# of AP courses total?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Yes, taking 5+ APs is a bit crazy IMO. Your kid can get into T30-T50 schools with those scores, it is possible. But you need to consider them reaches and have good targets and safeties as well.

My own DC took 4Aps junior year and 4 APs senior year. All STEM except AP Psych. I suspect taking AP ENG/APUSH/APEuro might have strengthened her resume for T20 schools, but not by much (she had SAT of 1500 and 3.95 UW gpa and engineering major). I'm with you, that more than 4 APs puts too much pressure on most kids and doesn't allow them time to do other stuff. For some kids, more than 2 is too many and that's ok. These are college level work and the kids are in HS!

These are great stats. It's crazy that this isn't top 20 materials. Just nuts..

Yes it's nuts. But there is a partial explanation. Check out how the SAT board "normalized" the scores in 1996.
So comparing pre-1995 scores to 1996+ scores alone is interesting.
Say you (or any of us parents) in late 1980/early 1990s got a 1350 SAT (700M+750 Verbal)
as of 1996 that would be 690 Math and 760 Verbal for 1450 SAT. That's 100 points just from the normalizing.
Add in that in mid 1990s, most students took the test 1-2 times, without much test prep. So if you were to locate the percentiles (which I cannot find currently), I suspect 1450 in 1995 was much higher percentile than it is in 2021.
I simply don't recall tons of people having perfect SAT scores or anything close to that--and I attended a T10 school that currently has an acceptance rate below 7%. Without all the prep work and taking the SAT 5+ times, we had a more accurate score of the students and there simply were not as may students at the "top" scores. In early 1990s, anything over 1300 was really, really good. Break 1400 and you were the golden child. Not many kids got over 1500.

So simply put, with that many students scoring so high and with it being so simple to apply to many more colleges (common app, ability to research stuff online, not have to send a letter requesting info on a school, etc), most T50 schools could fill 3x their incoming freshman class with kids over 1450 and with WGPA over 4.2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP. I'd focus on improving her test score. See if she can get her SAT score past 1500. That's something you can "fix" vs. causing year-long stress with additional APs.

FYI-you can't always "fix" test scores.
It was covid yearso we didn't push anymore, but my kid took a practice SAT and scored 1320, then did 4 hours of private tutoring that focused on areas DC needed most and "learned the SAT test taking tricks for how to approach questions". Rest of test prep was taking 4 more SATs, with 1-2 hours of tutoring in between to go over the test and give pointers. Well my kid scored 1490 on 3 of the tests and 1480 on the 4th, with a superstore max of 1500.
DC managed 1450 and 1490 on the actual 2 SATs taken (with math being same missing 1 questions so no superscoring needed). Basically, after 4 hours of review after the first practice test ever, DC had honed in to their final SAT score. Only way to possibly raise it would be to spend 2+ months of intense tutoring and studying. Might have finally managed a "perfect" math score and raised the verbal to 740/750. We decided it wasn't worth it. Sure it could have been done. But why would I put my kid thru that? What's the point? if a T20 school doesn't want my kid because they didn't get a 1550, then maybe my kid is better off at a T30 (or T50) school. There is so much more to HS and life than doing 50+ hours of SAT test prep.

And what if my kid makes themselves miserable studying the summer between junior/senior year for 2-3 hours per day for SAT test prep and manages to get a 1550? great, but what if they don't get into their dreams schools still?

Our private tutor suggested that most kids do focus in on their final score rather quickly after 4-8 hours of tutoring, especially if they are already over 1300/1350 with their first practice test.

[Anonymous]

The kids who are getting into the most selective schools these days based solely on academics are those who are able to handle 6 APs at a time without breaking a sweat. Kids should take what they're able to handle without causing themselves harm. If that's not 5-6 APs and they don't get into an 'elite' college, they'll be fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12 APs is typical at our school but I also know kids who got into good schools they enjoy without taking any. If it’s too stressful, it’s not worth it. I don’t know why we expect high school kids to do college work anyway. Let them be in high school and think broad and deep instead of hammering away for test scores. And yes, you have time to work on the SAT score we thought pressure of she’s up for it.

Yes, yes and more yes. +10

[Anonymous]

What is a W school?

[Anonymous]

DD will graduate with 13 AP classes. It’s just the way her public school guides the kids from seventh grade. She’s a great student and didn’t struggle at all with all her core classes being AP classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DD will graduate with 13 AP classes. It’s just the way her public school guides the kids from seventh grade. She’s a great student and didn’t struggle at all with all her core classes being AP classes.

Same, one will have 15 and the other 13, including some tough ones like Econ, Physics Mech, BC Calc, Foreign Languages. I agree with the poster above who said if it doesn’t phase them, it’s fine. Their school is set up for this to feel relatively mainstream. Not sure about college outcomes as they are rising seniors, but hopefully it will be okay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where it gets tricky is the lack of transparency. We’re in FCPS. My DS is signed up for 4 APs jr year next year. He’d prefer to take 2-3, but it’s not that he. Any handle or succeed in the 4, just that he’d prefer not to be overwhelmed with work, which I think is very fair, but he’d really like to know how that impacts his college chances and it’s frustratingly unclear.

this x 1000

her counselor will not be clear with her

[Anonymous]

I have a child at a DCC school and 12 APs is not at all the norm. The school doesn’t offer any AP science classes.

[Anonymous]

The thing no counselor will admiit is your child is competing against other kids in the school

At a W school 7 or 8 might be too low if you want to be in the top 5% of the class which is a requirement to get into a top school especially if you aren't hooked otherwise

At another school taking 7 or 8 APs is a guarantee to be top 5% of the class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a child at a DCC school and 12 APs is not at all the norm. The school doesn’t offer any AP science classes.

Yes, it really depends on the school. You can look at your school profile which is sent with the GPA. My kid is at mcps and the school offers more than 30 APs.
And, I say most students will probably end up more than 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a child at a DCC school and 12 APs is not at all the norm. The school doesn’t offer any AP science classes.

Yes, it really depends on the school. You can look at your school profile which is sent with the GPA. My kid is at mcps and the school offers more than 30 APs.
And, I say most students will probably end up more than 10.

No, most kids will not end up with more than ten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a child at a DCC school and 12 APs is not at all the norm. The school doesn’t offer any AP science classes.

Yes, it really depends on the school. You can look at your school profile which is sent with the GPA. My kid is at mcps and the school offers more than 30 APs.
And, I say most students will probably end up more than 10.

No, most kids will not end up with more than ten.

you probably right.. i should say most of my kid's friends took more than 10

[Anonymous]

Wow. Eye-opening discussion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is a W school?

There is a cluster of high schools in NW DC/Montgomery County, MD that have “W’s” in the name.

Woodrow Wilson
Winston Churchill
Walt Whitman
Walter Johnson
Wootten