<p>Mdmom and RVM: Your school’s approach and ours seem to be opposite but then again it would be really bad to go to a school that approached APs combining both possibilities. Our school requires that students take the AP test in order for them to get the weight that the class offers. S’s GC said that before the rankings could come out they had to go back and take the weight off of those who didn’t register to test. I can’t tell you how wrong I think that policy is, its a long convoluted path to how this occured and beyond complaining about. Anyway it would be a double burn if parents had to get the kids to the test and if they didn’t they’d loose the weight in their GPA. I have never heard of a school that required students to get themselves to the test sight. There have been years that some students had to take the PSAT off campus and the school transported them. RVM, I support the idea of calling in sick, Oy.</p>
<p>Mdmom: The snow was lovely but fleeting. I did make a point of taking lots of phots though. No telling when we will see it again. This was the first time S2 saw snow at home!</p>
<p>RVM: I think that it’s outrageous that your school doesn’t provide buses. I’m sure that they wouldn’t dream of expecting student athletes to provide their own transportation to games. Our county is very conscious of equity. I can’t see them doing something like this. However, this probably isn’t a battle worth fighting.</p>
<p>Spectrum: Does your school pay for the tests, or do the parents pay? Our school highly encourages students to take the tests, but doesn’t require it. I think some schools require it because one of the big school rankings (Newsweek?) is based on the percentage of students that pass AP tests.</p>
<p>To start, I am not Jewish, and I live in a largely Christian community, so my knowledge on this subject is somewhat limited. However, Indiana University (Bloomington) seems to have a pretty nice Jewish community, and they also have an excellent business program. They practice rolling admissions, so you may still be able to get in.</p>
<p>Thanks Elise. I agree that Indiana is a great option for a “B” student - regardless of religion. Rolling admission - no teacher recs needed - easy to have it be your first acceptance in October. And it does have a decent sized Jewish population.</p>
<p>Back to APs - our kids are required to take the test and to pay the $87 fee. Our hs is in the top 100 in that Newsweek ranking thing - so APs are a big deal. Which leads me back to the fact that not having transportation for those who need it is idiotic. Good point momjr - I’m sure athletic teams don’t have this problem.</p>
<p>Wow, RVM, your district requires the test, doesn’t subsidize the price and doesn’t provide transportation, ouch. It would seem that it must be a fairly affluent school or it seems a little discriminatory against those without the funds or flexibility to take a day off from work. </p>
<p>Momjr: Our school district is not likely to be ranked anytime soon so this requirement doesn’t have anything to do with that. The state does commend districts that have large percentages testing and that is where the impetus for the requirement comes from. Our tests are subsidized. They are $30 each and after a certain number for a family the price goes down from there. Those on free or subsidized lunch get to test for free. </p>
<p>Elsie, Indiana sounds very much like the type of school S would be looking for except for the weather. I’m sure its a good suggestion for those with thicker blood and used to layering up for the cold. (S went out only briefly today, refused to wear more than a sweatshirt, shorts and Crocks, definitely not cold weather material!)</p>
<p>chocchip: I’ve already been to Bing with DD, I think beginning of her junior year, so that would be two years ago. I can probably remember some impressions (just ask away). Plus, there’s someone on this thread who lives in the Bing area – I think we’ve covered most of it here. But if you have additional questions - and if I do make it there in March - I promise to report back!</p>
<p>RE: APs. Our school must pay for them because I’ve never been asked for money for that (DD took 4). Although, our school taxes are so high here on LI that I’m sure I’m paying indirectly. It would be seen as discrimanatory if it wasn’t done this way though. We have an extremely diverse town, would not be considered affluent, very mixed in every way.</p>
<p>On APs - CollegeBoard charges $87 per test and $57 per test for low income students. High schools can subsidize the cost below that if they choose to - or pay for the whole thing. Our county is in such a budget crisis right now - subsidizing the cost of AP exams is the last thing they would do. But - every school district should at least offer the $57 option to low income students.</p>
<p>^^^RVM I would agree with that. Its the part about the test being required if a student takes the class that I have a problem. Especially, as it is done in our district where the teeth of the requirement is the weight of the class. There are lots of reasons why I think requiring the test is wrong. But that is another matter. Even at $57 for a test it could be a deterrent for low income students. I don’t think the district is obligated to pay for the tests for anyone. I just think that people should have discretion about how they spend their money and the public education system should be as even a playing field as is possible. BTW my views about testing are influenced by my experience with S! who graduated as an AP scholar with distinction and didn’t get a single AP credit in college. In spite of that I believe the AP education was very worthwhile, and it would have been whether he had tested or not. RVM, I’m not getting on you about this, neither of us set these policies. It is just one of my pet peeves.</p>
<p>Spectrum2: I completely agree with you about the AP tests. The courses are valuable whether or not the student gets college credit. It seems really unfair to require parents to pay for the test when the student may not be able to get credit or might prefer to repeat the course in college. Colleges really vary in how much credit they award. The publics that my daughter considered were very generous, but her school was not.</p>
<p>My perception is that AP tests tend to emphasize breadth over depth and that influences the courses. Except for calculus and probably languages, I’d typically advise my kids to start at the beginning in other fields. It is highly unlikely that, no matter how good the HS, that AP Physics or Chemistry or even Economics covers the same material in the same depth as the same course in a top college. Given that, I’d echo spectrum2’s sentiment that they shouldn’t require taking the test (and the required spending by parents) unless the kid wants credit and as momjr points out, can get it at his/her school.</p>
<p>My son is taking a class which is not the AP version. Nevertheless, I want him to take the AP exam and try his best. I bought him the Barron’s guide to start studying. I told him if he passes this test with a good enough score to get college credit, he wont have to sit in one of those large lecture halls. Anyone else doing the same thing?</p>
<p>md: large lecture halls in Binghamton are literally for every intro course except possibly math…like any other public university…has no reflection on the quality of the institution; heck, we know kids at UMich that had 500 kids in their intro classes…the real significance is whether those particular classes have discussion sections which are usually 20-25 students; that is where the real critical thinking and understanding of material takes place…</p>
<p>I would be more concerned about large classes of 100-125 (for example) which may not have discussion sections for one of the meetings…</p>
<p>I can’t imagine that Towson doesn’t operate the same way; with large intro lectures and discussion break-outs once a week…</p>
<p>At Binghamton, specifically, psych 101 is in a 500 seat lecture hall (lecture hall 1); the upper level psych courses vary; some are in the smaller lecture halls (150), others held in the science buildings…as an example…</p>
<p>When I attended, I actually had an upper level psych class in lecture hall 1 because the class was so popular…</p>
<p>Actually, a friend’s son majored in Business at Towson and managed to avoid big classes. He found that there were smaller options that fit most of the requirements. </p>
<p>Mdcissp: I’m not sure whether your AP strategy will work. It’s really going to depend on the school. Sometimes it’s not in the student’s best interest to take a more difficult course freshman year.</p>
<p>momjr: if that’s the case at Towson, and mdcissp’s son was accepted into the Business school, that would certainly make the decision ALOT easier…</p>
<p>Interesting ideas about whether or not schools should require students to take the AP test - around here that’s a very common practice - so I had never thought otherwise. It did work well for S1 - he has 8 APs and entered his university technically as a sophomore - as he had 28 college credits. But I do agree that a hs AP class is probably really not the equivalent of the freshman course. For example, he was able to skip Freshman English - he took an American Lit course in it’s place - was the only first year student in the class - found it very challenging. So I agree that you should be careful what you place out of.</p>
<p>In other news, we just returned from spending part of the day at UMD-CP. Attended a basketball game - S2 hung out with some friends who are current students, etc. I have to admit it is a fun experience to be in a large stadium - everyone cheering - wearing Maryland sweatshirts - the rah-rah thing is fun. I have not been to the campus in a few years - there is a tremendous amount of new apartment style housing that is either recently completed or close to completion just off campus. I have less concerns about housing at Maryland than I used to now that I have seen the abundance of new buildings. And while these are off-campus - they are really close - walking distance. Now S2 wants a Maryland sweatshirt. Hmmm…</p>
<p>For the Fall 2011 Freshman class, we received over 25,500 applications for a class of 3,975. </p>
<p>The admitted freshman students have a strong A-/B+ or better average in their high school coursework and took the most challenging courses available to them including honors, Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses.</p>
<p>For the Fall of 2011, students admitted to the University of Maryland have an average (weighted) GPA of 4.05 and the middle 50% of SAT scores ranged from 1250 to 1400, and between 28-32 on the ACT. As a result 25% of the admitted students scored below a 1250 on the SAT and 25% scored above a 1400.</p>