in a magnet school. A bright kid can handle 1-2 APs in 9th grade and agreed it’s better to ramp up than to start them all in 11th grade.