My senior is taking 7 AP classes and will graduate with 17 total

[Anonymous]

7 APs is ridiculous. Hopefully DC gets into an ivy and when that happens you will out that DC won't get any additional credit for all that grief. They no longer give credits for APs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the parents here can't deal with kids who have a lot of drive and a lot of things that their hothouse flower doesn't have on their resume. They are the same ones who try to convince people here that their high scoring kids "will never" make it into XYZ ivy. I have news for you, 10+ Aps is getting more and more common and these kids are your kids competition.

True. My kid had 20 APs and post APs in four years of high school. 10-14 APs are common in the Northern Virginia area.

Good for you. Here, have a cookie.

I've seen what this does to many kids. We can stop this madness.

And some kids are fine. I didn't find AP coursework to be particularly challenging. You figure out what works best for your child and let others live the way they want to.

Well clearly, the kid discussed in the OP is NOT fine.

+1 allowing your child to put his/her health at serious risk for ...what exactly? is just plain irresponsible parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is she getting 4 & 5s on all of the tests, or just taking classes to pump up the weighted GPA?

90% of kids skip or bomb the exams. It's become such pointless d*ck measuring contest. If your kid doesn't have a 95-percentile SAT/ACT score you are wasting their time with all these APs.

You are talking about your kid. Don't project on to other smarter kids.

Good luck with your striving. Try writing your kids app essays too. Maybe they're get into your dream school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the parents here can't deal with kids who have a lot of drive and a lot of things that their hothouse flower doesn't have on their resume. They are the same ones who try to convince people here that their high scoring kids "will never" make it into XYZ ivy. I have news for you, 10+ Aps is getting more and more common and these kids are your kids competition.

True. My kid had 20 APs and post APs in four years of high school. 10-14 APs are common in the Northern Virginia area.

Good for you. Here, have a cookie.

I've seen what this does to many kids. We can stop this madness.

This is a madness only if it is forced on the kid. No one is forcing this and each student should choose what is appropriate for him or her in consultation with a counselor. There may be some indirect pressure from other kids but there are also pressures to wear the latest clothing, drive nice cars, regarding alcohol or drugs etc. Wanting to take 7 APs/year is better than taking alcohol. drug, partying excessively, bullying etc. What about obsession with sports?

Academics or wanting to study seem to be the one that is usually singled out for mockery which is weird when discussing students.

I'm the one you quote and just FYI, I'm not a sports nut. In fact, my kids don't play organized sports. My child is very academic, but interested in actually digging into subjects. No interest in the AP skimming the mile wide surface to learn for a test. I'm not mocking academics or learning. I'm mocking the arms race. I've seen (and my child has told me about) many kids forced. My child knows kids that are abused by their parents over academics, kids that are told they "shamed the family" because they didn't make certain academic milestones, etc. The struggle is real for some of these kids and this insane focus on APs, which only benefits the College Board, isn't helping it any. I'd rather have a live kid at a lesser college than an "Ivy-bound" kid who steps in front of a train -- and that happens where we live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a senior, what's the point? She won't have AP scores to share until next summer and apps go out before semester grades go on transcript.

If I worked in admissions, I'd think kids like this are soulless grinds who would add nothing to the campus vibe.

She should have taken it as a Junior. Unless she is in an IB program and is taking the AP exams for all the IB exams that she is taking in Senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay that's ridiculous. And I have a kid at TJ, so I have an incredibly high threshold for iridiculous.

My kid graduated from TJ recently and there are good number of TJ students graduating with 15-18 APs and post APs.

That's BS, and there is no way your kid graduated from TJ recently, or you would understand that that is not how the curriculum works. TJ teaches a lot of classes at the AP level, but does not offer the class as an AP (Foundations of CS, 10th grade world history, Geosystems, Physics 1, Research Stats), And it adds in a lot of extra requirements to graduate that are not offered as APs-- research stats, CS, design tech, senior lab and pre-recs, Geosystems. TJ kids average 7 APs/post APs. Some do more. Some do fewer. But, assuming you truly max out what is possible given the graduation requirements (start in Calc freshman year, and place out of Foundations CS, and place into language 3, and take 3 years of summer school and take EPF as an 8th class) you can theoretically hit 16:

Summer before 9th: Research Stats
Freshman: 2 APs (Calc and AP CS because you placed out of Foundations). Plus IBET, PE, and Language 3. AND EPF as an 8th class
Summer: Chemistry
Sophomore: 4 (post Calc math, Chem or Bio, AP foreign Language, and one more), plus Humanities (2), and PE
Summer: 4th history (cannot be AP)
Junior: 5 (Post Calc math, AP Physics, APUSH and 2 more). Plus English and one Lab Pre-Rec
Senior: 4 (English, Government, post-Calc Math, and two more). Plus Geosystems and Senior Lab.

But, less than 10% of the freshman class goes into Calculus, FCPS kids only comes in with one year of MS language and start over or take Language II, and this only works on some tracks, because any of the engineering or tech tracks do not have APs or post AP (unlike CS, which does). It would shock me if more than a handful of kids a year hit 15. And those would be some miserable kids. I don't care how much you love to learn. The day only has so many hours, and everyone needs to sleep.

In real life, most kids take no APs in 9th, 1-2 APs in 10th (most kids I know have 1, unless they are in Calc. The kids in band and orchestra have none), 3-4 in 11th and 3ish in 12th. Again, the school says the average is 7.

The student you said didn't graduate from TJ recently:

9th: HN English, Math, Bio, D&T, FL3, PE, Elective
10th: HN English, HN World History, AP Calc BC, HN Chem, AP FL, AP CS, PE
11th: HN English, APUSH, AP Macro, AP Micro, Multivar (Post AP), Matrix Algebra (Post AP), AI 1 (Post AP), AI 2 (Post AP), DNA Science 1, DNA Science 2, AP Chem, AP Physics C
12th: AP Gov, AP English, Complex Analysis (Post AP), Differential Equation (Post AP), Geosystems, Parallel Computing 1 (Post AP), Organic Chem (Post AP), Social Science elective, Research Lab

AP = 10
Post AP = 8
AP and Post APs = 18. (Without summer schools).

There are many kids (15-20%) at TJ that have similarly rigorous schedules like the above (utilizing summer schools before 9th, before 10th and before 11th) so yes, the student you were certain did not exist does exist and there are many more.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay that's ridiculous. And I have a kid at TJ, so I have an incredibly high threshold for iridiculous.

My kid graduated from TJ recently and there are good number of TJ students graduating with 15-18 APs and post APs.

That's BS, and there is no way your kid graduated from TJ recently, or you would understand that that is not how the curriculum works. TJ teaches a lot of classes at the AP level, but does not offer the class as an AP (Foundations of CS, 10th grade world history, Geosystems, Physics 1, Research Stats), And it adds in a lot of extra requirements to graduate that are not offered as APs-- research stats, CS, design tech, senior lab and pre-recs, Geosystems. TJ kids average 7 APs/post APs. Some do more. Some do fewer. But, assuming you truly max out what is possible given the graduation requirements (start in Calc freshman year, and place out of Foundations CS, and place into language 3, and take 3 years of summer school and take EPF as an 8th class) you can theoretically hit 16:

Summer before 9th: Research Stats
Freshman: 2 APs (Calc and AP CS because you placed out of Foundations). Plus IBET, PE, and Language 3. AND EPF as an 8th class
Summer: Chemistry
Sophomore: 4 (post Calc math, Chem or Bio, AP foreign Language, and one more), plus Humanities (2), and PE
Summer: 4th history (cannot be AP)
Junior: 5 (Post Calc math, AP Physics, APUSH and 2 more). Plus English and one Lab Pre-Rec
Senior: 4 (English, Government, post-Calc Math, and two more). Plus Geosystems and Senior Lab.

But, less than 10% of the freshman class goes into Calculus, FCPS kids only comes in with one year of MS language and start over or take Language II, and this only works on some tracks, because any of the engineering or tech tracks do not have APs or post AP (unlike CS, which does). It would shock me if more than a handful of kids a year hit 15. And those would be some miserable kids. I don't care how much you love to learn. The day only has so many hours, and everyone needs to sleep.

In real life, most kids take no APs in 9th, 1-2 APs in 10th (most kids I know have 1, unless they are in Calc. The kids in band and orchestra have none), 3-4 in 11th and 3ish in 12th. Again, the school says the average is 7.

The student you said didn't graduate from TJ recently:

9th: HN English, Math, Bio, D&T, FL3, PE, Elective
10th: HN English, HN World History, AP Calc BC, HN Chem, AP FL, AP CS, PE
11th: HN English, APUSH, AP Macro, AP Micro, Multivar (Post AP), Matrix Algebra (Post AP), AI 1 (Post AP), AI 2 (Post AP), DNA Science 1, DNA Science 2, AP Chem, AP Physics C
12th: AP Gov, AP English, Complex Analysis (Post AP), Differential Equation (Post AP), Geosystems, Parallel Computing 1 (Post AP), Organic Chem (Post AP), Social Science elective, Research Lab

AP = 10
Post AP = 8
AP and Post APs = 18. (Without summer schools).

There are many kids (15-20%) at TJ that have similarly rigorous schedules like the above (utilizing summer schools before 9th, before 10th and before 11th) so yes, the student you were certain did not exist does exist and there are many more.

You're counting APs and Post APs by semester, not years. Sure. If you count AP Micro/Marco as 2 instead of 1, and A1/2 as 2 instead of one year, and DNA science 1/2 as 2, and multivariable/linear as 2, and senior year math as 2, etc. you can get to 18. But normal people count high school classes by the year. And yes, it looks like a "normal" TJ load. Although a bit strange, because it looks like a CS track, but then DNA 1/2 without the AP Bio pre-rec? That's random.

You certainly seem like a real TJ parent if you are double counting APs and post APs so you can prove your kid took more APs than the base school OP's kid. Here's a hint: your kid learned the same amount of material, even if AP macro/micro is counted as one AP and not 2.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay that's ridiculous. And I have a kid at TJ, so I have an incredibly high threshold for iridiculous.

My kid graduated from TJ recently and there are good number of TJ students graduating with 15-18 APs and post APs.

That's BS, and there is no way your kid graduated from TJ recently, or you would understand that that is not how the curriculum works. TJ teaches a lot of classes at the AP level, but does not offer the class as an AP (Foundations of CS, 10th grade world history, Geosystems, Physics 1, Research Stats), And it adds in a lot of extra requirements to graduate that are not offered as APs-- research stats, CS, design tech, senior lab and pre-recs, Geosystems. TJ kids average 7 APs/post APs. Some do more. Some do fewer. But, assuming you truly max out what is possible given the graduation requirements (start in Calc freshman year, and place out of Foundations CS, and place into language 3, and take 3 years of summer school and take EPF as an 8th class) you can theoretically hit 16:

Summer before 9th: Research Stats
Freshman: 2 APs (Calc and AP CS because you placed out of Foundations). Plus IBET, PE, and Language 3. AND EPF as an 8th class
Summer: Chemistry
Sophomore: 4 (post Calc math, Chem or Bio, AP foreign Language, and one more), plus Humanities (2), and PE
Summer: 4th history (cannot be AP)
Junior: 5 (Post Calc math, AP Physics, APUSH and 2 more). Plus English and one Lab Pre-Rec
Senior: 4 (English, Government, post-Calc Math, and two more). Plus Geosystems and Senior Lab.

But, less than 10% of the freshman class goes into Calculus, FCPS kids only comes in with one year of MS language and start over or take Language II, and this only works on some tracks, because any of the engineering or tech tracks do not have APs or post AP (unlike CS, which does). It would shock me if more than a handful of kids a year hit 15. And those would be some miserable kids. I don't care how much you love to learn. The day only has so many hours, and everyone needs to sleep.

In real life, most kids take no APs in 9th, 1-2 APs in 10th (most kids I know have 1, unless they are in Calc. The kids in band and orchestra have none), 3-4 in 11th and 3ish in 12th. Again, the school says the average is 7.

The student you said didn't graduate from TJ recently:

9th: HN English, Math, Bio, D&T, FL3, PE, Elective
10th: HN English, HN World History, AP Calc BC, HN Chem, AP FL, AP CS, PE
11th: HN English, APUSH, AP Macro, AP Micro, Multivar (Post AP), Matrix Algebra (Post AP), AI 1 (Post AP), AI 2 (Post AP), DNA Science 1, DNA Science 2, AP Chem, AP Physics C
12th: AP Gov, AP English, Complex Analysis (Post AP), Differential Equation (Post AP), Geosystems, Parallel Computing 1 (Post AP), Organic Chem (Post AP), Social Science elective, Research Lab

AP = 10
Post AP = 8
AP and Post APs = 18. (Without summer schools).

There are many kids (15-20%) at TJ that have similarly rigorous schedules like the above (utilizing summer schools before 9th, before 10th and before 11th) so yes, the student you were certain did not exist does exist and there are many more.

You're counting APs and Post APs by semester, not years. Sure. If you count AP Micro/Marco as 2 instead of 1, and A1/2 as 2 instead of one year, and DNA science 1/2 as 2, and multivariable/linear as 2, and senior year math as 2, etc. you can get to 18. But normal people count high school classes by the year. And yes, it looks like a "normal" TJ load. Although a bit strange, because it looks like a CS track, but then DNA 1/2 without the AP Bio pre-rec? That's random.

You certainly seem like a real TJ parent if you are double counting APs and post APs so you can prove your kid took more APs than the base school OP's kid. Here's a hint: your kid learned the same amount of material, even if AP macro/micro is counted as one AP and not 2.

You count AP Micro/Marco as 2 instead of 1
The kid took AP exam after each course and College Board treats them separately.
AI 1/2 as 2
Those courses are treated as separate courses by TJ.
DNA science 1/2 as 2
DNA Science 1 and 2 are not counted as post APs since they are not designated as post APs by TJ.
multivariable/linear as 2
Those courses are treated as separate courses by TJ.
senior year math as 2
Complex Variables and Differential Equation are treated as separate courses by TJ.

a bit strange, because it looks like a CS track, but then DNA 1/2 without the AP Bio pre-rec? That's random.
Not random. Both CS and Biotech combined track.

You certainly seem like a real TJ parent if you are double counting APs and post APs so you can prove your kid took more APs than the base school OP's kid.
I am not double counting to prove my kid took more APs than the base school PP's kid. I am merely pointing out that there are quite a few TJ kids graduating with 15-18 AP and post APs which is certainly possible with 3 summer schools. 14 to 18 (depending on how one counts) is certainly possible even without summer schools.
In fact, even if you combined separate courses, that would make the count 14. 14 could easily become 16 or 17 if 3 summers were used and that is what I said originally ("there are good number of TJ students graduating with 15-18 APs and post APs"). You said that was BS and I was lying.

[Anonymous]

^ you need to get a life. Your own life...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ you need to get a life. Your own life...

Perhaps you should stop pretending like you are an expert at something when you are not...
and stop calling people BS artist/liar when you lack the requisite facts or knowledge...

[Anonymous]

Okay, so I guess we have all learned that you can claim extra bragging rights if your kid take a year of AP Econ vs a year of AP Calculus, because 2 APs for the price of one!

I think that I have made the point that OP is crazy. And that I have a high threshold for crazy, because my kid goes to TJ, where parents like PP are very invested in multivariable and linear being counted as separate classes for the purpose of determining their kid's AP "score".

Gads.this, right here, is why sites like TJ Vents are so d*mn sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^ you need to get a life. Your own life...

Perhaps you should stop pretending like you are an expert at something when you are not...
and stop calling people BS artist/liar when you lack the requisite facts or knowledge...

You're insulting a different poster...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so I guess we have all learned that you can claim extra bragging rights if your kid take a year of AP Econ vs a year of AP Calculus, because 2 APs for the price of one!

I think that I have made the point that OP is crazy. And that I have a high threshold for crazy, because my kid goes to TJ, where parents like PP are very invested in multivariable and linear being counted as separate classes for the purpose of determining their kid's AP "score".

Gads.this, right here, is why sites like TJ Vents are so d*mn sad.

Any attempt at constructive discussion inevitably turns into name calling and sarcastic attacks. That is why sites like this are so d*amn sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay, so I guess we have all learned that you can claim extra bragging rights if your kid take a year of AP Econ vs a year of AP Calculus, because 2 APs for the price of one!

I think that I have made the point that OP is crazy. And that I have a high threshold for crazy, because my kid goes to TJ, where parents like PP are very invested in multivariable and linear being counted as separate classes for the purpose of determining their kid's AP "score".

Gads.this, right here, is why sites like TJ Vents are so d*mn sad.

Any attempt at constructive discussion inevitably turns into name calling and sarcastic attacks. That is why sites like this are so d*amn sad.

Your kid take a year of science. How is debating whether that "counts" as one or two APs when humble bragging about how many APs your kid is taking a constructive discussion? It's part of a race to nowhere that is not good for anyone. Your kid took a year of AP or higher science. Hopefully because they like science and not because you want them to get get credit for 2 APs in one year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Okay that's ridiculous. And I have a kid at TJ, so I have an incredibly high threshold for iridiculous.

My kid graduated from TJ recently and there are good number of TJ students graduating with 15-18 APs and post APs.

That's BS, and there is no way your kid graduated from TJ recently, or you would understand that that is not how the curriculum works. TJ teaches a lot of classes at the AP level, but does not offer the class as an AP (Foundations of CS, 10th grade world history, Geosystems, Physics 1, Research Stats), And it adds in a lot of extra requirements to graduate that are not offered as APs-- research stats, CS, design tech, senior lab and pre-recs, Geosystems. TJ kids average 7 APs/post APs. Some do more. Some do fewer. But, assuming you truly max out what is possible given the graduation requirements (start in Calc freshman year, and place out of Foundations CS, and place into language 3, and take 3 years of summer school and take EPF as an 8th class) you can theoretically hit 16:

Summer before 9th: Research Stats
Freshman: 2 APs (Calc and AP CS because you placed out of Foundations). Plus IBET, PE, and Language 3. AND EPF as an 8th class
Summer: Chemistry
Sophomore: 4 (post Calc math, Chem or Bio, AP foreign Language, and one more), plus Humanities (2), and PE
Summer: 4th history (cannot be AP)
Junior: 5 (Post Calc math, AP Physics, APUSH and 2 more). Plus English and one Lab Pre-Rec
Senior: 4 (English, Government, post-Calc Math, and two more). Plus Geosystems and Senior Lab.

But, less than 10% of the freshman class goes into Calculus, FCPS kids only comes in with one year of MS language and start over or take Language II, and this only works on some tracks, because any of the engineering or tech tracks do not have APs or post AP (unlike CS, which does). It would shock me if more than a handful of kids a year hit 15. And those would be some miserable kids. I don't care how much you love to learn. The day only has so many hours, and everyone needs to sleep.

In real life, most kids take no APs in 9th, 1-2 APs in 10th (most kids I know have 1, unless they are in Calc. The kids in band and orchestra have none), 3-4 in 11th and 3ish in 12th. Again, the school says the average is 7.

Yawn. That you've put this much thought into the classes that anyone other than your own child takes is telling.