Can someone be honest? How many APs did your kid take privately?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

You can get in with top grades alone from the top privates because that in an of itself is a very unique distinction. Sometimes there is one kid in a graduating class with a 3.9 and everyone else falls below--many smart kids significantly below. It's not like public where everyone has a 4.0+. The top kids from these privates get into Ivies even without much more on their resumes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

You can get in with top grades alone from the top privates because that in an of itself is a very unique distinction. Sometimes there is one kid in a graduating class with a 3.9 and everyone else falls below--many smart kids significantly below. It's not like public where everyone has a 4.0+. The top kids from these privates get into Ivies even without much more on their resumes.

As other have noted, that plan works for a handful of kids. It's the rest of the class that has something to prove.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know that APs are not offered at any private schools but I hear all the time that students take them privately. My child wants to take 2-3 in total but a friend’s son took 7 AP exams privately (over 4 years of HS) and got into one of the HPY. Same HS as our DC. If one is looking to get into competitive Ivy Leagues with all other factors in place (High GPA, SAT scores, robust activities etc.,). What is a good and reasonable number of APs to take?

Or are their parents here that can share that their DC took NO AP exams privately and their DC still got into a top school in the last 3 years? (Not a sport recruit)

Just trying to figure out whether we encourage our DC to take more AP, a few, or none.

Thank you for sharing.

Not sure where you are hearing they are not offered at any private schools. They are offered at the Cathedral Schools.

St Stephen and St Agnes School has APs too.

Also at St. Anselm's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

You can get in with top grades alone from the top privates because that in an of itself is a very unique distinction. Sometimes there is one kid in a graduating class with a 3.9 and everyone else falls below--many smart kids significantly below. It's not like public where everyone has a 4.0+. The top kids from these privates get into Ivies even without much more on their resumes.

As other have noted, that plan works for a handful of kids. It's the rest of the class that has something to prove.

Right. Which is why it either works (you graduate at the top 1-3 and get into the Ivy unhooked and with relatively minimal extracurriculars) OR you do all that work, end up with a 3.7, something like 20th in the class, limited extracurriculars because all you had time for was studying and you end up in an equal or even much worse college than you would have coming from an easier school.

It's a crap shoot and the end result is not apparent until your'e close to the end of high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

Rigor is in the context of what the school offers. Schools that don’t offer AP still have honors and advanced classes. In this context, to show that you took the most rigorous course at the school you would have to take honors and advanced courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

Rigor is in the context of what the school offers. Schools that don’t offer AP still have honors and advanced classes. In this context, to show that you took the most rigorous course at the school you would have to take honors and advanced courses.

And that doesn't help much anymore. Times have changed. Look, when the schools decided to drop APs they could not have predicted what happened when COVID hit,. They could not have predicted that SAT subject matter tests would go away and that most schools would become test optional. Colleges are left with APs as the last thing they can look to for some level of standardization across schools. It matters more now than it used to, which is probably why some schools that said they were dropping APs actually have not done so -- they saw what the testing change would mean.

[Anonymous]

A lot of kids take the AP class to show they took a rigorous course of study but they don’t take the exam. For students that are studying for AP independently because it is not offered at their school I assume they will have to take the exam and report the score? If the score isn’t reported how would colleges know? I’m assuming the course would not appear in the school transcript since it’s taken independently?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

Rigor is in the context of what the school offers. Schools that don’t offer AP still have honors and advanced classes. In this context, to show that you took the most rigorous course at the school you would have to take honors and advanced courses.

And that doesn't help much anymore. Times have changed. Look, when the schools decided to drop APs they could not have predicted what happened when COVID hit,. They could not have predicted that SAT subject matter tests would go away and that most schools would become test optional. Colleges are left with APs as the last thing they can look to for some level of standardization across schools. It matters more now than it used to, which is probably why some schools that said they were dropping APs actually have not done so -- they saw what the testing change would mean.

A lot of kids are not even taking the AP exam so colleges are only seeing the grade they got in the class, grading that is still school specific. In the scenario where kids are not taking the exam there is really no difference between an honors/advanced class and an AP class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

More and more privates are no longer offering APs. The top students still do well in admissions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

Rigor is in the context of what the school offers. Schools that don’t offer AP still have honors and advanced classes. In this context, to show that you took the most rigorous course at the school you would have to take honors and advanced courses.

And that doesn't help much anymore. Times have changed. Look, when the schools decided to drop APs they could not have predicted what happened when COVID hit,. They could not have predicted that SAT subject matter tests would go away and that most schools would become test optional. Colleges are left with APs as the last thing they can look to for some level of standardization across schools. It matters more now than it used to, which is probably why some schools that said they were dropping APs actually have not done so -- they saw what the testing change would mean.

A lot of kids are not even taking the AP exam so colleges are only seeing the grade they got in the class, grading that is still school specific. In the scenario where kids are not taking the exam there is really no difference between an honors/advanced class and an AP class.

In part, but kids start taking APs in 9th so a pattern of scores is predictive of the senior year scores, especially if the grades support that. Also, colleges know what AP courses are, it's the point of having standards; they have no idea what every random schools' honors class is teaching.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

More and more privates are no longer offering APs. The top students still do well in admissions.

This doesn't seem to be the case. Schools that said they weren't are offering them actually are, and, again, what about the other 98% of the students in the class?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

Rigor is in the context of what the school offers. Schools that don’t offer AP still have honors and advanced classes. In this context, to show that you took the most rigorous course at the school you would have to take honors and advanced courses.

And that doesn't help much anymore. Times have changed. Look, when the schools decided to drop APs they could not have predicted what happened when COVID hit,. They could not have predicted that SAT subject matter tests would go away and that most schools would become test optional. Colleges are left with APs as the last thing they can look to for some level of standardization across schools. It matters more now than it used to, which is probably why some schools that said they were dropping APs actually have not done so -- they saw what the testing change would mean.

A lot of kids are not even taking the AP exam so colleges are only seeing the grade they got in the class, grading that is still school specific. In the scenario where kids are not taking the exam there is really no difference between an honors/advanced class and an AP class.

In part, but kids start taking APs in 9th so a pattern of scores is predictive of the senior year scores, especially if the grades support that. Also, colleges know what AP courses are, it's the point of having standards; they have no idea what every random schools' honors class is teaching.

They also start taking honors classes in 9th grade. Colleges get the course curriculum from each high school; the information that is covered in AP is usually also covered in advanced classes offered by school. The schools that are dropping AP are usually known for academic rigor and colleges trust this so why wouldn’t they trust the rigor of the advanced classes? I understand the benefits of a standardized program I just don’t like college boards monopoly on APs and the hoops schools have to go through.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has not taken any AP exams. Will attend an Ivy League school this fall. Top grades, many honors classes. Not an athlete, legacy, or URM.

What got them in then? Lucky draw from the pool of 1600/4.0 ED applicants? Rigor is usually a major factor.

Rigor is in the context of what the school offers. Schools that don’t offer AP still have honors and advanced classes. In this context, to show that you took the most rigorous course at the school you would have to take honors and advanced courses.

And that doesn't help much anymore. Times have changed. Look, when the schools decided to drop APs they could not have predicted what happened when COVID hit,. They could not have predicted that SAT subject matter tests would go away and that most schools would become test optional. Colleges are left with APs as the last thing they can look to for some level of standardization across schools. It matters more now than it used to, which is probably why some schools that said they were dropping APs actually have not done so -- they saw what the testing change would mean.

A lot of kids are not even taking the AP exam so colleges are only seeing the grade they got in the class, grading that is still school specific. In the scenario where kids are not taking the exam there is really no difference between an honors/advanced class and an AP class.

In part, but kids start taking APs in 9th so a pattern of scores is predictive of the senior year scores, especially if the grades support that. Also, colleges know what AP courses are, it's the point of having standards; they have no idea what every random schools' honors class is teaching.

They also start taking honors classes in 9th grade. Colleges get the course curriculum from each high school; the information that is covered in AP is usually also covered in advanced classes offered by school. The schools that are dropping AP are usually known for academic rigor and colleges trust this so why wouldn’t they trust the rigor of the advanced classes? I understand the benefits of a standardized program I just don’t like college boards monopoly on APs and the hoops schools have to go through.

This is the key question: why wouldn’t colleges trust these schools? The fact is, though, that it looks like at the same time that SFS, STA, NCS, and GDS announced they were dropping APs, they also all reduced the number of high-scoring 9th graders they admitted. So it could be that what students in the class of 2023 are seeing is that they’re at the top of the class, and what colleges are seeing is that the class of 2023 looks unusually weak compared to past classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s something weird about kids paying more for study help on AP exams in these elite schools. Surely the school would offer free exams and tutoring in the name of equity?

The point is although the classes do not have an AP designation, they still prepare students for material on the exam. The decision to hire tutors to study for the AP exam is usually precipitated by parents for many reasons, including the misguided belief that their children must learn how to take the exam. Why should a school teach students test strategies? What does it tell us about these classes that teach students about the strategy of standardized test taking instead of covering the actual material on the exam? The reality is astute students should know to pore over past AP exams to get a sense of what the test looks like, what to expect, etc.

Continues to boggle my mind why we are paying what we pay and we'll be honest- we certainly had hopes of our top 3 private being a doorway into a better school choice. Anyone who says something different is probably fooling themselves. No one pays 45k a year with hopes for UMD. Or with outside tutoring for APs becoming necessary to play this crappy game. The public grading system is really screwing us all.

Paying for private HS was never about college options for me. I always thought my kid would go to the same type of college out of public or private HS, but I believe they will be better prepared for that college out of private. I also believe they had a better HS experience than our perfectly fine MCPS HS.

Our school still offers APs, but kids take a pretty limited number. My child is in their first 2 as a junior and will take 1-2 more senior year. They will take those exams and no additional exams.