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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's not how many, it's which APs. And if they are balanced across the main 5 subject areas.

Ideally, you want to get to at least 1+ AP in all 4-5 major subjects: english, math, history, science, language.

We know families with kids who went to ivies with 7-8 APs and with 10+. The sheer number doesn't matter. It's the whole package. [b]People are making their kids mental by trying to do everything at 100% like robots[/b].[/quote]

I agree with the guidance you note.  I think for the bolded, while sometimes true, there is some grace to be had for many parents and students.  While yes, there are clearly some 'tiger-parents',  I think for many, admissions is just very different from when we went to high school.  I went to a typical suburban high school, pretty well resourced for its day (late 80s).  We had, if I recall, maybe 9 AP classes, which still true today at many schools.

However, at my DC's school, they have all of them (30+). When you attend college info sessions, you will hear comments like "we expect students to make the most of the resources available to them",  "if you only have 6 APs, we expect the you take most of them".  I still recall at Duke they said ~"Given a choice between the AP class with a 'B' and non-AP class with an 'A', we expect you to take the AP class and get an 'A'.  Our applicants are that competitive".   You will sometimes hear "You don't need to take everything, but at least the ones tied to your interest area and maybe show some breadth".  Finally, you also hear "you will be evaluated in the context of your school (and by definition peers).  Therein lies the challenge.  What happens when a student is in an environment with 20, 25, 30+ APs?  What is the expectation then?

I think your council above is a good starting point.  Until one is educated enough to parse all the vague and sometimes contradictory statements from colleges, it can feel hard to know what guidance one should give their student. Particularly when you're staring down relatively low acceptance rates at the in-state flagship(s), tight acceptance rates for particular programs (CS, Business, Nursing), and of course the more selective privates.

So while threads like this sometimes seem like it's geared toward tiger-parenting, I think they can serve as a helpful resource in educating and bringing down the anxiety a bit.  It helps when someone says their child (or one they know) didnt over-extend themselves and had a good outcome - for them.  The web is littered with suggestions that one needs to take a ton of APs, self-study AP, take DE math in the summers to get to linear alebra+,etc. so its helpful to share experiences that break through the noise.

[/quote]

You make a lot of great points. And the solution is to help kids be protected from their own worst instincts. Set policies at high schools capping the number of APs a kid can take. Then they are taking advantage of resources to the best of their abilities without going overboard. I'm sure this will give tiger parents anxiety attacks but people just need to chill out.

It is also why there is something to be said for sending your kid to a really good but not great high school. They can take advantage of everything the school offers without feeling forced to do too much. And guess what, they will still do just fine in college when in classes with the kids with 15 APs.[/quote]

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