10+ AP classes

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for your replies. My questions are:

1) Are your kids not taking MV calculus - not an AP class?
2) What about double period AP classes - like chemistry and bio, in our kid's HS? Do they not eat up into other classes (e.g. you can only take 6 subjects rather than seven)
3) My kid wants to take AP drawing but it takes a long time to get there (4 years). Any advice?

Admissions departments gave them the eye brow and suggested slowing students down.

Why?

The School is already very very intense, and big on being a public liberal arts high school. Colleges know it well, and thought the school was moving very far into STEM skills and give students a little breathing room. Back when there was MV calc, the school actually had you take BC calc sophomore year, which I don't think admissions departments love to see, unless you have a very technical application-which most students just didn't. The kids like to learn a lot, but you see many art history or english majors in a bunch of STEM courses.

[Anonymous]

Take a look at your DC's school profile. Often, it will say what APs are available at your DC's school and whether there are any limits. My kids' school does not allow kids to take more than 1 AP before 11th, but with 6 APs in each of 11th and 112th, DC will end up taking 13 APs, which is not atypical for the top students at the school. There are 20+ AP classes available, but obviously some are for other languages, art, etc.

[Anonymous]

I loathe the AP arms race.

[Anonymous]

At every admissions session I've attended on tours with two kids over past couple of years at T25 or so schools, the Admissions offices emphasized that they are not looking for a particular number of APs or the like, but instead are looking as to whether the student has taken the most rigorous schedule offered by the school. So for some schools, that means zero APs, for some it means a mix of APs and IB courses and for others it means a lot of APs.

And of course not all APs are alike. Most obvious example: AP precalc is not going to count as much as AP Calc.

One option is to consult with your school's guidance counselor. They have to fill out the common app rec for students, and one of the things that asks counselors to do is to check a box indicating the level of rigor of the student's schedule. Just ask the counselor what type of schedule gets the most rigorous box checked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Basis DC student; one each in 8th and 9th (and could have taken 2 in 9th); 6 in 10th (two econ, which are 1 semester courses), and 5 or 6 in 11th. And unusually, calc is split into 2 years (AB then BC).

DS's college friends came into college with enough math for half a math major.

Good on them for getting the non-proof based math out of the way so they can start with the meat of the major.

Proof based math should start in elementary school. Math should always be a mix of proofs and exercises.

[Anonymous]

AP now is what Honors was 30 years ago. As colleges lower their standards, AP lowers its standards to match. They so studies to match AP scores to community college performance.

More than half of APa you take are irrelevant to your educational goals (outside of major) but can be used to escape unwanted distribution requirements that US universities force on students.

[Anonymous]

DC will end up with about 12 APs and at least 4 dual enrollment math classes.

9th - BC (scored a 5 in the exam)
10th - AP Stats, AP Econ (Micro/Macro) and AP Comp Sci Principles + 2 dual enrollment classes
11th - AP Chem (2 period class), AP Physics C (Mech), AP Comp Sci A, AP Lang, APUSH
12th - AP Foreign Language, AP Lit, AP Physics C (E&M) + 2 dual enrollment classes

This is partly because there are enough free periods from math and the computer science APs are requirements for the specific track they're on in HS. DC knows several kids in his BC class (juniors/seniors) who have 6-7 AP course loads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC’s private school requires the honors version of science classes before the AP version. So honors Bio in 9th, honors Chem in 10th and honors Physics in 11th. You can take the AP versions in 11th as an elective and another as your 12th grade science. I thought this was commonplace. So some schools let you go straight to AP bio, etc without ever taking biology in high school? Kids also have to take Calc AB before Calc BC. I am realizing that allowing a ton of APs from 9th grade and without pre-requisites or applications into the AP classes is also a form of grade inflation!

I cannot imagine taking AP Bio or AP Chem as your first BIo/Chem class in HS. Our HS requires you to take the regular course first.
IMO, it's time to remember these kids are HS aged, not College students. Goal is to actually learn material. Really there is no need for AP Bio in 9th grade. My kid did Bio in 8th, Chem in 9th, then Physics in 10th, then started AP science in 11th (AP Chem in 11 and AP Physics C Mech in 12). Did not have a learning gap at a T30 university as an Chem Eng major. As Eng major, they actually need to understand most of those courses, so it's about actual learning, not "getting credit to never take another science/math course in college"

the point is to save money.

All good if you are using that AP credit for non-major requirements. But if your kid is going into STEM/Engineering/Health sciences, they might just need to actually learn the material in AP Chem/AP Bio/AP Calc. I'd prefer my kid learn the material they actually need to know for their major.

Ironically, my kid's top 2 final choices for college were schools that do NOT allow AP credit for the "general education". So had my kid toiled over APUSH/AP Eng/APGovt, none of it would have mattered. My kid has to take Core Curriculum courses at their university.
They can however use up to 4 AP courses for major credits (and more than 4 are allowed, you just have to replace the course with a more advanced course at the university)

[Anonymous]

More important is did the kid pass the AP exams? Did they get mostly 5s.

DC took 2 in soph, 4 in junior, 6 in senior AP classes.

took 13 AP exams (self studied some). 12 5s and one 3. All submitted. He is off to Cornell Engineering and has lots of credits.

[Anonymous]

OP, some AP courses are one semester. Also, different schools have different rules for when and whether you can take APs. So all that matters to you is what your kid is able to take at their school. That's all the college looks at too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DC’s private school requires the honors version of science classes before the AP version. So honors Bio in 9th, honors Chem in 10th and honors Physics in 11th. You can take the AP versions in 11th as an elective and another as your 12th grade science. I thought this was commonplace. So some schools let you go straight to AP bio, etc without ever taking biology in high school? Kids also have to take Calc AB before Calc BC. I am realizing that allowing a ton of APs from 9th grade and without pre-requisites or applications into the AP classes is also a form of grade inflation!

I cannot imagine taking AP Bio or AP Chem as your first BIo/Chem class in HS. Our HS requires you to take the regular course first.
IMO, it's time to remember these kids are HS aged, not College students. Goal is to actually learn material. Really there is no need for AP Bio in 9th grade. My kid did Bio in 8th, Chem in 9th, then Physics in 10th, then started AP science in 11th (AP Chem in 11 and AP Physics C Mech in 12). Did not have a learning gap at a T30 university as an Chem Eng major. As Eng major, they actually need to understand most of those courses, so it's about actual learning, not "getting credit to never take another science/math course in college"

the point is to save money.

All good if you are using that AP credit for non-major requirements. But if your kid is going into STEM/Engineering/Health sciences, they might just need to actually learn the material in AP Chem/AP Bio/AP Calc. I'd prefer my kid learn the material they actually need to know for their major.

Ironically, my kid's top 2 final choices for college were schools that do NOT allow AP credit for the "general education". So had my kid toiled over APUSH/AP Eng/APGovt, none of it would have mattered. My kid has to take Core Curriculum courses at their university.
They can however use up to 4 AP courses for major credits (and more than 4 are allowed, you just have to replace the course with a more advanced course at the university)

Why wouldn't they learn the material?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, some AP courses are one semester. Also, different schools have different rules for when and whether you can take APs. So all that matters to you is what your kid is able to take at their school. That's all the college looks at too.

I get it from the perspective of admissions, but I am wondering about transferring credits. I am new to this, so correct me if I am wrong, but it looks like you can shave a whole year off by using these credits? That's a lot of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, some AP courses are one semester. Also, different schools have different rules for when and whether you can take APs. So all that matters to you is what your kid is able to take at their school. That's all the college looks at too.

Which ones? I only know of Micro/Macro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC took 19. Freshman Year-1, Sophomore Year-4, Junior Year-7, Senior Year-7. He enjoyed it.

Please list the 19 different AP classes your child took.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC took 19. Freshman Year-1, Sophomore Year-4, Junior Year-7, Senior Year-7. He enjoyed it.

Please list the 19 different AP classes your child took.

Freshman: Ap Human Geography
Sophomore: Spanish Language, CSA, World History, Bio
Junior: Stats, Spanish Literature, Calc BC, US History, English Language, Physics 1, Physics 2
Senior: Physics C: mechanics, E&M, European History, Macroeconomics, Government, English Literature, Art History