Does anyone know where an 8th grader takes an AP Exam (chemistry)? Just this year her eventual high school decided not to allow 8th graders to sit for the exam as they do not have the capacity.
My daughter just loves chemistry and wants to take AP Chemistry exam.
It is not necessarily for College Admission, but confidence about her knowledge
level and confidence when she eventually goes to college.
She has a real knack for chemistry and we want to encourage her to do it. It’s her choice.
Has anyone has success finding a school/district in the US that would allow an 8th grader to take an AP exam (I think most offer A chemistry)?
Honestly, what’s the rush? She can wait until she gets to HS.
What few schools allowed outside registration last year does not mean the same will allow it this year, particularly since all AP exams will be digital or hybrid.
You can certainly contact schools to ask, but none are obligated to register outside students. And most won’t. You’ll find that especially true in large states like CA and in large metro centers like NYC. Additionally, you may have more luck asking private schools; publics are generally less accommodating
She does not see it as rush or slow. I think sometimes kids/teens have a different concept of “rush or slow” from a parents or educators view or the social norm of when teens should take exams. It’s just natural for her.
We were all set. Last year the high school AP coordinator said my daughter could take it, this coming May, but the AP Coordinator left the school and the new AP Coordinator will not allow her to take it. She actually wanted to learn Organic Chemistry, but I told her she probably needed to know chemistry first.
Her slime addiction, turned into a baking addiction, into a chocolate making addition and a real interest in chemistry. She makes her own chocolate to use in baking and satisfy her sweet tooth. Who am I to discourage it.
So I’m in a pickle and trying to find another school that will allow an 8th grader to take it. If anyone has any ideas please let me know. Thanks so much in advance !!! :>>
You can certainly encourage her thirst for knowledge. It doesn’t need to be validated by a test. I think you just need to say no to her on the exam unless it’s her and not you that’s calling all these schools.
And I certainly wouldn’t fly her somewhere to take the test
The private HS’s in my area are known to be “open” when it comes to non-students taking AP’s. They need to have the testing capacity (i.e. enough classrooms with a proctor to supervise) but most will allow home schooled and non-students to take the test on a space available basis.
Hi blossom - Thanks so much for sharing! What a great idea as I am running into some obstacles reaching out to public high schools. For instance, I reached out to San Francisco high schools but I think there is a fair amount of bureaucracy. I will try private HS. I appreciate your thoughts!
Try both big and small HS’s. A small private HS may have only 5 kids taking the AP chem exam (so room for one more in the classroom); a big HS may have 50 kids taking the exam (but will likely split it into two classrooms with two proctors) so you could get lucky at either.
blossom - Very clever. I will try both as one never knows which schools will have capacity. Super helpful. Thank you for being supportive! – Kindly Dad.
UC Scout offers AP Chem online. Entry into the class is based on completed prerequisites and not grade level. If your student qualifies to take the class, I’m sure they could also take the exam.
UC Scout website says:
UC Scout will offer the 2025 AP® exam to 2024 Summer, 2024 Fall, and 2025 Spring On Demand students only. Students may only register through UC Scout for On Demand courses taken with UC Scout. UC Scout DOES NOT accommodate exams for courses taken through another provider or school.
Where will AP® exams be administered? In person at the UC Scout headquarters, 3175 Bowers Ave. in [Santa Clara, California]
As others have already said, we usually frown on taking AP Exam if not necessary, but hey, if she wants to, I don’t see why not.
I think taking it is not inherently an issue as long as 1) there’s no expectation that this would necessarily help her with admissions, and 2) she understands that her score may not reflect her excellence in chemistry–it only measures how well students know AP Chem.
You can use the AP Ledger to find a school with the right offerings.
D’s private high school did not teach AP classes so we had to find her a spot to take an AP foreign Language exam a couple years ago.
It took a lot of calling around both public and private schools in the area to find one. Finding a smaller private high school that teaches AP Chem will help because they likely won’t be at capacity with their own students, and they’re not obligated to accept local district homeschoolers.
I see you’re in SF Bay Area - sent you a PM
I am confused by the anti-AP examination slant here. So many things with the application process are unverifiable. Many EC’s, most “I studied XYZ independently / independent study” and all “I plan to’s” are pretty much on an honor code. Mathematicians are lauded for having won a Gold medal at the IMO at “x” age. Athletes are praised for having been the “youngest to land a triple axle” or “playing up in the U19 leage when in middle school”. Of course for academics, CC tells this parent to look for the brake pedal. How many different ways can this parent say her daughter loves this discipline?
This parent wants to commemorate and validate her daughter’s passion for Chemistry (frankly a very rare passion academically at virtually any College) with a standardized test that shows her precocious ability and enthusiasm. Answer: mild to moderate discourage from CC cognoscenti. Message: “It’s a free country, but don’t expect Colleges to care one bit!” Might a kid getting a “5” on the AP Chem exam have a predictable sense of pride that might galvanize her to even greater heights?
AP’s also can open doors to OP’s daughter studying Orgo, PChem, Inorganic D-Orbital Chem, whatever her driven, passionate scholar wants to study before getting to college. And yes, having given Pchem a chance to soak in for 4 years does give you more of a chance of true academic excellence vs. peers learning it for the first time. Doesn’t Yale / MIT, etc need more Chem majors? There are frankly very very very few everywhere. Might even be a bit of a “hook” - intending to major in a rare but essential discipline. Perhaps especially at Yale?
This we know is true: #1 - AP scores are voluntarily reported so even if you’re a perfectionist, the "4"score will open doors and need not be reported. #2 - Many high schools and Community colleges take note of AP scores as evidence of prerequisites or placement aids. #3 - Young people are actually allowed to have academic passions. It doesn’t have to always be a passion for scooping acai bowls, folding jeans or tire swings.
I always think it’s ironic that on a recent AP English Language exam, the prompt was about anti-intellectualism in the USA. How apt. What would CC have said to Terence Tao, Newton, Einstein or Feynman? “What’s the rush”?
Thanks Mom Searcheng - Yes. Homeschoolers must have it challenging. Thanks for your thoughts and support. I’ll reach out to PA Homeschoolers! Good idea. - Kindly Dad.
True, there are some 13 year olds with a passion for academics. I suspect if that student were the one posting, explaining her passion and looking for where she could take this test, the responses would have been equally helpful and perhaps less cautionary. When the parent of a 13 year old posts on a COLLEGE board, it does make one naturally wonder what their motivations may be.
My kid took a baking class too and she also thought the chemistry element was fun to learn. Then she took AP Chem, in high school, and it was tough. As passionate as she may have been at 13, I likely wouldn’t have gone straight to 'let’s have you take AP Chem!" I might have signed her up for a community college Chem 1 class ‘for fun.’ Or maybe she would have been so passionate and self-directed that she would have sought out a way to learn on her own. There’s certainly no shortage of online classes she may have found.
I think the majority of responders were reacting to something that often happens on CC, posts by parents looking for ways ever-earlier to ‘get ahead’ and get their kids into an Ivy, top 20 etc. A kind of gaming the system approach, that many may have suspected or reacted to. (Not that this necessarily was the OP’s intent)
I don’t agree that they were discouraging her enthusiasm or being ‘anti-intellectual,’ I think they may have primarily been concerned about the OP’s motivations. On the contrary, I’ve found the ‘CC cognoscenti’ to be quite a caring, knowledgeable and encouraging bunch of folks.
I’m glad the dad has found some good answers, and wish him and his student all the best.
