AP Panic - what's going on with elimination of Ap's at Elite Privates

[Anonymous]

Ok Is anyone else freaking out? Maret, Sidwell, GDS, Cathedral Schools etc have all gotten rid of AP's and I am worried for my 9th grader. How will this play out for them when they are competing against
kids' at W schools with 11 Ap's or the IB program? I think it's risky and the privates are experimenting with this change on our kids. Not happy.

[Anonymous]

They simply don't call their advanced classes by the "AP" moniker. If you are taking a second year of physics or bio, it is, for all intent a purposes, an AP class. But it is likely there is outside work the student will need to do to be fully prepared for the test itself.

[Anonymous]

My kids took 5 APs at their private school and did just fine. Colleges don’t care.

[Anonymous]

Colleges are not concerned with the rigor of the classes at the good private schools. Also, your private school kid's rigor and GPA is compared against other kids in the same school, not against kids in public schools where AP's are needed to demonstrate rigor.

[Anonymous]

Relax OP. This is a complete non-issue.

[Anonymous]

True, you don't need AP when you have pedigree.

[Anonymous]

they want control of their own curricula.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Colleges are not concerned with the rigor of the classes at the good private schools. Also, your private school kid's rigor and GPA is compared against other kids in the same school, not against kids in public schools where AP's are needed to demonstrate rigor.

This. OP, trust that the colleges know the context of your child's courses. No need to panic.

[Anonymous]

It gives people another pathway to compare public school performance vs privates. By eliminating it, they don’t need to worry about direct comparisons. Win-win situ for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It gives people another pathway to compare public school performance vs privates. By eliminating it, they don’t need to worry about direct comparisons. Win-win situ for them.

Plus 1000 only reason to get rid of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It gives people another pathway to compare public school performance vs privates. By eliminating it, they don’t need to worry about direct comparisons. Win-win situ for them.

100% this.

Private schools are smart about stuff like this.

Also the colleges that Sidwell grads are aiming for don’t care much about APs. The colleges care about their own curricula, and students usually don’t graduate from Harvard in 3 years because of APs— they stay for four to take the full Harvard set of courses. APs may allow kids to take more advanced classes, but this doesn’t matter too much in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Competitive colleges want students to take the best program available, whatever that may be.

[Anonymous]

They are not taking AP classes in school, but many prep for and take the AP exam.

[Anonymous]

It would be an issue if you were planning on Oxbridge, but then you'd just have to self study and take 5 AP tests on your own.

[Anonymous]

I think kids from schools which eliminate the title of the course will continue to sit for the exams because many schools still offer credit for 4/5 (depending on which course).