Reply to Parent of Junior here - Is this year extra bad or is this how it is?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][b]I think you raise an excellent point about whether it is worth doing this arms race if they are not going to be considered competitive anyway.[/b]

I wouldn't turn down a flex period. I don't think the colleges are even aware of it. All they are focusing on is what you are taking, and several APs is strong rigor. [/quote]

This is really the issue.  If the kids is taking all the APs to be considered for UVA, but it going to end up at a school with an average GPA of 3.7, is it even worth it?  [/quote]

Do you not care how your kid does once they get to college?[/quote]

This. For your and your child's mental health you have to reframe what they are doing in HS as being about developing as a person and a student. [b]If they can handle the 5 APs, are excited about the classes, can  still have time for sleep and fun with that schedule, then sure go ahead. [/b]But because that will make them better prepared for college not to get in to a particular school. If that added AP is going to massively raise the stress level, mean they aren't getting enough sleep, take away time from focusing on college applications and other demands of senior year, skip it. And if that means they don't get into the school they might otherwise have gotten into (I doubt it would be a defining factor), then that school wasn't the right place for them.

My DD applied last year from APS and most of her friends took a flex period in senior year and I saw them going to a lot of strong schools. DD didn't take flex, not to add another AP but to take an art class she'd never had time for. Her application (transcript, essays, ECs, hobbies) also showed that she loved both art and science.

Also, be aware that it's too soon to really know how the acceptances will settle out. Most RD results are not out yet.[/quote]

I would agree with this. My kids have ADHD and I was firm about limiting them to 3 APs in junior year, even though that meant they wouldn't have the "most rigorous" schedule at W-L. But for senior year I left the choice to them. DS ended up with 5 AP/IB/DE classes but loved that year because he'd finally reached the point where he could focus on the quant classes he really liked. He took AP Calc BC, AP Stats, IB Economics, DE Geospatial Analysis + AP English. And a non-AP science and a flex period. Mostly applied to big state schools and is at Virginia Tech. Only place he didn't get in was UVA, which was totally expected from his GPA (did not have great grades in 9th grade + fewer APs in junior year)[/quote]

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