<p>It is valid to consider college admissions at the end of sophomore year.</p>
<p>It is also valuable to increase your AP workload in steps, so you can become accustomed to the workload. My son took one AP in 10th grade, 2 in 11th grade and 5 in 12th grade. If you are going to have a tough schedule, having a study hall can be beneficial. </p>
<p>Just make sure you take at least one fun class every year in high school, and realize it is not necessary to get an A in every AP class.</p>
<p>It may be valid to think about colleges after sophomore year, but it’s premature to start a “chance” thread. </p>
<p>One of my kids did not receive an “A” in any core class (math, science, history, english, or foreign language) in either the freshman or sophomore year – and got C’s in several of them. Had I posted “is my child U-Va material” after the sophomore year I would I have been laughed off the board. </p>
<p>My child is a U-Va graduate.</p>
<p>The point is that almost any student is still U-Va material after two years of high school. It’s the four year record that counts.</p>
<p>I haven’t received a quarter grade lower than an A- once since 7th Grade, never received a final grade lower than an A, and I’ve taken 8 AP classes… yet I was still waitlisted (33 ACT)
You just never know…</p>
<p>^^ I meant 6+ AP courses by end of senior year. For us it was 3 AP junior year and 3 senior year. S was on track for his HS and that’s what’s important, to know what looks challenging from that particular school. Didn’t intend to be pushing the Race to Nowhere, lol! OP said that her D HS offers “lots of AP’s”. 2 AP’s will not appear challenging was my point, and given that she’s planning her junior year schedule I thought it would help to know that now. I also said that B’s would be fine in some AP’s.</p>
<p>theman, hope you get in! You’ve certainly worked hard for it.</p>
<p>theman—you are OOS, right?</p>
<p>Yes I’m OOS</p>
<p>Novaparent, to be honest, I didn’t ask for opinions on whether she should be thinking about college admissions right now, but rather, is she on the right track for UVA. This was not really a “chance” thread. </p>
<p>You may be of the opinion that looking at schools the summer prior to junior year is too soon. I respect your opinion, however, if this is right for “my” child, then you need to respect that.</p>
<p>I see absolutley nothing wrong with preparing yourself for a school that you are very interested in. The advice on this thread has been of value and very much appreciated. I thank all those who support her interest in UVA.</p>
<p>And BTW, it is not the four year record that counts. Schools look predominantly at sophomore and junior year. They will ask for first quarter senior grades if need be. So, with knowledge now, she can prepare her junior year accordingly and know what goals she is working toward.</p>
<p>Hi editor,
I am a parent so I totally understand how you feel. My kid will be going to UVA this fall.
It is never too early to think about college ( either in general or a specific one )
& I think since your D will be selecting classes for 11thgrade now…
this is a great time to get a feel for what some colleges “look for” in terms of work load, courses selection etc.</p>
<p>My initially thinking is that the HS counselor is giving out some advises about AP / GPA that may work for some colleges & not work for the highly selective colleges.
For ex: mostly straight As from mostly honor class in 4 yrs of HS does not have the same weight as mostly As from "Magnet Classes/IB/AP ".
For ex: students from my kid’s HS who will be going to UVA have taken an average of 9 to 11 plus ( I heard that some even took 14 - 15 ! I know, its un-believable!!! ) AP classes …& all the other classes are not even honors…they are all magnet classes! Many of them took 2 - 3 AP classes in 10th grade ( some even took 4 ! ).
Keep in mind that some AP classes are actually “easier” than regular honor classes…it all depends on the individual HS teachers & how they teach that class.
For ex: my other kid who is in 9th grade now, told me that students there “wanted” to take AP because AP is “MUCH easier” than the IB program classes & all the IB kids actually wanted to do the AP to get the A ! can you believe that ?!</p>
<p>so think about the AP classes & see which one your D may like to take…some may not be any harder than honors…have her talk to the AP class teachers & ask …those AP teachers will tell you about how that class is / work load etc …so you will get an idea .
My kid talked to all the AP classes teachers before signing up for any of those classes those teachers are usually very helpful & will tell you up front ( yes difficult ) or (no its easy )! </p>
<p>hope this helps ya !best of luck to you & your D !!!</p>
<p>P.S. about visiting colleges before junior year:my 2 kids “visited” UVA while in middle school…And not ‘officially’ until spring break of junior year & in retrospect I wished we had started earlier >>>like you do now<<<< …this is a great time to go visit & think about colleges ( in state or OOS or any school you have in mind! ) because they will be so busy later in 11th & 12th grade.</p>
<p>If you’re not thinking about college prep classes since 7/8th grade, you’re doomed (you’re not placed in the algebra/language track, etc). That’s when I started thinking about that and I graduated from high school back in 2004 and no, I’m not a freak (neither were my parents). Editor isn’t doing anything that most parents wouldn’t.</p>
<p>Thank you eduedm and wahoomb.</p>
<p>Actually, she is seriously considering replacing her honors physics next year with AP. That would give her AP lit, AP physics, college Italian, honors pre-calc/intro to BC, and honors social studies (I don’t think she’s comfortable with AP SS).</p>
<p>The advice her has been superior!</p>
<p>Many thanks!!</p>
<p>wahoomb, I disagree.</p>
<p>Success in middle school has nothing to do with admissions in college. I entered high school without knowing a single foreign language and I had to start freshman year taking two algebra classes.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, I was able to meet all of UVa’s admission recommendations/requirements. While these classes may help place students in more advanced classes in high school, students always have the ability to get into the same level classes by doubling up subjects they show weakness.</p>
<p>editor,
I think it’s great that your daughter is showing initiative here! I definitely was not looking at colleges my sophomore year! I didn’t start until the beginning of my senior year (yeah I know…super late!).</p>
<p>I’m sure she’s UVa material!</p>
<p>I agree with those who are telling you to see what those kids who have gotten into UVA from your school had in stats. My sons’ very rigorous prep school had an abysmal record with UVA probably from the low gpas most kids get in a school that does not weight and has a very deflated curveand does not label any courses as AP. Kids who got into a number of other top schools would not make the UVA cut to the point that kids there don’t even bother to apply many times. </p>
<p>I don’t know how UVA works with percentile grades either. Some schools have found issues with that. My son’s school switched to gpas on a 4.0 basis and that was one of the reasons, I was told. The problem with the % system is that it allows the most selective schools to be able to zoom into who the truly top kids are down to the % whereas, there is more leeway for more kids on the 4.0 system where a kid with a 90 average can have a 4.0.</p>
<p>Also there is mention of college level courses. Is this a joint enrollment? If so, is it with a communty college or a university or a course given at the schoo;?</p>
<p>I’m sorry I miscontrued your post as a chance thread. I guess your title – “Does D Have a Chance?” – threw me off! </p>
<p>If you really want to know what U-Va expects of its applicants in terms of course selection, it’s best to hear it from the horse’s mouth. This from U-Va’s website:</p>
<p>"What courses should I take if I want to get into U.Va.?</p>
<p>Your academic program is very important to us; we need to see you challenging yourself in the classroom. In general, this means that you should take one of the toughest (if not the toughest) academic programs offered by your high school. In other words, if the toughest program normally taken by a college-bound senior at your school consists of four AP or dual-enrollment courses plus another honors-level academic “solid,” such a schedule would look good to us if we saw it on your transcript. On the other hand, if the best program for a senior at your school is two honors-level courses plus three academic “solids,” that would look good to us, too. Because terrific students come to us from many different kinds of high schools and because, in fact, most students don’t have any say-so in where they go to high school, we try to evaluate each applicant’s academic program within the context of his or her school."</p>
<p>You said earlier that “her school offers plenty of AP classes (she will have 3 under her belt). She is staying away from AP classes that she feels she will not perform well in. She’d rather have an A in honors, than a lower grade in an AP class.”</p>
<p>This is flatly at odd with what U-Va is looking for. Your daughter needs to step it up.</p>
<p>That is actually a very helpful page novaparent quoted information from - from a general sense and also in terms of credit for dual/joint enrollment courses, if applicable. </p>
<p>[Answers</a> to Frequently Asked Questions, Undergraduate Admission, U.Va.](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/answers.html]Answers”>http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/answers.html)</p>
<p>how many classes can your D take in 11th grade in her HS? I know this varies from school to school, city to city. If she loves art, AP art is a fabulous class to take a look ( it requires quite a lot of time & work in this class ). I heard that in most school, AP World History is more time consuming than other AP classes…but the AP class teachers will tell you if you ask them.</p>
<p>Good point Wahoomb. It’s fairly normal in our school system to take algebra in 7th, geometry in 8th, precalc 9th, AP BC or AB calc, then this year my S is taking Mulivariable as DE. This is the “norm” for our particular HS/middle schools which are feeder schools to UVa (same for languages). To OP, that’s why I say it totally depends on your D school and what’s considered challenging for her. If these classes aren’t available to kids then it’s a complete other ball game. The above poster, Cool was saying that he/she didn’t have those classes in math or language. It’s’ not at all a big deal if those courses aren’t offered.</p>
<p>same here in my kids’ middle school : Algebra 7th, Geometry 8th,etc
Latin I starts in 6th grade</p>
<p>jkiwmom–exactly! I went to Robinson Secondary in Fairfax and the advanced/gifted students take Algebra I and a foreign language I in 8th grade. If you DON’T do this, you will not be in the IB Diploma track. If you’re not in the IB Diploma track, your chances at elite universities like UVA are very slim. That is why if parents/students are misinformed/ignore that fact, they might be at a disadvantage.</p>