Moving to Latin for High School
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
I think that the previous poster left off a few. This is the list offered at Latin this year:
AP Environmental Science AP Physics AP Literature AP Chinese AP Biology AP Calculus BC AP Calculus AB AP French AP Language AP Statistics AP Latin I am not a big fan of AP courses, but a couple junior year and a couple senior year are okay. |
Anonymous
No history-based APs? I am surprised |
Anonymous
There is an honors humanities course that I'm told is the toughest HS class. |
Anonymous
Thanks for the facts. But please quote what was actually said by the PP. The statement made was "If memory serves, not all that much smaller than the number offered at Wilson or Walls. But best to check with the school, the number has been on the rise." Which is different from "much the same as at Wilson", at least to my eyes. |
Anonymous
| Ok but 11 is quite a bit smaller than 29. |
Anonymous
Yes, wasn't ill intended just typing from memory (and obviously was the same in my overtired brain). Sorry. |
Anonymous
Isn't it a much smaller school? There is limit to how many AP classes each kid can manage. |
Anonymous
WL high school is closer in size to SWW (21) or Ellington (12). For context here's the 2015-16 list of AP classes offered by each DCPS high school. WL is on the low end for a college prep school. https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/AP%20Course%20Offerings%20by%20School%202015-2016.pdf |
Anonymous
But if your kid is not interested in an application school and isn't in boundary for Wilson, the offerings are likely better than at your in boundary school. Ours is Eastern. It only has 6. OTOH, 6 is 6 more than what my high school offered "Back in the day" and I ended up accepted to Ivy League colleges and attended top level public colleges and grad schools. Anyway, the number of AP courses offered by a school doesn't seem like a great indicator of what will work for your kid in high school. High school is a difficult time and throwing more AP classes into the mix doesn't seem like the most ideal way of addressing it. |
Anonymous
It is not the quantity, but the variety. The list will give you a decent well rounded choice of APs, but not if your kid is STEM strong, etc. That list would be just fine for my youngest (so far, I think), but my older took one glance and said "no brainer." I really would have preferred the smaller school, and I get why they can't offer everything (neither can private schools), but for some kids it makes a huge difference. AP classes aren't perceived as difficult by all kids, so it is not stressful, just better options to suit their interests. Each high school seems so different these days, there really can be preferences (if not always options), and it sometimes comes down to course offerings. |
Anonymous
| When evaluating schools and AP offerings, it's also worth looking into the size of the AP classes, e.g., whether it's 15 kids or 30+ kids. |
Anonymous
+1. We aren't IB for Wilson, so that long list wasn't an option and neither was our IB high school. My humanities-oriented DC is at Basis, where taking the AP science and math classes is required. But DC can also take AP World History, AP Art History and AP US History -- classes that DC finds more interesting and engaging, and not surprisingly, does better in. |
Anonymous
|
"There is an honors humanities course that I'm told is the toughest HS class."
My child is taking honors humanities this year and loves it. I don't think DC considers it the toughest class though. DC also really enjoyed the History of Jerusalem course that Latin offers. While there is value in APs, they do box a school into teaching a set curriculum. That may or may not be what the school wants to teach. The ability to think critically about the world instead of memorizing facts for an AP test is far more valuable IMHO. My understanding is that in terms of college admissions, a child is not penalized for not being able to take an AP course just because his/her school doesn't offer it. Thankfully, there are many school options in DC, big/small schools that work for different types of kids. |
Anonymous
Yes, but also consider Wilson has much larger AP classes in some cases to accommodate their huge student population. LAtin has at most 400 kids in HS. Wilson is at least quadruple that. |
Anonymous
| Class size is an issue, but if your kid wants serious physics and computer science, they really only have one option. |