APUSH - Best GPA Strategy for Admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this Langley? A ton of students take APs online for exactly this reason. The school’s college advisor has even said that colleges don’t care whether a class is taken online or in person. I get why students would do it if they’re trying to boost their junior year GPA.

But as a parent, I really wouldn’t want my kid taking an AP online. The Langley student-run magazine had a whole article about how easy some of these online APs are — especially APUSH — and how common cheating is.

If it were a class not offered at Langley, like AP Euro, and my kid was genuinely VERY interested, then maybe. But otherwise, I think it’s a terrible idea for both academic and moral development.

I was wondering the same. My kid graduated from there a couple of years ago and AP lang or lit (can’t recall which) was popular to take online, but I am just shocked to hear of the number of online classes those kids are taking now. I really don’t understand what parents are thinking.

[Anonymous]

The kids do it because they can cheat the entire time, zone out and get a weighted A to boost their GPA. It is a no brainer for the grinders.

[Anonymous]

Outside of T20, no one cares.

For T20's it matters a lot. T20 AO's are going to be familiar with HS's that send a lot of applications to them. Langley most likely is one of them. AO's assigned to your school, knows these kinds of details, and these are precisely the things they are most interested in to narrow down the students.

So if you are not interested in T20's, I would say go with online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Outside of T20, no one cares.

For T20's it matters a lot. T20 AO's are going to be familiar with HS's that send a lot of applications to them. Langley most likely is one of them. AO's assigned to your school, knows these kinds of details, and these are precisely the things they are most interested in to narrow down the students.

So if you are not interested in T20's, I would say go with online.

Add to this in-state options outside of the T20.

[Anonymous]

It is absolutely ridiculous that FCPS lets schools offer classes both online and in person. Especially super common APs like APUSH.

And this is also why colleges should go back to requiring test scores. GPA is just not a uniform measuring stick to compare applicants by.

[Anonymous]

Its always better to get an A than a B in a class.
However the actual class is going to better prepare the student for the exam, which the online class will not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if online is "easier" isn't it still an additional class the student has to manage? I have a child finishing junior year and I couldn't imagine her with an extra online class, even an "easy" one, on top of her workload this year.

That’s why kids do it in the summer

[Anonymous]

The advantages to how it’s typically done at Langley (taking APUSH online during Junior year and having a free period during the day) are huge. It’s an automatic A if your child doesn’t miss class. And your child gets the extra time to study for other classes.

GPA boosts on two fronts. A in APUSH and the other classes are also higher in grades due to the extra space in their day.

Colleges don’t care IMHO. The kids in the class if 2025 that took APUSH online sure seem to have much better admissions than the kids who took it inperson.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is absolutely ridiculous that FCPS lets schools offer classes both online and in person. Especially super common APs like APUSH.

And this is also why colleges should go back to requiring test scores. GPA is just not a uniform measuring stick to compare applicants by.

The AP test is only offered once a year. There a makeup, but spring sports conflict often. No college will require a student to report AP scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. GPAs in FCPS really are meaningless.

+1

[Anonymous]

My son took the in person APUSH class and got a B+. He really enjoyed the class and the teacher was fantastic. However, so many others took an online version or an easy community college dual enrollment class and got A’s. It is always hard to know how a grade affects admissions, class rankings, and scholarships. I do know that it did affect a merit scholarship because ti get the most amount of money from one school he needed an unweighted 4.0

[Anonymous]

While imperfect, this is why test scores matter. Amazed by this, not in area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:While imperfect, this is why test scores matter. Amazed by this, not in area.

Same. DD is at a public school in NJ. Kids at her school are not allowed to take courses on-line or somewhere else. No shenanigans like this, and grades actually mean something.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:While imperfect, this is why test scores matter. Amazed by this, not in area.

Same. DD is at a public school in NJ. Kids at her school are not allowed to take courses on-line or somewhere else. No shenanigans like this, and grades actually mean something.

Same at our public in Southern CA. School will not include online APs on the official transcript or calculate it into their GPA. Kids work for their As and there's no grade inflation.

Anecdotally, I think it hurts kids to take online classes (and fill their schedule with 3+ electives) and it's better to have all your classes taken in person at school and on one transcript.

But it also looks like DC will get first B in APUSH this semester.

So, we'll see next year when I see college results from his class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The kids do it because they can cheat the entire time, zone out and get a weighted A to boost their GPA. It is a no brainer for the grinders.

+1 to the cheating issues

The kids that take online APUSH comprise the vast majority of the kids who cheat in other classes.