Taking the AP class but not the exam?

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous]Yes it is a red flag and suggests grade inflation/ suggests kid did take the exam and scored below 3 and as such did not report the score. [/quote]

Only certain colleges are elite enough for the lack of an AP score to be noted and to be a competitive deficit.

I think OP should consider the profile of the college applied to and the students applying from OP's DC's high school.

I agree that it may be possible to study for a delayed history AP if the student has mastered the material. It is a more verbally-oriented area of study and relies on topics we run across in daily life more so than a subject like Calculus. Also writing skill.

[Anonymous]

It's not a red flag. Your kid isn't special enough to get a red flag. It's just an absence of one green flag. Your kid can work for whatever green flags they want.

[Anonymous]

This thread is full of parents projecting what they wish AOs would do to knock out the competition. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Mine had all 5s in 16 or so APs, some with school classes and few random self studied as that was the norm for top 5% of their highly competitive school. Believe me, none of that matters in long term picture of their lives. Let him decide. Its going to be fine either way.

[Anonymous]

Top schools don't even give AP credits, all you can get is skip introductory courses.

[Anonymous]

If you submit scores for other classes but not for these, the AO will assume the kid took the test and got a low score. It's hard to say what score they assume-- if you only submit 4s and 5s they may assume the kid made a decision not to submit 3 and below. They won't know you didn't take the test, just that you didn't submit the score.

I believe the common app has some open fields where you can explain things related to grades, etc. but I could be wrong. (I bet if you ask chat GPT it can tell you.). If there's an easy place to explain, then I think the AO would buy your explanation.

I tend to disagree with others that the kid should buy a book and review in March to take the test next year because i think these kids are already overly stressed and surely will have other classes to study for. But I'd also mention that since AOs won't be able to distinguish not taking the test from taking it with a low score, there may not be much cost to sitting for it just to see...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Top schools don't even give AP credits, all you can get is skip introductory courses.

But admissions officers like to see the high scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Top schools don't even give AP credits, all you can get is skip introductory courses.

But admissions officers like to see the high scores.

The high scores are supposedly the proof there wasn’t grade inflation. If you got an A, you should get a 4 or 5. Etc blah blah

[Anonymous]

OP here. This is all helpful/enlightening.

FWIW, this class is not intended to be a credit for graduation. It is not needed. It is to actually learn the material and round out his education. The spot on the class schedule is needed for his area of interest, but we recognize that it is important to also have this history piece covered.

He attends a nationally recognized top private high school. They don’t give credit for any class outside of their curriculum. We live rurally and my son will work part time the summer. Hence, remote/asynchronous seems the best fit to add this class as an “extra”. He wants the class, but will prioritize his area of interest on the class schedule.

We plan to discuss this with his school’s college advising next week. Still open to suggestions/solutions to beware of prior to that meeting. This is less about GPA and impressing college AOs. His area of interest will cover that.

Goals:
Learn the material in a structured and thorough format for the purpose of framing understanding of US history junior year

and

Signal to colleges that there is not a gaping hole in his learning. He prioritized his area of interest.

Appreciate all of the feedback so far.

[Anonymous]

So what would be his history/ social studies classes over all four years?

[Anonymous]

I skipped some AP exams my senior year, but that was because the college I was committed to didn't take credit for them anyway. I don't think it's a wise decision for underclassmen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So what would be his history/ social studies classes over all four years?

He will study history two years and Econ one year. Has the option for more, but his area of interest is calling his name.

We are not a family that demands he follow the DCUM script. But we do recognize the importance of having World or Euro as well. Leaning toward taking the summer class and just sucking it up and taking the AP eight months later with some review.

Wish there were a better way.

[Anonymous]

You said you live in a rural area?

You're already accepted. No need to try too hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So what would be his history/ social studies classes over all four years?

He will study history two years and Econ one year. Has the option for more, but his area of interest is calling his name.

We are not a family that demands he follow the DCUM script. But we do recognize the importance of having World or Euro as well. Leaning toward taking the summer class and just sucking it up and taking the AP eight months later with some review.

Wish there were a better way.

4 years of social studies in HS is VA state requirement, not DCUM script

[Anonymous]

This is totally fine. These are history AP classes. Colleges aren’t really going to care if they didn’t take the exam (or didn’t take them at all). The ones they care about are the math, science, and English AP classes.