2021 AAP Admissions Thread

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:It’s humorous that you AAP parents keep fighting the fact that the pool of applicants was smaller this year. Cant you just be grateful your kid got in? Why do you need to believe this was a highly competitive year? It wasn’t.

Ok lady! You do not need to tell people how to feel. Competitive year or not is not for you to decide.

Ok, I’ll stop.

Smaller pool (which is debatable) is not the same thing as “the smart kids left,” and I have not seen anyone claim it was a highly competitive year.

Word. Some random lady came in the thread and started trying to convince everyone it was an easy year for AAP. Even though nobody ever said it was hard year, normal year, or really made any comment on it. Then when people started disputing her random claims she decides to reframe it as "all you parents were trying to convince yourselves it was competitive." Uh, no we didn't say anything about that.

Do you think there were more kids applying, or less kids applying. Keep in mind - 10,000 less kids in the school system.

If you're the same person that keeps posting over and over again repeatedly about how this was an easy year and we should all be thankful... you clearly need some help bc you sound miserable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s humorous that you AAP parents keep fighting the fact that the pool of applicants was smaller this year. Cant you just be grateful your kid got in? Why do you need to believe this was a highly competitive year? It wasn’t.

Why does it bother you so much that we're not accepting your BS? You are posting this over and over again on different days. Did you not get accepted during this "easy" year? Tell us your story... please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

My 140s WISC child was leagues beyond his AAP classmates and got nothing at all out of the program, despite being skipped ahead in math. He's in a much more rigorous school now, and he's much happier. I'd strongly consider the private school or at least supplement with AoPS, where he'll learn 10x as much as he would have in FCPS AAP.

What schools handle 140's FSIQ children well?

The old FCPS GT program did, before it was watered down with a bunch of above average kids. Aside from that, any rigorous private will serve the 140+ IQ kids better than FCPS for elementary school and potentially middle school.

Totally agree with this.

[Anonymous]

From where WISC exam can be get it done for 2nd grader?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From where WISC exam can be get it done for 2nd grader?

At George Mason

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From where WISC exam can be get it done for 2nd grader?

At George Mason

Thank you...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s humorous that you AAP parents keep fighting the fact that the pool of applicants was smaller this year. Cant you just be grateful your kid got in? Why do you need to believe this was a highly competitive year? It wasn’t.

Ok lady! You do not need to tell people how to feel. Competitive year or not is not for you to decide.

Ok, I’ll stop.

Smaller pool (which is debatable) is not the same thing as “the smart kids left,” and I have not seen anyone claim it was a highly competitive year.

Word. Some random lady came in the thread and started trying to convince everyone it was an easy year for AAP. Even though nobody ever said it was hard year, normal year, or really made any comment on it. Then when people started disputing her random claims she decides to reframe it as "all you parents were trying to convince yourselves it was competitive." Uh, no we didn't say anything about that.

Do you think there were more kids applying, or less kids applying. Keep in mind - 10,000 less kids in the school system.

If you're the same person that keeps posting over and over again repeatedly about how this was an easy year and we should all be thankful... you clearly need some help bc you sound miserable.

Aside from the fact that PP doesn’t know when to use “less” v. “fewer.”

Keep trying to make the point if it makes you feel better, though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

All 4s on progress report does not indicate advanced learning in any way. 4 means child has learned material in an appropriate timeframe. That would be an expectation for all kids to do this. 4s can also mean child has support, small groups, remediation to learn standards. It doesn’t equate to As or a grade point average.

My child was admitted. His report card is mostly 3s, with some 4s, and even some 2s.

There is no standard meaning for all 4s on a report card. My kids have often had mostly 3s on the first quarter report cards, despite getting perfect scores on every assessment. Then, the scores would magically increase throughout the year and be all 4s in the final report card. Some teachers like to lowball the 1Q and 2Q grades, so they can "show progress."

This doesn’t seem quite right. Each quarter the progress report categories are reflecting different standards. Each quarter has standard alignments. So each quarter doesn’t necessarily build upon the same standards but completely different standards. Ask your child’s teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one piece of the admissions puzzle everyone is missing here is the fact that the committee wants to see how/why your child "Needs" to be in AAP. My understanding is many parents write narratives that only talk about how great their kid is. They want to know why you child will not do as well if they stay in general education. Perhaps some of the children with lower test scores have parents who wrote referrals clearly explaining this -- with concrete examples. It's not just all about high performance, it's also about justifying *why* your kid needs AAP to succeed.

I agree 100%. People seem to view the application as something that will be viewed objectively, rather than as something that a person with human feelings will read and be persuaded one way or the other by intangibles in the application. The whole thing is ridiculous, because acceptance is more about whether the parent knows how to present his/her child well and less about the child's actual merits. When I first applied for my oldest, I made the mistake of thinking that it was mostly about the scores, so I presented my child as a smart, good student rather than presenting her as a child who "needs AAP." She was rejected with a 97th percentile CogAT, 15 GBRS, and LII in math and language arts since K.

When I had to appeal for my DD, the AART gave me a lot of advice on what to include and what not to include in the letter. These were things like DON'T: Try to prove that your kid is smart, suggest your kid is bored in regular classes, suggest that the AAP committee or your child's teachers made a mistake, criticize anything about the process, compare your child to anyone else who got in. DO: Give concrete examples of how your child is being held back or denied opportunities in gen ed that your child needs, Give specific examples of why your child would thrive in AAP. My kid got in on appeals, so the advice must have been decent.

I'm betting that a decent number of the mystery rejections are from parents who are doing things on the "Don't do" list. The AART seemed to suggest that saying your kid is bored in school, coming across as arrogant or presumptive, or in any way criticizing your kid's teachers or the AAP process would irritate the reviewers and lead to almost certain rejection.

Oops, I did not get this advice and I included in my parent sheet "[Child] has been saying that second grade is boring." She still got accepted. Not saying it's a good idea to include that, but it's not an auto-reject... probably depends on what reviewer you get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one piece of the admissions puzzle everyone is missing here is the fact that the committee wants to see how/why your child "Needs" to be in AAP. My understanding is many parents write narratives that only talk about how great their kid is. They want to know why you child will not do as well if they stay in general education. Perhaps some of the children with lower test scores have parents who wrote referrals clearly explaining this -- with concrete examples. It's not just all about high performance, it's also about justifying *why* your kid needs AAP to succeed.

I agree 100%. People seem to view the application as something that will be viewed objectively, rather than as something that a person with human feelings will read and be persuaded one way or the other by intangibles in the application. The whole thing is ridiculous, because acceptance is more about whether the parent knows how to present his/her child well and less about the child's actual merits. When I first applied for my oldest, I made the mistake of thinking that it was mostly about the scores, so I presented my child as a smart, good student rather than presenting her as a child who "needs AAP." She was rejected with a 97th percentile CogAT, 15 GBRS, and LII in math and language arts since K.

When I had to appeal for my DD, the AART gave me a lot of advice on what to include and what not to include in the letter. These were things like DON'T: Try to prove that your kid is smart, suggest your kid is bored in regular classes, suggest that the AAP committee or your child's teachers made a mistake, criticize anything about the process, compare your child to anyone else who got in. DO: Give concrete examples of how your child is being held back or denied opportunities in gen ed that your child needs, Give specific examples of why your child would thrive in AAP. My kid got in on appeals, so the advice must have been decent.

I'm betting that a decent number of the mystery rejections are from parents who are doing things on the "Don't do" list. The AART seemed to suggest that saying your kid is bored in school, coming across as arrogant or presumptive, or in any way criticizing your kid's teachers or the AAP process would irritate the reviewers and lead to almost certain rejection.

Oops, I did not get this advice and I included in my parent sheet "[Child] has been saying that second grade is boring." She still got accepted. Not saying it's a good idea to include that, but it's not an auto-reject... probably depends on what reviewer you get.

Perhaps the reviewer read it more in the vein of "my child is bored and I am worried she is learning her love of learning and becoming depressed because of the lack of being challenged," rather than reading it as your kid just complaining second grade is too easy. There's nuance there, but it could definitely go either way. I was also ready to write about how bored my kid was, but then someone warned me against it and instead suggested I include information about how she needed AAP for her personality to blossom, etc. It worked for us. But also.. yeah, she's crazy bored in second grade LOL.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Apparently not in my son’s case. I am so disappointed in this process. I feel like he is a kid who would really flourish and do awesome in AAP, and he is not being given the chance despite having the scores, GBRS etc. Just the frickin’ NNAT when he was in first grade was 116. He was 6. He has matured and has learned how to focus SO much since then, thus the high test scores, grades and GBRS. But hmmm... even though he’s considered gifted according to the WISC, not enough for FCPS. This is why I am thinking about private school. But am wondering if it’s worth their investment in elementary or better to wait until Middle School. No idea.

PP here. The process is so much more random than most people realize. Your kid should have been an easy admission, and the whole thing makes no sense at all. I doubt the NNAT is the deciding factor, though. Either you're saying something in the parent referral that is alienating the panel members, or you have really bad luck and your kid landed on the "reject everyone" table both years. I bet your child's teacher and AART are baffled by the rejection, also.

My 140s WISC child was leagues beyond his AAP classmates and got nothing at all out of the program, despite being skipped ahead in math. He's in a much more rigorous school now, and he's much happier. I'd strongly consider the private school or at least supplement with AoPS, where he'll learn 10x as much as he would have in FCPS AAP.

First comment on this forum.
My daughter scored 136 WISC which is 99 percentile. We moved to FCPS last fall so she missed the previous test in 1st grade. Whatever they did this year (NNAT I think, done after we submitted parent referral with WISC), she scored really low, like 75 percentile. I didn’t worry too much since I always thought high WISC is a more professional, systematic evaluation. Apparently I was wrong. I don’t know if it’s worthwhile to appeal at this point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Apparently not in my son’s case. I am so disappointed in this process. I feel like he is a kid who would really flourish and do awesome in AAP, and he is not being given the chance despite having the scores, GBRS etc. Just the frickin’ NNAT when he was in first grade was 116. He was 6. He has matured and has learned how to focus SO much since then, thus the high test scores, grades and GBRS. But hmmm... even though he’s considered gifted according to the WISC, not enough for FCPS. This is why I am thinking about private school. But am wondering if it’s worth their investment in elementary or better to wait until Middle School. No idea.

PP here. The process is so much more random than most people realize. Your kid should have been an easy admission, and the whole thing makes no sense at all. I doubt the NNAT is the deciding factor, though. Either you're saying something in the parent referral that is alienating the panel members, or you have really bad luck and your kid landed on the "reject everyone" table both years. I bet your child's teacher and AART are baffled by the rejection, also.

My 140s WISC child was leagues beyond his AAP classmates and got nothing at all out of the program, despite being skipped ahead in math. He's in a much more rigorous school now, and he's much happier. I'd strongly consider the private school or at least supplement with AoPS, where he'll learn 10x as much as he would have in FCPS AAP.

First comment on this forum.
My daughter scored 136 WISC which is 99 percentile. We moved to FCPS last fall so she missed the previous test in 1st grade. Whatever they did this year (NNAT I think, done after we submitted parent referral with WISC), she scored really low, like 75 percentile. I didn’t worry too much since I always thought high WISC is a more professional, systematic evaluation. Apparently I was wrong. I don’t know if it’s worthwhile to appeal at this point.

There are other posters who will tell you that their 140+ or 135+ IQ DC is being well served by the AAP program (including my older DC, fwiw). I'm not sure I'd take that I'd take that post as gospel. Experiences vary.

In your shoes, I'd appeal. Also, realizing that this year has been so unusual, I'd also plan to reapply next fall, if the appeal doesn't succeed.

[Anonymous]

There are more realistic expectations in the "Is AAP a good fit for my kid" thread. Plenty of kids find the pace in AAP just right, even challenging. Kids are accepted into AAP who are stronger in LA then in math, parents report that the math is challenging but doable for their kids. I would guess that there are kids that are more math focused who find the LA component just right to challenging.

There are different expectations that I suspect are driven by cultural differences. The families that are fine with their kids taking Algebra in 8th grade, seem to be happy with the pace of AAP. They don't see Algebra honors in 7th grade as the goal. The parents who are 100% focused on Algebra in 7th tend to see the program as too slow and catering to kids who would be better served in Gen Ed. You don't see a lot of complaints about the LA components, outside of the normal complaints about the lack of grammar instruction in FCPS, most of the complaints are that math is too slow.

I do think that AAP should not be a guarantee and that there should be room to move kids who are struggling out of AAP because it is what is best for that child and the rest of the class. But I think that is only possible if there is an Advanced Language Arts and Advanced Math class. I don't think that Level III supports are enough. DS enjoys the pull out (we deferred) but 45-60 minutes once a week is not enough. He loves Advanced Math and I think a similar class for Language Arts would be ideal. That way kids who are strong in LA or Math would have an alternative to LIV. Kids strong in both would be invited into LIV.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think one piece of the admissions puzzle everyone is missing here is the fact that the committee wants to see how/why your child "Needs" to be in AAP. My understanding is many parents write narratives that only talk about how great their kid is. They want to know why you child will not do as well if they stay in general education. Perhaps some of the children with lower test scores have parents who wrote referrals clearly explaining this -- with concrete examples. It's not just all about high performance, it's also about justifying *why* your kid needs AAP to succeed.

I agree 100%. People seem to view the application as something that will be viewed objectively, rather than as something that a person with human feelings will read and be persuaded one way or the other by intangibles in the application. The whole thing is ridiculous, because acceptance is more about whether the parent knows how to present his/her child well and less about the child's actual merits. When I first applied for my oldest, I made the mistake of thinking that it was mostly about the scores, so I presented my child as a smart, good student rather than presenting her as a child who "needs AAP." She was rejected with a 97th percentile CogAT, 15 GBRS, and LII in math and language arts since K.

When I had to appeal for my DD, the AART gave me a lot of advice on what to include and what not to include in the letter. These were things like DON'T: Try to prove that your kid is smart, suggest your kid is bored in regular classes, suggest that the AAP committee or your child's teachers made a mistake, criticize anything about the process, compare your child to anyone else who got in. DO: Give concrete examples of how your child is being held back or denied opportunities in gen ed that your child needs, Give specific examples of why your child would thrive in AAP. My kid got in on appeals, so the advice must have been decent.

I'm betting that a decent number of the mystery rejections are from parents who are doing things on the "Don't do" list. The AART seemed to suggest that saying your kid is bored in school, coming across as arrogant or presumptive, or in any way criticizing your kid's teachers or the AAP process would irritate the reviewers and lead to almost certain rejection.

Isn't a 97% COGAT a relatively mediocre score compared to those in the AAP pool? Was it 97% local or national?

[Anonymous]

DS scored 141 on WISC. 145 Cogat and 135 on NNAT.