Parents of the HS Class of 2012 - Original

[Mom2M]

My D did Bio(H) this year, Chem (H) next year followed by BioAP/BioHL...at least thats the current plan.

[showmom858]

My DD did biology this year and will do chem next year. She is not doing any honors or AP science as this is not her area of strength. She will do her APs in History, English and probably one math class. This DD puts a lot of pressure on herself and we would like her to focus on doing well in hs without being too stressed out. Thus she will have a mix of honors, AP and regular courses as a sophomore. Her freshman year has been great and she should finish with all A's.

[mathinokc]

I would guess that the background that is assumed varies from school to school and teacher to teacher.

If you think your child needs some Chem background before doing AP Biology, the Homeschool Buyer's Co-op has Thinkwell science on sale now. She could go through some of the course this summer as preparation.

If you don't want to buy through the co-op, you can buy it straight from Thinkwell (thinkwell.com).

We've had the Thinkwell chemistry course available for my daughter as a supplement this year and she's really enjoyed it/appreciated it.

Alternatively, I hear that CyberEd Plato's courses may be available through Homeschool Buyer's Coop soon. Johns Hopkins CTY uses CyberEd's Chem course as the main part of their Honors Chem distance ed class.

[downtoearth]

No AP's here. D will be in four honors. She was nominated for all but it is considered to much and frowned upon.

[seiclan]

At our hs, the only AP that sophomores are "allowed" to take is AP World History. My son, along with about 7 or 8 others got special permission to take AP stats as well next year. He will also take honors anatomy and physiology and gifted/honors chemistry. Junior year, assuming he does ok with this grueling pace, he will take AP Bio OR AP Chem, honors OR AP physics B, AP Calculus AB, AP English Lang, and one of gthe "easy" APs like psychology, environmental science or human geography and AP US history. He also plans on taking honors marine science and maybe AP Spanish. Senior year, the path is to take AP Lit, AP Calculus BC, two easy AP's (see above), Marine science 2, AP Gov/Econ, and ...something else. We all know about the best laid plans of mice and men though.

I know of many kids who take AP chem AND AP physics together. I would assume that Chem and Bio would be ok together too as long as there is balance and the child can handle it. Science is currently my son's favorite subjects so that could be him.

[cherryhillmomto2]

Love your member name - downtoearth!

[downtoearth]

My D'd school offers marine science as well. she may take that in junior year or even senior. I'm worried we are still playing by ear and seeing how things gel out for her. I just went through it with my older who graduated this year. So I know to be proactive, but am planning on seeing what she does, her stress level etc...

[downtoearth]

At least in their year there will be less students competing, this year was tough.

[schinagus]

Thanks everyone for your input. We shall see how will it turn out next year. Is it their year will be less students cometing?

[Mamaof1]

Well, let me say hello to all. My son is an upcoming sophmore, who is participating in his high school's Pre-IB program. I was interested in what plans you and/or your kids had for the summer; and what about that darned SAT? Any prepping for it? Our public school system offers online courses and I am currently contemplating if this would be a venue for us to pursue. He has mentioned taking a Math, but I really think, (and it could just be me as math was not a strong subject for me), that Math should be done face to face. I would rather see him take an online English course rather than a Math.

This is such an exciting time for me, (probably not so much for him, lol). I can't believe my baby will be a 10th grader!

[mathinokc]

My daughter's going to do a one week homestay in France -- it's related to a class project and she'll be staying with a girl she's been corresponding with all year.

Then, she's headed to MathCamp. (Hooray! She's very excited to have gotten in.)

As far as SAT prep, I've heard good things about number2.com which has the added advantage of being free. My daughter has signed up, but hasn't used it a lot yet.

I wouldn't rule out taking math online. In some ways, English is harder to take online, especially if there's significant writing involved. You have to learn your audience to tailor your writing to them and it can be difficult to tailor to a teacher you don't ever meet unless you get significant feedback on each assignment.

[schinagus]

My d did EPGY math since 7th grade, she really likes it. try to do this year, just not have enough time. Summer she is going to ShangHai Museum 2 weeks as volunteer. Mathcamp is pretty hard to get in. Congs.

[beth's mom]

I'm a long time lurker and decided this was an appropriate thread to jump into. My oldest D is class of 2012. In her mind (and her father's), college is in the distant future, so I'm trying to stay on top of things to make sure she doesn't foreclose her options. D is a pretty good student (GPA 3.8 W, 3.7 UW), but she's not taking the most rigorous curriculum at her school and she's not aiming for the top colleges. She only took one honors course this year; next year she's going to step up her schedule a bit. She's planning to take:

English 2 (standard)
Accelerated Plane & Solid Geometry (no extra weighting)
Honors Spanish 3
Honors Chemistry
AP Euro
Art Elective

She doesn't have any big plans for this summer. She's going to participate in her high school's cross country and soccer camps and is looking for a volunteer activity that interests her. So far she really doesn't have a passion for much of anything; her only ECs this year were freshman sports. She's a shy kid, more of a follower than a leader and not much of a joiner. I'm hoping she comes out of her shell, but I guess it'll happen all in good time.

[downtoearth]

d2 will take a journalism class at columbia otherwise may do a dance camp. she works part time. My kids are petty bright but do not spend the summer doing tons of things. their school is pretty rigorous and they need a break.

[seiclan]

Is 2012 really supposed to be a less competitive year for our kids (for college admissions)? I had heard that it may be better than this year but still as difficult as say, 2006, when my D1 graduated high school. That was a pretty brutal year too!