If your child got in to a top college, how many APs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:51 are you married to the individual known as AP Frank? He was crazy brilliant!

Is he the Whitman kid in the Overachievers? I guess those kids are now about 26? Would be interesting to see how they are doing now.

[Anonymous]

No wonder these kids are all burnt out before they get to college and don't seem to remember anything or like school. They're too busy cramming for all these AP tests. I was accepted into an Ivy and never took more than 1 or 2 a year and that was sometimes a bit of a strain for me along with honors classes. College was easier and more balanced which is what it should have been like in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:14:51 are you married to the individual known as AP Frank? He was crazy brilliant!

No I'm not. We are in our early 30s now with kids. According to my husband, competition from his magnet school for top ivies was tough so in order to stick out he did the APs and also got 1600 on SATs. He's a normal guy otherwise.

[Anonymous]

MIT, Duke, and Cornell. No APs, but IB Diploma which is roughly the equivalent of an AP exam in all categories (math, biology, chemistry, language, world lit, philosophy, and history).

Depending on your ethnicity and his GPA he might need 'more' to get admitte and be prepared for the rigor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rice University. 3 APs.

Tell your daughter to focus on learning, not on college admissions.

Love this post!!! My GOSH, there's SO much stress surrounding this and it destroys the love of learning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At DC's large public high school, class rank is closely tied to how many AP's the student takes. Those in the top 1% have taken about ten AP's. It seems ridiculous, but to distinguish oneself academically it is necessary to take that many. On the other hand, this rule does NOT apply to recruited athletes. The academic standards are different for them.

Tells me all I need to know. Add the fact that some kids can't 'check the boxes' due to no fault of theirs, and for some kids, the deck is stacked against them.

My kids will succeed regardless of how many APs they take because they are bright, earnest kids who know how to communicate well. There are so many factors they can't control so I tell them to focus on what they really love as well as gain an understanding of the ever-changing political climate and job market , so they can see what careers are most marketable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No wonder these kids are all burnt out before they get to college and don't seem to remember anything or like school. They're too busy cramming for all these AP tests. I was accepted into an Ivy and never took more than 1 or 2 a year and that was sometimes a bit of a strain for me along with honors classes. College was easier and more balanced which is what it should have been like in high school.

No kidding! What a discouraging climate for kids nowadays.

My husband didn't go to college. At all. He barely passed high school due to learning disabilities. He's a brilliant computer programmer and a multi-millionaire. Funny how life works...