How many APs
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
My younger kid is in 11th grade now and hasn't taken any AP courses either. I'll let you know how he turns out. He's a bright kid too and will end up in a good college. Look at how many kids who take all of these heavy AP courseloads end up burning out. Keeping up that pace doesn't come without its drawbacks. Mental health is more important in the long run. I'm sure there are some students who can do all of this without much effort but they are in the minority. If these courses require tutoring, they are probably too hard for the student in the first place. Just my 2 cents. |
Anonymous
That's lovely as a sentiment. But what you are doing to help those kids who do what you say get into the schools that make it a contest out of AP courses? Kids who take honors only or, god forbid, gen ed classes, and do really well but then are shut out of UVA b/c their schedule isn't "rigorous enough." |
Anonymous
If a kid can pull off a B in AP, what makes you think they would only pull off a B in the honor or regular class. The key is to take the most challenging course that a kid can do well in. Yes, challenge oneself, but no point to join the rat race of 12+ APs. Your last sentence is baffling; if the colleges aren't looking for the straight A students, then are they looking for straight B/B+ students instead if these Bs are from APs? This endless pursuit of AP classes is adding pressure on the majority of the AP kid who are working long hours chasing that A-. I have a STEM kid that could pull off 100 on every BC calc test as a junior and has a 100 average in Multi right now. He spent most of his junior nights working on APUSH and AP Lang. He challenged himself and is a better writer now because these classes. But I don't think these APs are what got him into top engineering schools. He also made the difficult decision to drop a language AP so he can spend time working on his passion, robotics. He will end his high school career with 5 APs. Knowing one's strength and allocate one's resources wisely while maintaining a sane mind throughout is what matters. The EQ will be what makes the kid a productive learner in college and a productive member of society So I respectively disagree with the college admission personnel. |
Anonymous
| Disagree all you want but that's how it works! |
Anonymous
| at the college I work at. |
Anonymous
Well that is just sad for these poor kids. They shouldn’t have to peak at 18 and burn out. How have we gotten to this place of 12+ APs. |
Anonymous
Just because your kids can't handle 12 APs and not "peak and burn out" doesn't mean others can't. Sorry my kid is smarter than yours. |
Anonymous
Parents whose kids aren't smart enough for the most rigorous classes and get shut out of Ivies always bring up BS reasons like this. Guess what, the truly top kids can handle a full slate of AP classes and straight As and be mentally fine. Most of these kids don't "burn out." But keep telling yourself that so you can feel better about your mediocre kid. |
Anonymous
I don’t have a child who has applied to college yet, and both of my children will likely graduate with over 10 AP classes so I doubt you were speaking to me; however, you are a horrible horrible person for calling any child “mediocre.” In reality, taking a lot of APs is the “average” at my kids’ high school- a student who takes zero AP classes but pursues a unique passion would be a lot more unique and hardly mediocre. |
Anonymous
You ppl are just nasty. |
Anonymous
q That's truly awesome, but that's not everyone's goal. DC is aiming for a selective college, and that's ok, too. NP |
Anonymous
| Our neighbors brag about the number of AP courses her kids take. I asked her about AP courses at their school and it turns out that any student can take as many AP courses as they want with the exception of some math courses. So she is bragging about something any student in the school could do. My kid's school has a lot of AP courses but only a small percentage of students can take them. You have to prove you can handle them. Basically, they want to make sure the kids who take them get 4s and 5s on the tests so you need to have a 90+ in the previous honors class. My kid might end up taking 1-2 AP courses. |
Anonymous
| AP scores have no weight in college admissions... unfortunately! |
Anonymous
Why take them if not for the college credit? If you are about to head off to college and you can't earn a 4 or 5, what does that tell you? It says you are not college ready. But in today's world, students go anyway because there aren't other options for them. Then they drop off with tons of debt and no way to repay it. |
Anonymous
So that the PP, who is calling other ppl's kids mediocre, can brag about those 12+ AP his/her DC is taking. Yes there are truly kids out there who can carry that load for the love of the subjects and don't care about the college credit. But for most kids, these APs are just overkill. Many kids with <=5 APs go to school with those with 12+ APs and do just fine. Do what is right for your kid and don't get suck into this if you aren't carrying 12+ APs, you are not worthy game. Search DCUM on how some magnet school kids are doing this admission cycle, you will find many posts on burnt-out teens. |