Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a child entering a public high school in MoCo after having spent middle in a private school, what sort of guidance is there in figuring out a class schedule for 9th grade? My 8th grader has applied for one of the special programs, but if she does not get in, should I just contact the front office to ask about determining her schedule for 9th grade? And if so, when should I do that-- early spring? late spring? now?

Mine went to Whitman from private. We missed the 8th grade info night (didn’t know about it) so we met with a counselor in April to schedule classes. She was very helpful in mapping out a possible 4 year plan and a 9th grade plan. The 4 year plan was useful because it focused on the potential track in various subjects. The only thing DC undershot was language - should have been in a higher level. But review of language wasn’t the end of the world.

DC took APUSH as a sophomore. Found it relatively easy but DC is a history kid.

How was integrating into Whitman after K-8 in private? We are considering doing the same.

Super easy. DC is a social kid and made friends quickly. Also played a fall sport which helped a ton with preseason and having a team of familiar faces before school started. Academic adjustment was smooth.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a child entering a public high school in MoCo after having spent middle in a private school, what sort of guidance is there in figuring out a class schedule for 9th grade? My 8th grader has applied for one of the special programs, but if she does not get in, should I just contact the front office to ask about determining her schedule for 9th grade? And if so, when should I do that-- early spring? late spring? now?

Mine went to Whitman from private. We missed the 8th grade info night (didn’t know about it) so we met with a counselor in April to schedule classes. She was very helpful in mapping out a possible 4 year plan and a 9th grade plan. The 4 year plan was useful because it focused on the potential track in various subjects. The only thing DC undershot was language - should have been in a higher level. But review of language wasn’t the end of the world.

DC took APUSH as a sophomore. Found it relatively easy but DC is a history kid.

How was integrating into Whitman after K-8 in private? We are considering doing the same.

Anonymous wrote:For a child entering a public high school in MoCo after having spent middle in a private school, what sort of guidance is there in figuring out a class schedule for 9th grade? My 8th grader has applied for one of the special programs, but if she does not get in, should I just contact the front office to ask about determining her schedule for 9th grade? And if so, when should I do that-- early spring? late spring? now?

Mine went to Whitman from private. We missed the 8th grade info night (didn’t know about it) so we met with a counselor in April to schedule classes. She was very helpful in mapping out a possible 4 year plan and a 9th grade plan. The 4 year plan was useful because it focused on the potential track in various subjects. The only thing DC undershot was language - should have been in a higher level. But review of language wasn’t the end of the world.

DC took APUSH as a sophomore. Found it relatively easy but DC is a history kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APUSH is supposed to be the hardest AP, I don't know that that is true, but it is what is said.

Personal opinion - you should only take APs for subjects that you are naturally good at or are passionate about. Trying to take AP classes to pad your college resume and make yourself into some version of what you think colleges want you to be is not a recipe for success IMHO.

Agree. Plus many colleges are NOT giving class credit for AP scores of 4 or 5. They found the kid did't retain it or the classwork didn't sink in.
I would add that if your HS teacher is phenomenal at teaching a particular subject, take it! Always take the best teacher or professor's class.

Most schools are still giving AP credit, just a few elites don't. Please research the schools that you are interested in.

Maret has a very up to date study on what universities are accepting what APs.

Anonymous wrote:AP US History is not the hardest AP judging the percentage of people passing the test.

https://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/2017-AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php

Almost all schools give credit - or at least placement credit -for 5s (even Harvard and Yale), but not for any AP.

Search here for credit policies of every college https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/search-credit-policies

AP History was the first AP test out there and everyone gets it out of the way in 9th grade. Great class too if you have a good teacher.
And yes, knocks off that pre-req at most schools. Non-basic APs you are rolling the dice with. If it's not for your major, they might allow it to waive a pre-req, if it's part of your major and you're trying to get into the 200 level asap and then the 400 level they may not. They won't trust your foundation.

Anonymous wrote:APUSH - anybody's child take this freshman year and change to Honors level? Was it too hard or was it just the overall transition pains plus advanced topic combination that made it a hard subject to master? I'm hearing 2 opinions, Don't do APUSH in 9th because its so hard and the other side saying APUSH will be the only hard subject in 9th grade so go for it. Thoughts/suggestions from those who have been there? TIA!

Do a search on this forum-- I've seen some other descriptions of APUSH in other threads.

I think both opinions are true-- just depends on the kid and capabilities. My 9th grader is in APUSH and first quarter was HARD. I talked to DD's friends, and they all said their kids were up very late studying for the tests, which come quickly and are quite difficult. I don't know the grade distribution, but there were a fair number of As and a lot of Bs, but I've also heard of Cs and a few Ds. A lot of kids dropped in the first month because of the workload. It seemed to get easier in second quarter (dd's scores are about 3 percentage points higher this term) but she tells me that third quarter is seen as the most difficult.

So it is hard and if your kid isn't a fast reader, it may be too much. At the same time, none of my DD's other classes took much time at all. I think this is probably why our school offers APUSH in 9th-- kids have the time to devote to it then. DD doesn't much like history and I've already told her I probably won't push for AP-World History. She says she's heard that is more difficult. I don't know if that's true. But by junior year, she'll probably be in a few other APs so if it's the same workload as APUSH she may just not have time to do it at that point. In that way, I'm glad she's getting it out of the way in 9th, plus it is teaching good study habits.

Physics I has the lowest % of 5's..only about 6%

AP US History is not the hardest AP judging the percentage of people passing the test.

https://www.totalregistration.net/AP-Exam-Registration-Service/2017-AP-Exam-Score-Distributions.php

Almost all schools give credit - or at least placement credit -for 5s (even Harvard and Yale), but not for any AP.

Search here for credit policies of every college https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/creditandplacement/search-credit-policies

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APUSH is supposed to be the hardest AP, I don't know that that is true, but it is what is said.

Personal opinion - you should only take APs for subjects that you are naturally good at or are passionate about. Trying to take AP classes to pad your college resume and make yourself into some version of what you think colleges want you to be is not a recipe for success IMHO.

Agree. Plus many colleges are NOT giving class credit for AP scores of 4 or 5. They found the kid did't retain it or the classwork didn't sink in.
I would add that if your HS teacher is phenomenal at teaching a particular subject, take it! Always take the best teacher or professor's class.

Most schools are still giving AP credit, just a few elites don't. Please research the schools that you are interested in.