Can you take 6 classes instead of 7 in FCPS and still not been seen negatively for college admissions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I meant that the languages are not required in college or only a year at some top school.

My kid has taken 4 years. The question is whether or not skipping AP will tank the app.

It will most likely tank the app but only for T20 and UVA.

[Anonymous]

OP -- you didn't mention your DC's area of interest. If applying to arts & sciences (as opposed to engineering), most colleges will have a language requirement, but high AP Spanish score will fill it at many. Something to consider if DC doesn't like studying language -- far better to get it out of the way in HS if possible than in college.

[Anonymous]

Op here -- my kid thinks even with maximum effort won't get a 4 and 5 on the AP because the kid had very weak spanish teachers so far. So the kid's thing is no matter what I'll have to start over anyway.

Area of interest -- math and physics -- probably will double major.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is the online AP Spanish easy?

PP here. Yes, the online AP Spanish is super easy, at least the program my kid is taking at a non-DMV public school. It's self-paced so you can fall behind a little and still catch up on assignments, and my kid gets a "free period" at school to do other work.

Online classes allow your kid to cheat. This is why kids like it. Easy A.

[Anonymous]

But everyone agrees "easy" online AP Spanish is better than no Spanish as a compromise.

[Anonymous]

There are really two parts to your question OP: can DC have one free period senior year and can DC stop taking Spanish short of AP? As others have said, the best source of guidance on this will be your HS counselor, who presumably can give you as sense of the past experience of students there who did one or both.

FWIW, my DC (different DMV school district) took only 6 classes and no world language senior year and got into multiple T25 schools, including UVA. However, they did take AP world language junior year, and our sense from consuming a lot of Dean J info was that reaching AP/IB level in all 5 core subjects (that includes World Language) was strongly desired by UVA's admissions office. She made clear that it wasn't essential, but it's highly likely that your DC will at least slightly, perhaps significantly, lessen their chances at UVA without AP Spanish. Hard to know which other top schools feel that strongly, especially those for which your DC isn't competing against more than half of their classmates.

On the other hand, if taking AP Spanish means that your DC will truly spend their last year of HS and your last year living full time in the same house miserable and they will get a lousy grade and perhaps lower grades in other courses, you/they have to ask yourselves whether it's really worth them being miserable just to increase -- but in no way ensure -- their chances of getting into one or more schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is really just burning the candle on both ends this year and the extracurricular are taking a ton of time and the kid needs more sleep. This kid also really doesn't have a great Spanish base so AP Spanish would be very hard

So this courseload might not be good due to the lack of a 7th AP class? There are no other options for the Spanish as AP Spanish is the next one so it is 7AP classes, 6 AP and 1 filler, or just 6 - the following 6 classes.

Multivariable
AP stat
AP Comp Sci A
AP Physics C
AP Lit
AP Gov

. Tbh, 3-4 of these are easy: many kids take some of these in 11th or earlier, still max out senior year on rigor, and find time to sleep 8hrs, plus a big EC with 20 hr/wk, other EC 6hrs.... and still are in the top 1-2 of the class with top grades in all course areas, no weak areas. Those kids are the majority of kids at ivy/T10. Even top-rigor high schools are not that hard for them.
If your kid is burnt out then they should do what works for them, there will be plenty of colleges that accept them. Just know that it will narrow the odds at the top schools simply due to the fact that at least a few others in his school likely do it all without burnout. Just facts. The competition is fierce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There are really two parts to your question OP: can DC have one free period senior year and can DC stop taking Spanish short of AP? As others have said, the best source of guidance on this will be your HS counselor, who presumably can give you as sense of the past experience of students there who did one or both.

FWIW, my DC (different DMV school district) took only 6 classes and no world language senior year and got into multiple T25 schools, including UVA. However, they did take AP world language junior year, and our sense from consuming a lot of Dean J info was that reaching AP/IB level in all 5 core subjects (that includes World Language) was strongly desired by UVA's admissions office. She made clear that it wasn't essential, but it's highly likely that your DC will at least slightly, perhaps significantly, lessen their chances at UVA without AP Spanish. Hard to know which other top schools feel that strongly, especially those for which your DC isn't competing against more than half of their classmates.

On the other hand, if taking AP Spanish means that your DC will truly spend their last year of HS and your last year living full time in the same house miserable and they will get a lousy grade and perhaps lower grades in other courses, you/they have to ask yourselves whether it's really worth them being miserable just to increase -- but in no way ensure -- their chances of getting into one or more schools.

Agree. OP could consider enrolling in AP spanish and dropping one of the soft options(AP stat or Compsci). CompsciA can be self taught, is not considered core anyway--it is an elective--and AP Stat is taken in 9th or 10th as a second math by the top math kids at some schools. It is much easier than precal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child wants to take 6 AP classes next year and not do a 7th class. The 6 AP classes will be very rigorous and my child will double up on math. However my child does not want to take a language and also doesn't want to take a filler class so that the child can work on extracurriculars and schoolwork.

Thoughts on this? I'd say this kid had a good shot at T20 schools so I don't want this to mess things up. On the flip side applications are basically a full time class....

If he is truly the caliber for T20, he will want to put in the work for a hard course in his academically weaker area. Multiple ivies/T20 admin officers say exactly that on tour days: they want to see students have challenged themselves in all core areas, even the areas they do not like. True top kids thrive on challenge! Schools want to see that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most top 20 schools want to see 4 years of language

This.

And UVA is not t20 nationally, but is very clear they want FL all 4 years of HS. It is pretty commonly sought by admissions officers.

Not true. No one can ever find the alleged quote that proves this about UVA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most top 20 schools want to see 4 years of language

This.

And UVA is not t20 nationally, but is very clear they want FL all 4 years of HS. It is pretty commonly sought by admissions officers.

Not true. No one can ever find the alleged quote that proves this about UVA

Dean J spoke at a college night on a panel at James Madison HS and directly said that they consider FL to be a core course and they prefer four years in HS of all core courses as long as it’s offered.