Ah I took 7 AP classes my senior year. I held on until around December and then had a bit of a breakdown and became very depressed and even suicidal. I ended up getting a few Ds and was scared about my college acceptance getting rescinded. It was not and everything turned out okay but I would not support my child doing this.

A lot of the parents here can't deal with kids who have a lot of drive and a lot of things that their hothouse flower doesn't have on their resume. They are the same ones who try to convince people here that their high scoring kids "will never" make it into XYZ ivy. I have news for you, 10+ Aps is getting more and more common and these kids are your kids competition.

NO ONE IS REMEMBERING THAT SOME KIDS LIKE TO LEARN!

Sorry for shouting, but you people make me sick.
I haven't gone through the American education system and my kids are not yet in high school, but I loved my classes and spent hours reading my textbooks, especially all the chapters that were not taught in class or part of the curriculum.

If OP's children love to learn and want a challenge, more power to them, and congratulations on their work ethic. They will be the leaders in their chosen field.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 APs in a year sounds like a grubby striver. Only okay if they're the captain of a sport and elected to student council. Otherwise I'd safely assume they have few friends and their peers find them annoying and/or irrelevant.

Maybe CalTech or MIT wants that, the Ivys don't.

What's missing in your life that you have to be such a judgmental bitch? And to direct that language at a child is inexcusably vulgar.

+1 I went to an Ivy as an undergraduate, and even 15 years ago, many of the students had so much AP credit that they could have been juniors at less elite schools (10+ APs with scores of 4 or 5).

Several of the schools we've visited place a cap on the number of credits a student can claim using AP results.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a senior, what's the point? She won't have AP scores to share until next summer and apps go out before semester grades go on transcript.

If I worked in admissions, I'd think kids like this are soulless grinds who would add nothing to the campus vibe.

What a strange attitude, to think that admissions officers are worried about a campus vibe and not successful alumni.

+1 For some kids academics just comes very easy. 17 APs is a lot, but if the kid takes all AP classes (about 4 a year), it's not ridiculous.

But many do it as a desperate attempt. It's unhealthy and all for naught.

She would not be up at 6am trying to desperately get homework done if it "came easily". She is chasing a ghost and it's sad.

And it's only the first week or two of school. What's going to happen during midterms and finals (although if she's in MCPS I guess she wont have finals).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a senior, what's the point? She won't have AP scores to share until next summer and apps go out before semester grades go on transcript.

If I worked in admissions, I'd think kids like this are soulless grinds who would add nothing to the campus vibe.

What a strange attitude, to think that admissions officers are worried about a campus vibe and not successful alumni.

+1 For some kids academics just comes very easy. 17 APs is a lot, but if the kid takes all AP classes (about 4 a year), it's not ridiculous.

But many do it as a desperate attempt. It's unhealthy and all for naught.

She would not be up at 6am trying to desperately get homework done if it "came easily". She is chasing a ghost and it's sad.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:7 APs in a year sounds like a grubby striver. Only okay if they're the captain of a sport and elected to student council. Otherwise I'd safely assume they have few friends and their peers find them annoying and/or irrelevant.

Maybe CalTech or MIT wants that, the Ivys don't.

What's missing in your life that you have to be such a judgmental bitch? And to direct that language at a child is inexcusably vulgar.

+1 I went to an Ivy as an undergraduate, and even 15 years ago, many of the students had so much AP credit that they could have been juniors at less elite schools (10+ APs with scores of 4 or 5).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a senior, what's the point? She won't have AP scores to share until next summer and apps go out before semester grades go on transcript.

If I worked in admissions, I'd think kids like this are soulless grinds who would add nothing to the campus vibe.

What a strange attitude, to think that admissions officers are worried about a campus vibe and not successful alumni.

+1 For some kids academics just comes very easy. 17 APs is a lot, but if the kid takes all AP classes (about 4 a year), it's not ridiculous.

Collegeboard thanks you.

Not the OP, but my DS's friend is taking 7 as a junior. Beyond the core subjects and foreign language, there's Econ, Psych, Stats, computer science, art, music theory, and some kids double up on science APs.

My DS is taking two because his counselor strongly recommended that he not take more. Many of his friends (some with lower GPAs and test scores) were not held back form taking as many as possible. I think a total of 5 to 6 total is probably a good number for my particular kid who doesn't like certain subjects at all and doesn't do well with huge piles of HW due to ADHD. Even if he loved school and didn't have to deal with the ADHD, I think I would draw the line at 4 just to minimize the overall level of misery in the household.

What classes is she taking? I don't see how it's possible to fit 7 APs in a schedule? I can see 5, the 4 core classes plus a foreign language, but what are the other two APs in?

Anonymous wrote:7 APs in a year sounds like a grubby striver. Only okay if they're the captain of a sport and elected to student council. Otherwise I'd safely assume they have few friends and their peers find them annoying and/or irrelevant.

Maybe CalTech or MIT wants that, the Ivys don't.

What's missing in your life that you have to be such a judgmental bitch? And to direct that language at a child is inexcusably vulgar.

7 APs in a year sounds like a grubby striver. Only okay if they're the captain of a sport and elected to student council. Otherwise I'd safely assume they have few friends and their peers find them annoying and/or irrelevant.

Maybe CalTech or MIT wants that, the Ivys don't.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a senior, what's the point? She won't have AP scores to share until next summer and apps go out before semester grades go on transcript.

If I worked in admissions, I'd think kids like this are soulless grinds who would add nothing to the campus vibe.

What a strange attitude, to think that admissions officers are worried about a campus vibe and not successful alumni.

I don't think that attitude is strange at all. Admissions officers want students to bring something worthwhile, interesting, and valuable to the school. If I were running a college, I would be worried that someone who is taking 7 AP classes won't do that.

I would see it as a desperate attempt to seem relevant.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a senior, what's the point? She won't have AP scores to share until next summer and apps go out before semester grades go on transcript.

If I worked in admissions, I'd think kids like this are soulless grinds who would add nothing to the campus vibe.

What a strange attitude, to think that admissions officers are worried about a campus vibe and not successful alumni.

I don't think that attitude is strange at all. Admissions officers want students to bring something worthwhile, interesting, and valuable to the school. If I were running a college, I would be worried that someone who is taking 7 AP classes won't do that.