Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Kids take AP classes to up their GPA so they can get into college. On all of the college tours DD and I have attended so far, all of the admissions counselors say they like to see a rigorous course schedule, AP, IB, etc.. it's almost a necessity to get into many schools.

But this isn't really true. Most colleges will calculate your unweighted GPA and use that to determine if students make the cut for admission. My DD tracks her GPA as weighted and unweighted.

Yeah but the most elite colleges want to see the most rigorous courses available and done well.

No one forces kids to take AP, IB etc. but if if they want to go to HYP or equivalent from this area, it is what it is.

But it is a choice. If your kid does not want to work their tail off and don't aim for the ivies, they don't have to do this.

Anonymous wrote:exactly. colleges are on to the weighted thing.

lol! "On to" what? There is no mystery or secret or conspiracy here. A GPA over 4.0 from a large public school is an easy to see indicator that the student took the most rigorous courses available, as opposed to getting a 4.0 in gen ed or remedial courses. Of course colleges understand what the GPA indicates. It indicates that the student took the hardest courses and did well in them. No mystery.

exactly. colleges are on to the weighted thing.

Anonymous wrote:Kids take AP classes to up their GPA so they can get into college. On all of the college tours DD and I have attended so far, all of the admissions counselors say they like to see a rigorous course schedule, AP, IB, etc.. it's almost a necessity to get into many schools.

But this isn't really true. Most colleges will calculate your unweighted GPA and use that to determine if students make the cut for admission. My DD tracks her GPA as weighted and unweighted.

Anonymous wrote:I think taking at least some AP or IB if that is what is available is critical for any public school kid. Private schools can do different things, but most of us coming out of public schools will not get the sense of what rigor will be in college without it. In my experience even the option to take community school classes don't work. I think some kids may go overboard and I can imagine a few parents being a little nutty about it but in general I don't see the downside here.

Do you live in the DMV? Parents go overboard about everything.

I think taking at least some AP or IB if that is what is available is critical for any public school kid. Private schools can do different things, but most of us coming out of public schools will not get the sense of what rigor will be in college without it. In my experience even the option to take community school classes don't work. I think some kids may go overboard and I can imagine a few parents being a little nutty about it but in general I don't see the downside here.

Anonymous wrote:When I tool them they were boring. Not nearly as interesting as hs honors. aP are just a business - most colleges aren't even accepting them.anymore..love it op. Start a movement, please.

What honors alternatives are there in DCPS that are more academically challenging than AP?

The only time my DC was stressed was when he took 5 APs, taking 3 was easy. And DC still did plenty of extracurrics and varsity sports all 3 seasons. APs don't take away from electives - if you take AP history instead of honors history, or AP Calc instead of regular calc you are just swapping core classes you would be taking anyway.

But if you don't think they are right for your kid then suggest he not take them.

Kids take AP classes to up their GPA so they can get into college. On all of the college tours DD and I have attended so far, all of the admissions counselors say they like to see a rigorous course schedule, AP, IB, etc.. it's almost a necessity to get into many schools.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. The cost to which I am referring is the stress and countless hours of work required by AP classes. Graduating college early is commendable and would save on costs, but how many people really do that? If AP classes are really preparing the students for college, why are the 4 year graduation rates so low,between 19-36%?

http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/2014/12/01/report-too-much-freedom-hurts-college-graduation-rates

And colleges seem to be moving to the 6 year graduation metric.

"The overall national six-year completion rate for the fall 2009 cohort was 52.9 percent...after six years, fully one-third of the starting cohort had left higher education without earning a degree or certificate."

https://nscresearchcenter.org/signaturereport10/#Discussion[/quote]

By and large, the college students not graduating in four years were not AP students in high school.[/quote]

I suspect the kids not graduating in 6 years are those who didn't take AP classes or if they did got 1s and 2s on the tests. In the DC schools the pass rates are appalling low so the kids really aren't prepared for college.

APs are not very different than honors classes (or basically the same) in this day & age. If your kid is on that track, if they don't take a baseline number, their applications aren't going to be competitive with many of their peers. If they are not on that track, then don't take them.

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/education/more-colleges-stop-giving-credit-ap-exams

Here you go. Ironically - its the same ones kids are taking APs to impress. Stop the madness! Get back to real learning!

Anonymous wrote:Please define 'most.' That's not consistent with what I am seeing in my high schooler's college search.

Colleges are strapped for cash esp the small ones. A lot are finding workarounds to APs so they don't take a tuition chunk.

DC waives the AP test costs for all its students.

I think the OP is talking about what one gives up to take AP courses -- electives, a "normal" life, etc.

Many of us nerdy types probably were looking to get out of HS asap, let's not wish that on our kids.

FWIW even Jay Mathews, who is a huge AP proponent, says that taking 4-5 is probably sufficient.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/a-fathers-pressing-question-how-many-ap-courses-are-enough/2015/03/15/9e01271e-c8d5-11e4-a199-6cb5e63819d2_story.html