<p>momjr - when you mentioned not having to sign up for hs classes in January - it also reminds me of all the college stuff that is all over our dining room and S2’s room - the guide books, the ACT prep books, the folders of college materials. I have lived with this stuff for about 4 years now - I think a ceremonial bonfire will be needed next year when we are done.</p>
<p>rockvillemom - my d came home yesterday also talking about what to sign up for next year. I really hate doing the schedule so early.</p>
<p>She absolutely hates math, the bane of her existence. She doesn’t want to take either calc or statistics, she just wants to be done with math. She would also like to be done with science. I know she will be taking an AP english class, AP history and two other AP classes (one a double period). That’s five periods of AP’s. She WANTS to take these classes, they excite and interest her! She is also interested in an internship in the field she is looking to study. She is a humanities and arts kid. I see her struggling in precalc, working her tush off in honors chemistry and not having the time to spend on the classes that she truly enjoys and interest her, because she is so bogged down with math and chemistry. </p>
<p>After this years scheduling debacle, I told her she isn’t signing up for anything until we both go and meet with the guidance counselor together.</p>
<p>Waiting for her to bring home next years course book, so we can look through it.</p>
<p>“I think a ceremonial bonfire will be needed next year when we are done.”</p>
<p>I am sure that a library or a youth center, especially one that serves economically disadvantaged youth, would be happy to receive the guide books and prep books as a donation. How about it if we all plan to do this, collectively as a thread, when we send our youngest kids off to college? Alternatively, we can pledge to use them ourselves to mentor some other kids, after we have learned so much from this thread under the outstanding leadership of our mayor, Rockvillemom!</p>
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<p>^ guide books yes, but all of the prep books here are written in (some more than others, ugh) so I’m in for the bonfire.</p>
<p>okay levirm - good point - let’s all donate the Fiske, PR, etc. (I think I alone keep that industry in business - can’t resist buying the new edition each year) and we can torch the rest!</p>
<p>Rockville Mom and others: Suggest that you look at the AP credits web site for colleges of interest to see if they give credit for the APs your kids are thinking of taking. This may or may not make a difference.</p>
<p>Regarding checking to see which AP’s the colleges will give credit for, also check to see if the colleges expect kids to have taken certain classes. None of the schools D is looking at will give her credit for one of her AP classes even if she gets a 5, but they will look to see that she has taken that class. Not having taken it, would hurt her in the admissions process.</p>
<p>Rockvillemom…just thought I’d mention that my S is taking Human Geography this year. He really wanted to take AP Stats in addition to AP Calc and AP Comp Sci, but his College Counselor thought that there wouldn’t be enough balance in his schedule. He was placed in Human Geography (our school does not offer an AP version, but rather 2 separate semesters and then if they want to take the AP exam, they should be qualified). He really didn’t want to take it…it didn’t sound like anything he would like, but it ends up that it’s one of his favorite classes. Part of that is that he thinks the teacher is great (another comment on the importance of the quality of the teacher). He’s not scheduled to take the other HG class next semester (instead he’s supposed to take macroeconomics which he did request, but now hears is a lot of work and not something you want to take as a 2nd semester senior). He has taken it upon himself to find the 2 people needed to drop 2nd semester HG in order to open up space for him to transfer in, and plans on taking that so he can take the AP exam. He “hears” that colleges are impressed by seeing HG on a senior’s schedule.</p>
<p>Glad to hear that all of your prep books are so well used, college4three! 
Caution on accepting credit for AP classes: AP classes are not the equivalent of college classes in most cases. If the student never plans to take a class in that subject again, or if it is a foreign language, or if a student is extremely advanced in the subject because he or she has gone beyond the AP course, by all means accept the credit. But if the student is going to continue with that subject, it is often beneficial to turn down the AP credit and take the introductory course in order to be fully prepared for the more advanced courses. Spoken from experience!</p>
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<p>I agree w/ you levirm. My S who is taking AP Calc AB this year will take it again in college next year. He’s going to engineering school, and it’s too important that there be no holes in his basic calculus knowledge. On the other hand, if he can get some humanities credit via Human Geography, more power to him.</p>
<p>Levrim and MDmom make very good point about credit for AP classes. I think it varys by subject and college. At large state schools like UMD, student who take AP credits avoid some big intro classes and get scheduling and housing benefits because of their advanced standing. At other schools, it’s hard to get AP credit, or if you do it pushes you into a class that may be too difficult. While the AP credits can give a student a nice cushion, I find that most of the kids we know do not use it to graduate early. I do find that the AP courses help prepare a student for college, so it is worth taking at least a few in subjects the student likes.</p>
<p>Mdmom: I think it’s a good idea for you and your daughter to meet with her GC to discuss her schedule. I think it might be risky to drop both science and math senior year. You might want to check the websites and even e-mail the admissions offices at a few schools that interest her to see what they like to see in a senior schedule. My older daughter really hates science and did not want to take it senior year since she had completed bio, chem and physics. We checked with a few schools on her list, and they all said that they wanted to see an AP science, even for a kid who was interested in humanities and social sciences. One option might be AP Environmental Science. My daughter is taking it this year, and she says that if feels more like a social studies class than a science class.</p>
<p>On what to do with used books: The only study guides I have bought so far are for APWH I am gathering these and other materials that are still usable to donate to the local library. I believe my PR will be ready for the bonfire though. Its an old edition and really well worn. The AP study guides,= are unfortunately in mint condition. </p>
<p>On Calculus: I just skimmed the past couple of days posts. I’m wondering if any HS’s offer it as a regular class. Here there is only an AP version. I’m thinking that because of the difficulty of the subject there may not be a regular version.</p>
<p>On AP credit: It really does depend on where you go to college. S1 did well enough in BC Calc to get credit. The only thing is that he doesn’t need math for his major and in order to get the credit he would have had to take multivariable calc. He said no thanks to that and repeated “basic” calc.</p>
<p>RVM: I don’t know anything about HG or the AP class. The one thing that jumped out at me though was that it sounded like a class that would require a ton of reading which it sounds like is something your S2 is not a big fan of. We are also about to register for next year, but haven’t started planning yet. If my S2 was picking that class I would try and explore the work expectations. APWH was for him the most difficult class he ever took so far.</p>
<p>Our HS offers GT Calculus I, which is easier than AP Calc AB. My older daughter, who is good but not great in math, took it and did fine, despite a weak teacher. She then took Calc I in college and did fine. She felt that the HS class made the college one easier. She’s a history major, so no more calc for her. She did take Statistics in college.</p>
<p>Why I think they are important:
- It shows the admission directors that you have taken a rigorous course of study.
- It prepares you well for college classes. My son favors math and analytical classes and groaned about taking AP English Lit. While he still hates the class, he admits it has taught him how to write an analytical paper and how to cite his sources. I work at a community college and I can’t tell you the number of students who have never written a paper in high school.
- It improves your grade when you take the course in college. Both my daughters did much better in their Stats and Calculus classes for having taken those courses in high school. Both of them were Psych majors (one neuroscience) and Stats was a requirement for both of them.
- In some cases, colleges in your area will give you credit for the class if you pay a fee. Unfortunately, we checked, and none of the schools my kids wanted to attend accepted College Now credits.
- APs are taught at an accelerated speed which is similar to how college classes will be conducted.</p>
<p>Drawbacks: My D chose not to take AP Eng Lit in high school and she really loved her regular English IV class because they took more time discussing the novels they read, rather than just speeding along to get all the material done for the test.</p>
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<p>spectrum2 - that’s a really good point on the reading required for AP Human Geography - S1 took it - I’ll see what he thinks. S2 is taking AP Psych this year and doing fine - getting a B pretty easily - and enjoying it - do you think HG has more reading than Psych? I am hoping that the work S2 does with his ACT tutor will also help him with his reading skills in general. Maybe that’s too much to expect? But if they are working on reading speed and comprehension in order to improve his ACT score - maybe that would carry over to general reading skills? </p>
<p>Moltobene - I’m a huge fan of AP - as long as the kids are not overly stressed. S1 took 8 - he liked the challenging material and ultimately entered college as a sophomore. While S2 won’t be repeating that feat - I think 1 AP this year and 1 next year is a good way for him to prepare for college. One of the things that I like about our public school system is that many APs are offered and pretty much anyone can take them. This is different from many of the private schools in the area that require a certain score on an entrance exam to take an AP - or a certain grade on a prerequisite course. I like the fact that the public school allows kids to give it a try - even if they end up struggling - I’d rather have that experience than be denied entry at the door.</p>
<p>RVM: I have no experience with HG or psych so I couldn’t say. I just mentioned it because S2 struggled with APWH because of the volume of reading required that was not necessarily reviewed in class. I’m telling you what I would tell my S if APHG showed up as a course choice. If it is a subject that he thinks he’s really interested in or if he has spoken to classmates that gave him information that led him to believe it is a good choice then I would tell him to go with it. I would also do what I could to find out what the reading expectations are and make sure that with that information that S still wanted to take the class. For better or worse I have never stopped either of my S’s from taking a class that they wanted to take after they had the information they needed.</p>
<p>MaltoBene: I really like your summary of what is good about AP’s. I have heard so many people express that if a student doesn’t get AP credit then it is a waste and there was no point in taking the class. I have always felt that the benefit of AP classes was in the education and that the credit was the icing on the cake if received. You also make an interesting point regarding the regular English lit. class. I almost never hear anything about the educational benefits of regular classes.</p>
<p>Rockville Mom and others: Tell your child to look at the AP text book for the courses of interest–does your child want to read this book? Same advice holds for all future college courses.</p>
<p>On another topic that we have discussed before, last night my daughter mentioned a classmate who is not returning to her school for the second semester. The girl, who is not Jewish, attended U of Alabama and loved it at first. She decided not to return because she hates being so far from home with no travel option other than a 14 hour drive. She will attend CC next semester and apply to transfer somewhere closer to home.</p>
<p>We paid a lot of attention to travel options when considering schools that were more than a few hours from home. Some colleges are far from main airports. I would hate it if my child couldn’t come home for Thanksgiving or fall break. Just something else to consider…</p>
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<p>Traveling is an issue that needs to be discussed. My college age kids went to colleges very far from home. They had no adjustment problems and learned to handle emergency situations on their own with some prodding from us on the phone. The real issues are cost and time. Make sure there is an airport nearby and that the campus has bus travel available to the airport on big holidays (fall break, Thanksgiving, winter break, etc.) The D in Ann Arbor had all this available and had no problem hitching rides with friends to the airport. We always get a school calendar early and book the flights as soon as possible, with a refundable ticket. Winter break is often an airline cost problem since they often don’t get a finals schedule well into the semester. We have discovered that Spring break plans can be changed rapidly as the kids’ plans change, so take my advice and by a refundable ticket. The D at Tulane never had issues getting rides from friends to the airport and by her junior year she had a car and three local friends would caravan back home each year. The Ann Arbor D has a car as a senior and also goes back and forth to campus with other friends. Many funny stories related to those trips. Lastly, I had a friend whose daughter was dead set on applying to Williams until they visited and discovered that it is a 3 hour drive to the nearest airport (or something like that.) They dropped it from their list pronto. </p>
<p>Another issue related to this is storage of college gear. If you send your kid far away they will often store all their dorm stuff in a storage unit over the summer. These work great in that they often will come and pick-up the stuff you pack. The downside is the cost of storage. Both my D’s worked out arrangements with their friends to share a rental unit and share the cost, so it didn’t turn out so bad. If you have a nice friend with a car you can pick up the stuff when you get to campus. Senior year, or earlier in some cases, kids live off campus and need more stuff (kitchen supplies, etc.) and will need to drive to get groceries, that is when they may choose to take a car to campus since they will now have parking available at their apt or house.</p>
<p>Yes, it is cheaper to live near home in many ways, but as a rule my kids refused to apply to any school whose state was contiguous to our borders…ugh…;-{</p>
<p>momjr - I am with you 100%. That was our very first criteria with both boys - within driving range - preferably 5-6 hours max. I think the only one we are considering that is a little further is CofC - but given that it is in a city - there are more travel options available. I just think that in case something dire happens - I want my boys reasonably close and not dependent on air travel.</p>
<p>mdcissp - that’s a good idea. I’m also going to suggest to S2 that he speak to the teacher who does AP HG - he had her for a semester of government last year - so he knows who it is. Which also makes me more comfortable - he has had this particular teacher before.</p>