How many APs

[Anonymous]

My 10th grader is picking classes for next year. He could take up to 6 AP classes but I am a bit worried that is too many. He's a very strong student but still I am wondering if this is necessary/a good idea. This would include an AP as an elective. He took 2 APs this year.

[Anonymous]

What year will he be? My DD took 4 APS and a dual enrollment junior year and survived just fine but it was a tough load junior year.

[Anonymous]

Take as many as he can take while maintaining an A in all classes. If that's three or four, or even two, that's fine.

[Anonymous]

My daughter took 1 freshman year 1 sophomore 2 junior year and a ton senior year and did well with college admissions this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader is picking classes for next year. He could take up to 6 AP classes but I am a bit worried that is too many. He's a very strong student but still I am wondering if this is necessary/a good idea. This would include an AP as an elective. He took 2 APs this year.

He should take the ones he has a genuine interest in without overburdening his schedule. If he can handle six and would enjoy them all great, but taking a class just to rack up a higher number of APs on his transcript - not worth the hassle.

[Anonymous]

High school administrator: don’t. Take time to enjoy being a kid.

[Anonymous]

So it will be 6 APs and the SAT prep next year?

The question isn't how intelligent he is, or academically curious, but how ORGANIZED he is. It's all about executive function, and how he deals with stress. He will have to juggle preparation for 6 exams.

My son, who has ADHD, knows he can't do it. He deliberately planned 2 APs in 9th, 2 APs in 10th, and perhaps 3 each in 11th and 12th.

[Anonymous]

My son is doing 6 right now ( 1 is double period so all APs) and it’s especially stressful now with the return to schools, lots of tests, AP exam prep, and for him, Spring sports. Wouldn’t recommend for a highly involved student.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 10th grader is picking classes for next year. He could take up to 6 AP classes but I am a bit worried that is too many. He's a very strong student but still I am wondering if this is necessary/a good idea. This would include an AP as an elective. He took 2 APs this year.

I think the best thing is for him just to resign himself to going to some place like No Name University on his own terms, rather than trying to get into Harvard as a worm, and choose courses that sound as if they’d be fun, mind-expanding or useful.

If he thinks the six AP courses sound like fun, but he might get some B’s, or even a C: Maybe he should consider reducing the number of AP’s. But, if he thinks those classes would be wonderful, he should sign up for him and buy some No Name U merch.

Torturing yourself with too many AP’s to please Harvard makes no sense, and dumbing down your schedule simply to please Harvard also makes no
sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:High school administrator: don’t. Take time to enjoy being a kid.

You should be fired for being stupid. Taking APs is too hard for you right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter took 1 freshman year 1 sophomore 2 junior year and a ton senior year and did well with college admissions this year.

What AP can you take in freshmen year

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My daughter took 1 freshman year 1 sophomore 2 junior year and a ton senior year and did well with college admissions this year.

What AP can you take in freshmen year

AP CS Principles or an AP History are common.

[Anonymous]

DS took 1 in 9th, 2 in 10th and registered for 3 plus a post-AP in 11th. Prospective CS major, 4.0 GPA did not register for AP English against my recommendation. He's chosen AP subjects of interest. Ive heard others argue choosing subjects of lesser interest demonstrates challenge to admissions. IDK the route best taken.

[Anonymous]

I agree it's what he can and wants to handle and do well. If he's excited about the challenge and gets mostly As and one or two Bs, fine. If he's doing it for some kind of keeping-up with other kids or doing it to get into Harvard, don't.

FWIW my son, who took a little while to find his academic ambition, took 0 in 9th, 1 in 10th, 3 in 11th, 5 in 12th. He was able to handle it fine, partly because he doesn't have any time intensive activities.

DD, now in 10th, did 1 in 9th, 2 in 10th, will take 3 in 11th. She is much more of a driven student but has found the APs so far really challenging on top of a time-intensive EC. 2 have been social studies classes and she got Bs. Her love is science so she's opting to not take APUSH so that she can take AP Biology (plus English Comp and Calculus). Sure, for some colleges it could be a strike against her to not have APUSH but then it's probably not the right college for her. She's interested in LACs that are strong in sciences.

One tip, if he does want to take a heavy AP schedule, plan for SAT prep this summer and take the first test at the end of August to get it out of the way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:High school administrator: don’t. Take time to enjoy being a kid.

You should be fired for being stupid. Taking APs is too hard for you right?

Time to take your meds, Nancy.