# of AP courses total?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where it gets tricky is the lack of transparency. We’re in FCPS. My DS is signed up for 4 APs jr year next year. He’d prefer to take 2-3, but it’s not that he. Any handle or succeed in the 4, just that he’d prefer not to be overwhelmed with work, which I think is very fair, but he’d really like to know how that impacts his college chances and it’s frustratingly unclear.

My non-motivated DC at an FCPS school is signed up for 3 in Jr. year. He could do 4 but decided not to for the same reasons as your kid.. not to be overwhelmed. He's not even thinking about college yet. Do FCPS counselors provide that kind of advice? College chances for kids based on their course selection? During 10th grade?

Choosing how many APs to take based on which college you want to go to makes no sense! You should choose how many to take based on your ability to handle the load and your motivation. Otherwise you're very likely to end up really stressed out and getting grades that will keep you from achieving the goals that led you to take all those APs in the first place.

I’m the one that posted about it not being transparent, the thing is you don’t want to rule out colleges unnecessarily. The counselors really stress balance and only taking APs in courses that the kid is really interested in but that may not ultimately be what the kid wants to do. I have a motivated 10th grader, but he likes balance in his life - which is great - and he doesn’t love English so he’s prefer not to take AP English, however he’d probably do just fine in the class, B plus or above. If someone told him, you are seriously hurting your chances of schools you are interested in (I’m talking schools ranked 20-50, not Ivies) he’d like to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just stop the madness! The amount of pressure on today’s teenagers is absurd.

Society is becoming more stratified as the middle class shrinks, so we all think we need to grab the last remaining seat on the lifeboat to prosperity. There are many different paths to success if you’re willing to think outside the box. Today’s world is not the same as that of your parents or grandparents.

Personally, I hope my kid goes into the trades. As an electrician, or HVAC mechanic, or plumber, he can make more than many college grads. College can happen later in life (or not at all). Those kinds of jobs can’t be outsourced.

Does your kid have the talent to do that kind of work? I have a Bachelors degree in a STEM subject as well as two Masters, and I can't fix a damn thing around the house so have doubts that I could hack it in a trade job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a W school?

There is a cluster of high schools in NW DC/Montgomery County, MD that have “W’s” in the name.

Woodrow Wilson
Winston Churchill
Walt Whitman
Walter Johnson
Wootten

Are all these W schools like a Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Tech in Virginia?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a W school?

There is a cluster of high schools in NW DC/Montgomery County, MD that have “W’s” in the name.

Woodrow Wilson
Winston Churchill
Walt Whitman
Walter Johnson
Wootten

Are all these W schools like a Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Tech in Virginia?

They are not. Just regular public school not magnet school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a W school?

There is a cluster of high schools in NW DC/Montgomery County, MD that have “W’s” in the name.

Woodrow Wilson
Winston Churchill
Walt Whitman
Walter Johnson
Wootten

Are all these W schools like a Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Tech in Virginia?

No. They are just wealthy suburban schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just stop the madness
! The amount of pressure on today’s teenagers is absurd.

Society is becoming more stratified as the middle class shrinks, so we all think we need to grab the last remaining seat on the lifeboat to prosperity. There are many different paths to success if you’re willing to think outside the box. Today’s world is not the same as that of your parents or grandparents.

Personally, I hope my kid goes into the trades. As an electrician, or HVAC mechanic, or plumber, he can make more than many college grads. College can happen later in life (or not at all). Those kinds of jobs can’t be outsourced.

Does your kid have the talent to do that kind of work? I have a Bachelors degree in a STEM subject as well as two Masters, and I can't fix a damn thing around the house so have doubts that I could hack it in a trade job.

Actually, he helps fix things around the house like replacing our front porch light, assembling IKEA furniture, figuring out how things work, etc. He’s very bright and takes honors classes but struggles with grades due to ADHD/ASD. Everyone at his HS is focused on college as the only acceptable post-HS option, and that stinks. It makes so many kids feel like crap if they a. can’t afford it, b. aren’t mature enough to “go away” to college, or c. would rather work or join the military to decide what they want to study. High Schools ignore this population and I hate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is at a top high school in the area and the counselor highly advises kids against taking AP courses. I feel like they are set kids up for failure.

Well counselor is setting kid up for failure because she’s kid’s course rigor is being compared to kids who did take APs.

It is not “failure”.

Let’s normalize teen years without mental breakdowns. F the hyper-competitive high school culture. 2-3 APs late in high school is enough to prove college readiness. Stop the insanity.

+1
I suspect PP is at private school. My sophomore hasn't taken any APs, plans 2 for next year and will likely graduate with 4-5 total. This is typical at our private school.

Is this the same at other DC private schools? For instance the "Big 3" or similar, which are phasing out AP courses? Do students typically take AP exams nonetheless at those schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is at a top high school in the area and the counselor highly advises kids against taking AP courses. I feel like they are set kids up for failure.

Well counselor is setting kid up for failure because she’s kid’s course rigor is being compared to kids who did take APs.

It is not “failure”.

Let’s normalize teen years without mental breakdowns. F the hyper-competitive high school culture. 2-3 APs late in high school is enough to prove college readiness. Stop the insanity.

+1
I suspect PP is at private school. My sophomore hasn't taken any APs, plans 2 for next year and will likely graduate with 4-5 total. This is typical at our private school.

Is this the same at other DC private schools? For instance the "Big 3" or similar, which are phasing out AP courses? Do students typically take AP exams nonetheless at those schools?

My DC at big 3 and will have taken 7 AP exams by senior year. Just because classes are phased out, doesn’t mean kids don’t take them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is a W school?

There is a cluster of high schools in NW DC/Montgomery County, MD that have “W’s” in the name.

Woodrow Wilson
Winston Churchill
Walt Whitman
Walter Johnson
Wootten

Are all these W schools like a Thomas Jefferson HS for Science and Tech in Virginia?

No. They are just wealthy suburban schools.

This. They are like Langley or McLean. Highly resourced schools with highly resourced parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is at a top high school in the area and the counselor highly advises kids against taking AP courses. I feel like they are set kids up for failure.

Well counselor is setting kid up for failure because she’s kid’s course rigor is being compared to kids who did take APs.

It is not “failure”.

Let’s normalize teen years without mental breakdowns. F the hyper-competitive high school culture. 2-3 APs late in high school is enough to prove college readiness. Stop the insanity.

+1
I suspect PP is at private school. My sophomore hasn't taken any APs, plans 2 for next year and will likely graduate with 4-5 total. This is typical at our private school.

Is this the same at other DC private schools? For instance the "Big 3" or similar, which are phasing out AP courses? Do students typically take AP exams nonetheless at those schools?

My kids go to a competitive private in another state that has already phased out APs. Some kids take the AP tests. Many are planning to go to Ivy or SLAC, which generally don’t take AP credits anyway, so sometimes it is not worth sitting for the exam. The regional reps know the school and the rigor of the higher level classes, so it has not been an issue for any student I have heard about from my 2 kids. We know one who went to school in the UK, so she must have taken APs for SAT subject tests or something. Not sure. The classes are still rigorous. They are just not AP branded and it seems to be less of an arms race (but the arms race part is my perception).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is at a top high school in the area and the counselor highly advises kids against taking AP courses. I feel like they are set kids up for failure.

Well counselor is setting kid up for failure because she’s kid’s course rigor is being compared to kids who did take APs.

It is not “failure”.

Let’s normalize teen years without mental breakdowns. F the hyper-competitive high school culture. 2-3 APs late in high school is enough to prove college readiness. Stop the insanity.

+1
I suspect PP is at private school. My sophomore hasn't taken any APs, plans 2 for next year and will likely graduate with 4-5 total. This is typical at our private school.

Is this the same at other DC private schools? For instance the "Big 3" or similar, which are phasing out AP courses? Do students typically take AP exams nonetheless at those schools?

My DC at big 3 and will have taken 7 AP exams by senior year. Just because classes are phased out, doesn’t mean kids don’t take them.

Many schools are phasing them out such that current sophomores will not have any AP courses on their transcripts, but 2022/23 grads will. Sitting for the test is certainly an option for these students as well. There was a lengthy thread about it recently, in the private school forum I believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is at a top high school in the area and the counselor highly advises kids against taking AP courses. I feel like they are set kids up for failure.

Well counselor is setting kid up for failure because she’s kid’s course rigor is being compared to kids who did take APs.

It is not “failure”.

Let’s normalize teen years without mental breakdowns. F the hyper-competitive high school culture. 2-3 APs late in high school is enough to prove college readiness. Stop the insanity.

+1
I suspect PP is at private school. My sophomore hasn't taken any APs, plans 2 for next year and will likely graduate with 4-5 total. This is typical at our private school.

Is this the same at other DC private schools? For instance the "Big 3" or similar, which are phasing out AP courses? Do students typically take AP exams nonetheless at those schools?

My kids go to a competitive private in another state that has already phased out APs. Some kids take the AP tests. Many are planning to go to Ivy or SLAC, which generally don’t take AP credits anyway, so sometimes it is not worth sitting for the exam. The regional reps know the school and the rigor of the higher level classes, so it has not been an issue for any student I have heard about from my 2 kids. We know one who went to school in the UK, so she must have taken APs for SAT subject tests or something. Not sure. The classes are still rigorous. They are just not AP branded and it seems to be less of an arms race (but the arms race part is my perception).

Do they only offer one type of classes, so no honor or different levels of difficulty?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My sophomore is at a top high school in the area and the counselor highly advises kids against taking AP courses. I feel like they are set kids up for failure.

Well counselor is setting kid up for failure because she’s kid’s course rigor is being compared to kids who did take APs.

It is not “failure”.

Let’s normalize teen years without mental breakdowns. F the hyper-competitive high school culture. 2-3 APs late in high school is enough to prove college readiness. Stop the insanity.

+10. Agree. It’s insane already.

[Anonymous]

10 APs, but macro/micro Econ and us gov/comp gov were 1 semester classes.

10: AP World
11: APUSH, AP Lang, AP HUG
12: AP Macro/Micro, AP US Gov/AP Comp Gov, AP Lit, AP Latin (plus year 3 of a second foreign language, standard Calc, chamber orchestra)

No AP STEM and no 4th science.

34 ACT (36 Verbal, 32.5 STEM)

Headed to WM in the fall for IR and a critical language.

I agree with your counselor. She took HN Bio, Chem and Physics. Math through Calc. And scored a high enough STEM ACT. She was “good enough” in STEM. And then she really went for her areas of strength.

She loved her junior and senior year classes. And the first time I’ve seen her overwhelmed by the AP load was this week when she has had to sit for 5 APs in 4 days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:10 APs, but macro/micro Econ and us gov/comp gov were 1 semester classes.

10: AP World
11: APUSH, AP Lang, AP HUG
12: AP Macro/Micro, AP US Gov/AP Comp Gov, AP Lit, AP Latin (plus year 3 of a second foreign language, standard Calc, chamber orchestra)

No AP STEM and no 4th science.

34 ACT (36 Verbal, 32.5 STEM)

Headed to WM in the fall for IR and a critical language.

I agree with your counselor. She took HN Bio, Chem and Physics. Math through Calc. And scored a high enough STEM ACT. She was “good enough” in STEM. And then she really went for her areas of strength.


+10 Congrats to your daughter. And to you! That's wonderful. (I am the OP)

She loved her junior and senior year classes. And the first time I’ve seen her overwhelmed by the AP load was this week when she has had to sit for 5 APs in 4 days.