Parent of Junior here - Is this year extra bad or is this how it is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you raise an excellent point about whether it is worth doing this arms race if they are not going to be considered competitive anyway.

I wouldn't turn down a flex period. I don't think the colleges are even aware of it. All they are focusing on is what you are taking, and several APs is strong rigor.

This is really the issue. If the kids is taking all the APs to be considered for UVA, but it going to end up at a school with an average GPA of 3.7, is it even worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you raise an excellent point about whether it is worth doing this arms race if they are not going to be considered competitive anyway.

I wouldn't turn down a flex period. I don't think the colleges are even aware of it. All they are focusing on is what you are taking, and several APs is strong rigor.

Agree with this.

Clemson WAS brutal this year. There's not going to be any guarantee next year. Your kid sounds like a strong student. Just make sure he picks some safeties he really likes.

Clemson was brutal last year too. People haven’t come to terms with the fact it now has a 35 percent acceptance rate, lower than many higher ranked schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Next year is supposed to be a population cliff so it should be easier but who knows? I think the question is will your kid be burnt out or can he handle one more ap class? Probably best to compromise- don’t do flex but also don’t do another ap just to have it especially if he’s not into the subject. is there a class he’s more interested in like at a community college if he’s allowed to cross enroll?

This is incorrect, next year is peak. The decrease won’t start until 2026, and it isn’t really a cliff, more like a very gentle

And the "cliff" or decline or whatever is really only relevant for less selective schools. Any decline in ambitious students is offset by the fact that they are all putting in a ton more applications.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you raise an excellent point about whether it is worth doing this arms race if they are not going to be considered competitive anyway.

I wouldn't turn down a flex period. I don't think the colleges are even aware of it. All they are focusing on is what you are taking, and several APs is strong rigor.

This is really the issue. If the kids is taking all the APs to be considered for UVA, but it going to end up at a school with an average GPA of 3.7, is it even worth it?

Do you not care how your kid does once they get to college?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD recognizes that even with a 4.3 gpa, APs, and interesting ECs, admission to her top choices is iffy. High stats kids are a dime a dozen.

She will also apply to schools that are much less selective where she’s confident she would be accepted, probably with significant merit aid. If she ends up attending one of her lower-ranked choices, she will likely have plenty of her college fund left over for grad school.

Can you suggest some of the schools that your DD would be considering? Every place my similar DC is looking that used to be a safety or target has moved up at least one level. What's a good safety for someone who has worked so hard?

Where are you located? Va, Md, DC or somewhere else? I can give better suggestions if I know where you would be in-state.

Virginia

If your DC is interested in a smaller school, the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg offered my older DS significant merit aid when he applied. I’m an alumna so that may have helped. He decided to attend George Mason.

From what I hear, a lot of students are putting VCU and Christopher Newport on their lists. JMU is popular too but gives less merit from what I hear.

[Anonymous]

i don't think most of those schools you mentioned would reject someone just for taking a flex class. that's insane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you raise an excellent point about whether it is worth doing this arms race if they are not going to be considered competitive anyway.

I wouldn't turn down a flex period. I don't think the colleges are even aware of it. All they are focusing on is what you are taking, and several APs is strong rigor.

This is really the issue. If the kids is taking all the APs to be considered for UVA, but it going to end up at a school with an average GPA of 3.7, is it even worth it?

Do you not care how your kid does once they get to college?

This. For your and your child's mental health you have to reframe what they are doing in HS as being about developing as a person and a student. If they can handle the 5 APs, are excited about the classes, can still have time for sleep and fun with that schedule, then sure go ahead. But because that will make them better prepared for college not to get in to a particular school. If that added AP is going to massively raise the stress level, mean they aren't getting enough sleep, take away time from focusing on college applications and other demands of senior year, skip it. And if that means they don't get into the school they might otherwise have gotten into (I doubt it would be a defining factor), then that school wasn't the right place for them.

My DD applied last year from APS and most of her friends took a flex period in senior year and I saw them going to a lot of strong schools. DD didn't take flex, not to add another AP but to take an art class she'd never had time for. Her application (transcript, essays, ECs, hobbies) also showed that she loved both art and science.

Also, be aware that it's too soon to really know how the acceptances will settle out. Most RD results are not out yet.

[Anonymous]

Admissions officers will evaluate a student within the context of their school - what is offered, what the student took, how that compares with their peer group at that particular high school, how they performed. As others have said, that is more important than a particular number of APs taken. If their peer group tends to take 6 total in HS, or 12, that’s good information, for your DC to decide what they can handle and if not, adjust expectations (good for all of us to do).
When they get to college, they will meet tons of kids like them, equally smart and accomplished, but with a different kind of transcript, some took tons of APs, some not. All at the same college and fit there.
And yes for sure, having been thru the past two cycles, this is the way it is for the foreseeable future.
Best way to beat the stress on your DC is to, as you are doing, be thoughtful about class selection, and EC’s, writing a solid essay and supplementals that tell their story, have good rapport with teachers who will write the recs, provide a great brag sheet that the guidance counselor can cut and paste from (esp if you are a large public), and be brutally honest and realistic when developing a list of reaches, targets, likelies. Visit targets and likelies bc the reaches are lotteries for all. Get excited about those.
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I would def opt for 4 APs over 5 in one year and spend the extra time on an interesting ECs. My kids are in MCPS though and I acknowledge that we don’t have that same UVA admissions pressure that tortures Nova kids.
Admissions so far this year at private colleges (largely ED) look really good at our high school. Preliminary data shows UMD admits were way down. I think we’re seeing a continuing thread of state flagships and similar becoming increasingly competitive. I’m guessing the sub top 20 private colleges may be becoming even more interested in full pay DMV kids in anticipation of the cliff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you raise an excellent point about whether it is worth doing this arms race if they are not going to be considered competitive anyway.

I wouldn't turn down a flex period. I don't think the colleges are even aware of it. All they are focusing on is what you are taking, and several APs is strong rigor.

This is really the issue. If the kids is taking all the APs to be considered for UVA, but it going to end up at a school with an average GPA of 3.7, is it even worth it?

Do you not care how your kid does once they get to college?

This. For your and your child's mental health you have to reframe what they are doing in HS as being about developing as a person and a student. If they can handle the 5 APs, are excited about the classes, can still have time for sleep and fun with that schedule, then sure go ahead. But because that will make them better prepared for college not to get in to a particular school. If that added AP is going to massively raise the stress level, mean they aren't getting enough sleep, take away time from focusing on college applications and other demands of senior year, skip it. And if that means they don't get into the school they might otherwise have gotten into (I doubt it would be a defining factor), then that school wasn't the right place for them.

My DD applied last year from APS and most of her friends took a flex period in senior year and I saw them going to a lot of strong schools. DD didn't take flex, not to add another AP but to take an art class she'd never had time for. Her application (transcript, essays, ECs, hobbies) also showed that she loved both art and science.

Also, be aware that it's too soon to really know how the acceptances will settle out. Most RD results are not out yet.

I would agree with this. My kids have ADHD and I was firm about limiting them to 3 APs in junior year, even though that meant they wouldn't have the "most rigorous" schedule at W-L. But for senior year I left the choice to them. DS ended up with 5 AP/IB/DE classes but loved that year because he'd finally reached the point where he could focus on the quant classes he really liked. He took AP Calc BC, AP Stats, IB Economics, DE Geospatial Analysis + AP English. And a non-AP science and a flex period. Mostly applied to big state schools and is at Virginia Tech. Only place he didn't get in was UVA, which was totally expected from his GPA (did not have great grades in 9th grade + fewer APs in junior year)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD recognizes that even with a 4.3 gpa, APs, and interesting ECs, admission to her top choices is iffy. High stats kids are a dime a dozen.

She will also apply to schools that are much less selective where she’s confident she would be accepted, probably with significant merit aid. If she ends up attending one of her lower-ranked choices, she will likely have plenty of her college fund left over for grad school.

Can you suggest some of the schools that your DD would be considering? Every place my similar DC is looking that used to be a safety or target has moved up at least one level. What's a good safety for someone who has worked so hard?

Where are you located? Va, Md, DC or somewhere else? I can give better suggestions if I know where you would be in-state.

Virginia

If your DC is interested in a smaller school, the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg offered my older DS significant merit aid when he applied. I’m an alumna so that may have helped. He decided to attend George Mason.

From what I hear, a lot of students are putting VCU and Christopher Newport on their lists. JMU is popular too but gives less merit from what I hear.

Are you hearing this about students taking high rigor applying to these schools? This sounds so different that just a few years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s a big focus on rural kids by AOs - have a friend at Ivy in a leadership role - and rural, whether Wyoming, Hawaii or WV is the golden ticket this year.

💯 and trauma

My Senior had zero trauma in his applications and has been getting in everywhere, including UVA EA.

I have heard of more early round deferrals for kids than prior years but our counselors have says they think this year kids will have a lot of RD acceptances on those deferrals since kids are applying to so many schools now.

I few things I was stressing would harm my kid ended up apparently not being an issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i don't think most of those schools you mentioned would reject someone just for taking a flex class. that's insane.

Sara Harberson, fwiw, recently spoke highly of a study hall period as long as you are taking your five core academic classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like there are kids who are already a level higher than yours OP. Too late to try to compete with them. They are going to apply for T20. Assuming yours had good grades, A’s, he will be just fine and if the difference between sanity and crazy for your kid is one AP, honestly, I would drop the one AP.

I'm not sure what this means. Lots of kids get into T20 classes with schedules like what's listed above.

"at least one friend taking all APs and taking 2 summer courses. These are 4.0 UW students who already have several APs under their belt."
If OP's kid and these kids apply to the same T20, the other kids are getting in before OP - short of a truly differentiating factor that OP's kid can highlight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD recognizes that even with a 4.3 gpa, APs, and interesting ECs, admission to her top choices is iffy. High stats kids are a dime a dozen.

She will also apply to schools that are much less selective where she’s confident she would be accepted, probably with significant merit aid. If she ends up attending one of her lower-ranked choices, she will likely have plenty of her college fund left over for grad school.

Can you suggest some of the schools that your DD would be considering? Every place my similar DC is looking that used to be a safety or target has moved up at least one level. What's a good safety for someone who has worked so hard?

Where are you located? Va, Md, DC or somewhere else? I can give better suggestions if I know where you would be in-state.

Virginia

If your DC is interested in a smaller school, the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg offered my older DS significant merit aid when he applied. I’m an alumna so that may have helped. He decided to attend George Mason.

From what I hear, a lot of students are putting VCU and Christopher Newport on their lists. JMU is popular too but gives less merit from what I hear.

Are you hearing this about students taking high rigor applying to these schools? This sounds so different that just a few years ago.

Yes, they are. My friend's DD had a 4.0 at a NoVA HS and is at VCU and loving it.