How far would you drive for AP testing?

Parents Forum
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<p>Plan on those AP tests. Also consider the caliber of college, not only the amount of financial aid/costs when he chooses his college (notice the use of the word he- it is the best fit for him, not you). Premed is an intention, not a major. Do not consider the costs of the medical education when he is deciding if it is the right career choice for him- it does pay for itself eventually (and residents do get a salary). Once he is in college he may very well change his goals after being exposed to that much larger world. If he instead chooses the PhD route he will most likely get full funding for his grad program if it is in the sciences. Most students get accepted to a medical school in their home state- even private medical schools usually get some state funds and have to give some spots to state residents. The public flagship U could be his best bet if it is cheaper than other colleges for the medical school goal. Medical schools are extremely competitive- many students of your son’s ability will not get in. Nothing to worry about, he will make his decisions once he is in college.</p>

<p>Concentrate now on his HS career. Read the admission requirements for several colleges and make sure he includes those courses most admitted students have, not just the minimum. Pay attention to foreign language requirements. Do not neglect the nonsciences.</p>

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<p>Don’t wait until January to schedule his APs. Find the schools now and get their agreement now. Finding schools that will consent to administering an AP test to a homeschooler is sometimes difficult, and some schools want a huge lead time. Don’t neglect private schools in your search; some homeschoolers report that private schools are more cooperative, though that didn’t turn out to be true in my area.</p>

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<p>This I have been doing - trying to be certain he’s in the top 25% with his 33 on the ACT, but not way top. The GC at my high school said he recommends Shepherd University in WV for students who are interested in Pre-med. I just looked at their stats on collegeboard. Their ACT mid-range is 20 - 24. That seems way too low to me. My son looked at it and just shook his head. Should we be considering schools like that or is this just another case where that is a “good” school for the general caliber of kids coming out of my high school and the GC is not used to higher caliber students? I told him the ACT score, but honestly, I’m not certain how familiar he is or isn’t with ACT scoring. Our school doesn’t offer the ACT - ever. Whenever I mention it as an option to students there I just get a blank stare. My guy took the ACT at a local Catholic high school that offers it twice a year.</p>

<p>But the question remains, should he even be considering schools with that low of an average ACT? I gather the aid would be good, but I’m concerned he would be bored there and I question how well he’d be prepared for med school if that’s where he still wants to go after college. The GC told me he recommends it because they have an agreement with WV’s med school.</p>

<p>An alternative he gave me was York College who has an agreement with Hershey (hearsay). Their mid-range ACT is 18 - 24… Many students from our high school who choose 4 year schools go there, but I still think he’d be bored due to differing levels of ability. Has anyone had their student choose a school that far below their stats to know their input?</p>

<p>My gut instinct is to stick with our current list.</p>

<p>I will call about AP testing after Thanksgiving to see where he might be able to go. For Chem and Bio, would SAT II’s work instead? He could take those easily and with a science major, we wouldn’t be planning on using AP’s in those for college credit anyway.</p>

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<p>Creek, your s could self-study for the chem and bio SAT II’s with a book from the public library. In my experience, they are not the same degree of difficulty as the AP tests, nor do most colleges use those scores to let a kid “place out” of first year classes.</p>

<p>I don’t know that the issue of your S being bored is really the problem- I think the problem as articulated earlier by a few posters is that Pre-Med in and of itself is not a college major, and if your S gets to college and decides he’s interested in linguistics or paleo-anthropology or urban planning he won’t be in a the right place for him necessarily if the only criteria used were, “is this affordable” and “can he get into med school from here”.</p>

<p>I know many kids now in med school and recently graduated who did not do a traditional pre-med track. They majored in lots of different things- including philosophy, music performance, and art history, and they made sure to cover off the med school requirements during their four years. The philosophy major paid off a chunk of his undergrad loans by working as a paramedic for a year after undergrad so he entered med school with much lower debt than he’d planned, and of course, his work experience greatly enhanced his med school application. He did not have the luxury of unpaid research as an undergrad, but med school admission committees recognize that for some kids, earning money comes first. But he had passion aplenty and had hands-on experience with procedures, triage, and human anatomy.</p>

<p>So I think your son should make a short list of criteria (can I get into Med school being only one of the items on the list) and then use that as a starting point.</p>

<p>I think AP’s are a great way for a homeschooled kid to make the " how does he stack up against the rest of the applicant pool" question go away. And for my money, a much better deal than many of the other educational enrichment possibilities since many colleges will give your S sophomore standing based on his scores.</p>

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<p>OP – an SAT II for science I definitely agree with! I think as much as schools tout acceptance for home schooled kids, the SAT II and APs are necessary as proof of well rounded preparation.</p>

<p>How far to drive? – Well, it depends on the test time and the tests. My kid is not a morning person. If it was an early test, I’d have to spend the night before because I know my kid wouldn’t perform well if he had to get up & out by 5 a.m.</p>

<p>Overall, I would drive my kid within a 3hour distance for 1 day, but not willing to drive more than 1.5 hr if I had to do it for 2-3 days in a week.</p>

<p>Our school already gave us the AP test dates for each subject, so you should certainly be able to get information now instead of waiting until January. When finding schools, be sure to check both dates and times. </p>

<p>IMO – York College is a great, financially feasible choice for quite a few kids in our area, but based upon your postings I wouldn’t recommend it for your son. Nothing against your GC, but I just don’t think based on the type of students you describe from your HS that the GC would have the experience to identify schools for your son. </p>

<p>I would only consider schools with lower stats then your son if 1. merit up to full tuition 2. honors option and 3. has a fair percentage of kids go onto further schooling (not necessarily med - any graduate program). Schools I’d consider:</p>

<p>Moravian in Bethlehem. They have merit up to full tuition. The AP credits awarded are clearly listed on their website. Very small compared to the schools you listed.
LaSalle or St Joe’s in Philadelphia as well.</p>

<p>With a 33 ACT, the schools on your list are very reasonable and the only reason to consider others is if it would be full tuition. </p>

<p>Personally, I am not sold on the early med acceptance programs. A few I looked at had college GPA requirements that are high – combine this with the difficulty to get initially accepted and basically I believe you have a student who would get accepted to the med school without issue anyway.</p>

<p>Can your son drive to visit some schools himself? I’m thinking sitting in on classes at college visits could be very good way to judge both the level of classes and get a feel for the type of student. I assume his home schooling schedule is flexible enough for this.</p>

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<p>If my kid were aiming for top schools, I’d drive two or three hours for an AP test. I think that 5’s on a couple of AP tests look better than A’s on a couple of community college classes. AP tests are at common dates and times; you can see the dates and times on the college board site.
<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools;
Chem is offered on the 2nd, Bio on the 9th, and Stats on the 11th.</p>

<p>(I agree that great scores on SAT subject tests serve the same purpose as great AP scores for admission purposes, so if he isn’t set on using the AP scores for credit, the SAT tests would be fine.)</p>

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<p>Shepherd is about 45 minutes from me. I don’t know how to say this without upsetting some people, but the students who are at the top of the class from our high school do not go there. Forgive me if I’ve ruffled any feathers.</p>

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<p>Thanks for confirming my thoughts on those schools. Many moons ago when I went to high school (NOT this one or nearby) our top students always went to top schools or near top and accordingly on down. Our GC always tried to match suggestions with ACT/SAT scores (we did both if we were college bound, of course, back then some schools mainly took one or the other). I just naturally was doing the same for my guys, so it surprised me when I looked at those recommendations and saw the incoming freshman stats.</p>

<p>I’ll stick with the modified plan A. We’re going to try to visit schools this winter/spring when they are in session and we’ll plan on driving to take AP Stats anyway. We’ll still decide between AP and SAT II for Chem and Bio since he likely won’t be using those for college credit wherever he goes. </p>

<p>I actually think I’m leaning against the BA/MD programs now. I agree with those that wonder what happens if he changes his mind and pursues research or something entirely different. I changed my major in college when I decided that while certain things were fun, they weren’y my life’s calling (computer science to physics). He might too. He’s planning on completing EMT Basic training this summer if they don’t cancel it due to low enrollment, so that might give him more insight.</p>

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<p>For college admissions, the most important scores are the SAT1 and/or ACT and the SAT2s. This is because they need to see where your kid falls in line with all other kids who are going thru conventional school. Further down the list of importance for acceptance is AP tests. So with that being said, I would spend the most energy getting top SAT1/ACT/SAT2 scores. If you still have time (which your child probably would), then I’d work on the AP. CCers have posted a list of the easiest to hardest tests on CC. </p>

<p>As for driving distance, I live in a big city, so I would think nothing of driving 2 hours each direction to take an AP test if necessary. You are competing against a pool of kids who are taking say 3 to 12 AP classes, for example. Premed/bio/biochem majors attract very hard workers who will have the large number of AP classes. It would be a different story if your child was aiming for a less competative major. That being said, I think that home schooling, as long as it was rigorous or had an interesting “slant,” makes your application stand out as being different and possibly more interesting than the standard student in the grind.</p>

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<p>For Chem, Math etc, SAT2 and APs are different. SAT2s show mastery of the high school level of the subject and thus kids from different schools can be easily compared. APs show ability for college level work (thus only 66% correct still will get you a 5 in AP chem, while you can only miss a few questions for SAT2 Chem to get the perfect 800). Thus it’s best to take both SAT2 and AP for Chem, for instance.</p>

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<p>Lastly, your child has been home-schooled. Do not understimate the level of competition that he/she will have at as premed. It is seriously hardcore/cutthroat. A lower-level school may be less hardcore for your home-schooled child.</p>

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<p>He’s only been homeschooled since 7th grade and it was because he had topped out in our local middle school without a whole lot of prospect to go further. He’s at the top of his community college classes (at least microbio where it’s easy to tell). It’s the higher competition I’m working to prepare him for - not dodging.</p>

<p>My oldest came home from college yesterday and I flat out asked him if homeschooling hurt or helped him with regards to college. In no time flat he said, “definitely helped.” He had to learn to be less detailed in note-taking, but that’s it. At the moment, he has all A’s and one B albeit in a less difficult major (Business & International Development), but one that suits him well.</p>

<p>Other high schools are different (I know, I went to a good one in my day). Ours does NOT prepare students well for higher education. We had one top student make NM Commended status this past year. One. Out of a graduating class of around 350. And she barely made the cut off. In a better school I have little doubt that she would have been higher and had peers with her. Many years we don’t have any. Hence, we’ve opted out. </p>

<p>I agree with you about the lower level school. I don’t believe it will be up to what this kid can do or should be doing. It’s just where our high school GC said he recommends all kids interested in medical fields go due to their arrangement with WV med school (or Hershey for York) and since I’m new to this whole pre-med stuff I thought I’d run it past more knowledgeable people to see if I was missing something common.</p>

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<p>Just a FYI update. I just heard back from AP/Collegeboard. They reply:</p>

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<p>so I’ll be checking in Jan as I originally planned. It didn’t hurt to ask early though.</p>