TJ: Question on AP courses - Junior Year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When one of my kids was at the Blair STEM magnet in MCPS, they got 5's on 8 AP tests, butthey only took 6 actual AP courses when they were there. Blair isn't an AP focused program so I guess it differs from TJ.

TJ is actually focused on 'post-AP' courses and the Senior research project and students may have to take certain pre-requisites including AP courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When one of my kids was at the Blair STEM magnet in MCPS, they got 5's on 8 AP tests, butthey only took 6 actual AP courses when they were there. Blair isn't an AP focused program so I guess it differs from TJ.

TJ is actually focused on 'post-AP' courses and the Senior research project and students may have to take certain pre-requisites including AP courses.

+1

[Anonymous]

Some kids sit the AP exam for a subject even if they didn't take an AP course. My kid took the AP World History exam after honors world history and got a 5, because even the honors courses are taught at a high level.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When one of my kids was at the Blair STEM magnet in MCPS, they got 5's on 8 AP tests, butthey only took 6 actual AP courses when they were there. Blair isn't an AP focused program so I guess it differs from TJ.

TJ is actually focused on 'post-AP' courses and the Senior research project and students may have to take certain pre-requisites including AP courses.

+1

[Anonymous]

Are any post AP (AV) classes required for even the TJHSST advance diploma?

[Anonymous]

The top 25% at TJ has completed 9-10 APs or post-APs by the end of 11th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The top 25% at TJ has completed 9-10 APs or post-APs by the end of 11th.

Here are some of the AV (Post-AP) courses from the school profile listed one per line.

Artificial Intelligence 1 & 2
Parallel Computing 1 & 2
Computer Vision 1 & 2
Mobile/Web Applications
Machine Learning 1 & 2

Some people count it as
10 AV's , including each semester course (e.g AI1 1/2 credit, AI 2 another 1/2 credit) as 1 AV each.
Others count it as
Only 5 AV's with both semester courses combined (e.g. AI 1 plus AI 2) as 1 AV.

Not sure who is correct but the count does change

[Anonymous]

Do top colleges consider AV (post AP courses) like web/mobile app to be more rigorous than a hard AP course (like Physics C at TJ) or about the same? I understand the grade bump is the same but how do colleges view the course selections?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do top colleges consider AV (post AP courses) like web/mobile app to be more rigorous than a hard AP course (like Physics C at TJ) or about the same? I understand the grade bump is the same but how do colleges view the course selections?

Students should pick what they are interested in and not what they think colleges want to see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do top colleges consider AV (post AP courses) like web/mobile app to be more rigorous than a hard AP course (like Physics C at TJ) or about the same? I understand the grade bump is the same but how do colleges view the course selections?

Students should pick what they are interested in and not what they think colleges want to see.

What if kid is equally interested in both?!

[Anonymous]

AP Courses and Exams offer dual advantages. Firstly, they play siginifcant role in college admissions, and secondly, they provide an opportunity to earn college credits contributing toward graduation. Most colleges prioritize AP Exam scores over just completing the course. Having the AP course on the transcript and not reporting the AP Exam score can raise concerns, potentially indicating a low score or a lack of confidence in mastering the course content.

If a student has truly mastered the AP Course, the expectation is to demonstrate proficiency through a solid AP Exam score of 4 or 5. Students often opt to take AP Exams even if they haven't enrolled in the corresponding AP Course. While this may result in the course not appearing on the high school transcript, the AP Exam score still holds weight in the college admissions process. The primary advantage of a strong AP Exam score lies in the potential to earn college credits, a benefit not afforded by merely completing the AP Course without taking the exam.

for example:
At UVA, a score of at least 4 in AP Calculus AB gives 4 credits and is equivalent to MATH 1310, and a score of at least 4 in AP Calculus BC gives 8 credits and is equivalent to MATH 1310 and 1320

https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/getting-credit-placement/search-policies/college/2350

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The users commented on AP/Post-AP (or AV). Are you counting the AV's? Also like the PP mentioned it was by end of Junior year and that too for the top 10% of the kids.

what does AV stand for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The users commented on AP/Post-AP (or AV). Are you counting the AV's? Also like the PP mentioned it was by end of Junior year and that too for the top 10% of the kids.

what does AV stand for?

High school course titles for courses that receive additional 0.5 or 1.0 weighting have been updated to increase transparency of high school transcripts.

Beginning with the 2023-24 school year, high school course titles will now reflect:

An HN (Honors) for any course that has a 0.5 additional weighting.
An AV (Advanced), AP (Advanced Placement), DE (Dual Enrollment), or IB (International Baccalaureate) for any course that has a 1.0 additional weighting

AV is the new label that was created to address several college-level courses that previously had a 1.0 additional weighting without a designation. For example, Multivariable Calculus now has AV at the end.


Reference: https://www.fcps.edu/node/48097