Not taking APUSH and chances for W&M?

[Anonymous]

First and foremost you are competing with your child’s high school classmates for admission to a school. Look at Naviance or whatever software your school uses to see applicants to a school and GPA and test scores for admitted and non admitted students. That will give you an idea of course load and test scores needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What will your kid take instead of APUSH junior and senior year? How will your kid show that they took the most rigorous available classes? Remember - especially if you are from VA that your kid will be compared to their HS classmates when applying. If everyone else is taking APUSH your kid may be disadvantaged. Not saying she wouldn’t get in. Just that she may not get in ED.

DP. She has a way better shot ED than RD, so that part of your post makes no sense. If she’s not getting in ED then she has a lower shot RD, not higher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:UVA says (and we asked and re-asked several ways) that DE classes are not viewed “beneath” AP classes if you HS offers them. Many kids at our school switch to DE USH and DE Gov. Sometimes this is even forced upon you due to scheduling constraints. DD had to switch to DE Gov senior year because AP Gov was offered during her AP Chem class and her honors choir class, both of which only have one section. I’m not too worried about it but we will see.

My daughter did just this and it was fine, in at UVA and WM (DE History Junior year no APUSH), but had AP's in almost all other core areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What will your kid take instead of APUSH junior and senior year? How will your kid show that they took the most rigorous available classes? Remember - especially if you are from VA that your kid will be compared to their HS classmates when applying. If everyone else is taking APUSH your kid may be disadvantaged. Not saying she wouldn’t get in. Just that she may not get in ED.

DP. She has a way better shot ED than RD, so that part of your post makes no sense. If she’s not getting in ED then she has a lower shot RD, not higher.

I’m not a college advisor nor a VA resident, but William and Mary is known to defer ED to RD and then accept/ waitlist kids or even offer them spring start. I’m not saying the OPs kid won’t get in ED or has a better chance RD. Just saying that this is what could happen.

[Anonymous]

My advice is to create a junior year schedule that is rigorous but also balanced enough that she would excel in her classes. A friend's son didn't take APUSH and was accepted into Stanford. I think it's the overall application. Focus on her strengths. If she thinks she can put in the time and do well in APUSH, then take APUSH. If she's taking other rigorous APs, then considering dropping down to honors USH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My advice is to create a junior year schedule that is rigorous but also balanced enough that she would excel in her classes. A friend's son didn't take APUSH and was accepted into Stanford. I think it's the overall application. Focus on her strengths. If she thinks she can put in the time and do well in APUSH, then take APUSH. If she's taking other rigorous APs, then considering dropping down to honors USH.

Yes that is the plan - to take honors USH because we’ve heard AP Chem is really hard. We want to focus on the AP math and science classes. She will be getting an A in AP World and will be able to show rigor this way. I just don’t think it’s necessary to put the time in into a course she has no interest in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid was accepted OOS no APUSH. Took other APs. Had a lot of good choices (didn’t end up at W&M)

+1 Had a lot of APs but not APUSH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is currently a sophomore in AP World, holding on to a low A. The course is a ton of work. It’s making us rethink whether they should just not take APUSH next year. They would take AP Chem. By senior year they still would have 6 major APs in a variety of disciplines, just not APUSH.

How important is APUSH to getting into W&M? My child would apply there ED.

I am more concerned about you deciding your child’s ED for them when they are a sophomore.

Land the helicopter.

It's completely reasonable that a sophomore knows what her first choice school is.

No, it is not normal. NP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is currently a sophomore in AP World, holding on to a low A. The course is a ton of work. It’s making us rethink whether they should just not take APUSH next year. They would take AP Chem. By senior year they still would have 6 major APs in a variety of disciplines, just not APUSH.

How important is APUSH to getting into W&M? My child would apply there ED.

I am more concerned about you deciding your child’s ED for them when they are a sophomore.

Land the helicopter.

It's completely reasonable that a sophomore knows what her first choice school is.

No, it is not normal. NP

How so? Many kids know where they want to go by then and work toward that goal.

[Anonymous]

I think this is fine- but should have taken AP US instead of AP World

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is fine- but should have taken AP US instead of AP World

Agree. APush is more rigorous than AP World.
AP Euro is very challenging tho.

[Anonymous]

Mom of a soph here. Here's my 2 cents. APUSH and BC Calc have become some sort of differentiators of rigor. Many DCUM parents comment that if you don't have both then you are impacting your childs chances of XYZ school.

Ok---that's a fair statement (maybe). But then the flip side is that if the majority of the kids admitting to XYZ school take these courses and score a 4 or 5 and your kid is not at that level, then maybe it's not the right school for your kid.

Most colleges will prepare your kid for the next step in life whether it's a job or grad school. Is it more important that your kid survive the pressure of a weed out class or can they go at a slower pace and still learn the material? The more I research schools, outcomes, and look objectively at my kid, the more I realize that "fit" is more important than prestige. Being the slowest in the class, having to struggle academically, losing self confidence, is a hard place to be. I'd rather my kid be middle of the pack, enjoy the fun of college, learn to navigate friendships and independent decision making than constantly struggle academically. So if APUSH is a must have for NoVa admits to W&M, then W&M wouldn't be the right fit for my kid. There are so many other options that can be considered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is currently a sophomore in AP World, holding on to a low A. The course is a ton of work. It’s making us rethink whether they should just not take APUSH next year. They would take AP Chem. By senior year they still would have 6 major APs in a variety of disciplines, just not APUSH.

How important is APUSH to getting into W&M? My child would apply there ED.

I am more concerned about you deciding your child’s ED for them when they are a sophomore.

Land the helicopter.

It's completely reasonable that a sophomore knows what her first choice school is.

No, it is not normal. NP

Totally normal, especially for kids focusing on in-state options. Even more likely if child has older siblings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child is currently a sophomore in AP World, holding on to a low A. The course is a ton of work. It’s making us rethink whether they should just not take APUSH next year. They would take AP Chem. By senior year they still would have 6 major APs in a variety of disciplines, just not APUSH.

How important is APUSH to getting into W&M? My child would apply there ED.

I am more concerned about you deciding your child’s ED for them when they are a sophomore.

Land the helicopter.

It's completely reasonable that a sophomore knows what her first choice school is.

No, it is not normal. NP

Totally normal, especially for kids focusing on in-state options. Even more likely if child has older siblings.

+1 OP here. This is exactly our situation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mom of a soph here. Here's my 2 cents. APUSH and BC Calc have become some sort of differentiators of rigor. Many DCUM parents comment that if you don't have both then you are impacting your childs chances of XYZ school.

Ok---that's a fair statement (maybe). But then the flip side is that if the majority of the kids admitting to XYZ school take these courses and score a 4 or 5 and your kid is not at that level, then maybe it's not the right school for your kid.

Most colleges will prepare your kid for the next step in life whether it's a job or grad school. Is it more important that your kid survive the pressure of a weed out class or can they go at a slower pace and still learn the material? The more I research schools, outcomes, and look objectively at my kid, the more I realize that "fit" is more important than prestige. Being the slowest in the class, having to struggle academically, losing self confidence, is a hard place to be. I'd rather my kid be middle of the pack, enjoy the fun of college, learn to navigate friendships and independent decision making than constantly struggle academically. So if APUSH is a must have for NoVa admits to W&M, then W&M wouldn't be the right fit for my kid. There are so many other options that can be considered.

I totally agree. We don’t want to overload her junior year just for show. From what I have researched, W&M cares more about well-roundedness and GPA than specific courses. APUSH is not required. She will have enough APs and balance in those APs by senior year.