Why is APUSH considered to be such a top AP? I took it years ago it didn't seem that bad.

Your child will be fine. DC going to W&M - did t take AP world or APUSH

Anonymous wrote:They don’t just count the APs. The top schools have their pick of kids with great numbers. They look at which ones you took and whether you cover all subjects.

I saw a video on someone reviewing their Stanford file and they said the AOs just see the AP scores (like 55544) - it does not tell them which APs those scores correspond to. I was surprised to see that. Maybe other schools do it differently.

She's fine. These posters are psycho. SAT may be issue even though it's a great score. But you can go test optional.

Anonymous wrote:I feel so bad for kids today. They take 9 AP classes and their parents still panic and fret about their futures. No wonder this generation is so anxious. Please take some deep breaths and relax, OP. Your kid is going to be just fine, if you let them be!

Honestly I feel worried now. She is a great kid with two varsity sports, club president, straight As and it’s not enough for a good but not top school.

APUSH isn't a make or break class especially if your kid is aiming for schools ranked 50-100, OP. My DC in 2023 had a number of acceptances in the 50-100 (and a couple in the 40s) range without APUSH and applying TO. Nine total APs (and not the "hard" ones). Acceptances also are heavily major dependent at many schools. I think a lot of people don't weigh that factor enough.

I feel so bad for kids today. They take 9 AP classes and their parents still panic and fret about their futures. No wonder this generation is so anxious. Please take some deep breaths and relax, OP. Your kid is going to be just fine, if you let them be!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APUSH in and of itself is not going to make a difference. It’s important that your daughter takes an AP in every subject area. If she would be taking Gov or Euro or World, that’s fine. She does not need to take euro and world! At our school, students take one of those or or human geography during sophomore year because there is no social study requirement that year. Plenty of kids don’t take APuSsh or don’t take AP Gov because they’re taking a two period AP science class and they have to draw the line somewhere. It does not stop your kid from getting into a good school.

Don't necessarily need APUSH.

Depends on the kid and intended major.

Doubling up on 2 math APs (e.g. Calculus AB and Stats) or 2 science APs instead of APUSH is perfectly fine.

It’s fine even if you don’t double up.

Anonymous wrote:So do I tell her to aim really low then? What schools should she be looking at that she can get into as she is now? I am beyond stressed out by this stupid game. I thought for sure she could get in somewhere top 100! She will retake SAT one more time but she was happy with her score which she improved upon since fall.

Omg stop listening to people here. She be fine and can aim for what she wants. If her stats are in line with the schools she’s intrested in, then apply!

Anonymous wrote:So do I tell her to aim really low then? What schools should she be looking at that she can get into as she is now? I am beyond stressed out by this stupid game. I thought for sure she could get in somewhere top 100! She will retake SAT one more time but she was happy with her score which she improved upon since fall.

Top 50-150. Depends on her EC’s and your budget, and whether you can ED somewhere.

So do I tell her to aim really low then? What schools should she be looking at that she can get into as she is now? I am beyond stressed out by this stupid game. I thought for sure she could get in somewhere top 100! She will retake SAT one more time but she was happy with her score which she improved upon since fall.

Anonymous wrote:My DS got into UMD with "the wrong"/"not enough" APs. He took AP Physics 1, Calc AB, US Gov, Psych, Music Theory and the easy CS. He had a 34 ACT and around 4.0 weighted (some B+ grades, a lot of A-). Maybe it helped that he was OOS (FCPS) and an arts major? I don't know. They offered him $50k over 4 years. He wasn't going to take an AP class that didn't interest him and not very many interested him.

All which are more rigorous than OP’s kid. Mine took music theory and yowza. It’s actually one of the hardest APs. Your kid also did physics, not ES, Calc, not Stats…. But what may really matter is what OP’s kids peers at her school took.

Anonymous wrote:Her SAT score is top 10% that's not too low. Only too low for insane DCUM banshees who get their kids to take it every year from when they're 13 onwards (yes, I mean you).

To be fair, the DCUM banshees are trying to position their kids for UVA, WM, VT STEM or UMD. The top 50 are tough. Top 100? OP’s kids should be fine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What does she want to study? This would look less questionable for a STEM kid than for a humanities kid.

She does not know at this point. She took AP World and got a 5, AP Human Geography and got a 5, AP Psych and got a 5. Is taking AP English Language and is taking AP Spanish next year, as well as AP Pre-Calc this year, and AP Environmental Science this year as well.

^I am forgetting AP Stats next year so that's 8 APs.

Look. NP not a Dick. So don’t get so hostile. You asked. People could lie. Would you prefer that?

Here’s reality. She’s been taking a very easy path through APs. World has high rigor. HUG does not (instead try APUSH, European, Comp Gov, Am Gov), Psych does not (instead try Econ), Stats does not (instead try Calc, AB for humanities, BC for STEM— and college bound should have Calc by senior year. It looks like your kid will not). AP ES does not (instead try AP Bio, Chem or Physics). AP Lang is easier than AP Lit. And Spanish you didn’t specify— it depends. Lit is harder than Lang and Culture.

Rigor is as important as GPA. And 5-6 of her APs are in the low rigor pile (HUG, Psych, Stats, ES, Pre-Calc, maybe Spanish). That comes off as a kid who isn’t pushing herself. Again, don’t yell at me. That’s reality.

She will want to up her SAT and her rigor. Getting 5 of: AP Eng Lit, a harder history, Econ, Chem, Bio, Physics (esp Physics C), Calc (esp BC) and Spanish Lit senior year would help.

Also, PP is right. She wants to get her SAT up. If she’s an unhooked UMC Girl she needs to look at the 75%, not the 50%. Low rigor plus 50% SATs aren’t great. Maybe try the ACT. Different test and some kids do better on it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't she taking AP World? The usual suite is AP Gov, APUSH, APWorld. If she's missing one, she has to replace it with AP European History, or something similar.

The test score is too low.

People, GPAs are terribly inflated. If the test score is low, and APUSH is missed, etc, it's a sign the GPA isn't an accurate reflection of a student's academic strength. Don't get your hopes up too high at this point.

She did take AP World. Are you saying she has zero chances at any top 100 colleges? Don't be a dick just to be a dick.

Her score is also in line with the colleges she is thinking about, so how is it too low? I am trying to understand where this comment is coming from.

People on this board are score snobs. They think the only measure of success is 1500+. My DS had a 1380 and he’s at UVA with a 3.9+ gpa more than halfway thru school.

I can’t answer on APUSH as my kids took it.

Your kid was more than 2 years ago so that experience is nothing like it is now.