<p>FindAPlace - it’s true that the blanket reductions in UC admissions skip over UCLA and UCB, and enrollment at Merced is slated to continue to increase. However, in-state students will have fewer slots at Berkeley because UCB is increasing the percent of out-of-state first-year admits from 10 percent to 13.5 percent. No word yet from UCLA if they’ll follow suit.</p>
<p>With 10 periods you certainly could take more. We have a weird 1/2 period lunch period which means there are 7.5 periods in a day with an extra 0 period (at 7am) that is mostly for the special arts program, though gym and health are also offered then. Frankly I’m just as glad - I think 10 courses is about five too many.</p>
<p>mathmom - that was my point - because the school offers a 10-period day, the competitive students feel compelled to take 9 or 10 periods, and they end up working so hard because not only are they taking full schedules, but they’re often taking loads of AP or honors courses. I know what my D’s schedule is like, and I imagine that most of her friends have similar schedules. Most students don’t take 10 courses though - at least one of those is supposed to be a lunch period. My guess is that most competitive students take 8 or 9 classes, including PE which is mandatory.</p>
<p>FindAPlace - it’s not block scheduling - most classes meet everyday (a few exceptions like PE, science labs, health and keyboarding meet every other day) for one period. Classes are 41 minutes long. I’m not sure of the exact times that school begins and ends, but I drop D off around 7 AM (a little early) and classes end about 3, but I never pick her up right after school as she has sports everyday. I believe the school day, not counting sports & clubs, is about 7 1/2 hours. </p>
<p>I’m glad your S was impressed by UCLA, even if he finds it too large for his taste.</p>
<p>follow up sports question- so for those of you who have sports as the last period in the day, does this mean that for away games they do not miss additional class time for travel?</p>
<p>We are not in a large metro area, and since we are in the small school division we play other small schools who are also strewn about the state. On Tues my girls needed to leave at 12:30 for their race which departure times usually between 12 and 2, classes end at 2:45. The good part is our schedule rotates, so for example if you have math first period today it is second period tomorrow. So it isn’t the same classes they miss each time they are dismissed early but it can get to you. They say that “E block” has been hit my most of the past race days.</p>
<p>Our school has 7 class periods, but one is dropped per day, new schedule this year. The classes are 51 mins long except for the last which is 66. There is also a 1/2 hour for activities and advisor groups during the day and lunch. This is to match up with the middle school since some teachers teach at both and some MS take HS math classes. The MS gets our earlier and has their sports practices on the fields/courts before the HS takes over until 5/6pm. Interesting about the schools where JV etc practice for a period during the school day, that is how we used to do gym class but for football it seems like the period would be spent dressing/undressing. </p>
<p>LIMOM- not to butt in but your GC said your daughter would be one of the few ever getting the most rigorous marking from her, so I would be curious to hear what she says about the schedules of the other “top” kids, are you maybe getting a skewed view from your D? It also looked from the schedule you posted that she (your D) might be cutting back a little next year? </p>
<p>QM- my D is right there with you, there are many classes (some art, and Spanish) she would like to take but can’t. She wants to double major with a minor in college… I think she would be happy transferring to LIMOM’s school 
But you said she can’t take everything she needs, is there a problem to be resolved before graduation? Does she need to take a summer class?</p>
<p>Okay, I have renewed appreciation for the admissions officers who have to compare the rigor of these schedules, never mind the grading scales. My D’s schedule sounds most like that of Jackief’s D–7 periods plus an activity period, plus lunch. PE is typically satisfied by sports or an independent contract (dance class for my D). Kids usually take a free block and are required to take 2 years of art, so that leaves the schedule looking a little light at times compared to some of these other schools. My D has exhausted the more rigorous math and science at the school, so is considering doubling up by adding an online math course and maybe an independent study in science. I’m looking at your kids’ schedules and trying to figure out if she’s getting in over her head.</p>
<p>astromom- when we had this discussion the last time (and I’m sure we will at least one more time in this thread before the kids are all off at college 
) I remember having angst since my D would love to take more more more and may not have 4 years of every core class… She will have 3 of history and was originally thinking of only 3 of science but now will probably take some electives next year so will have 3+ I’m sure the colleges can sort out the difference between the kid with 5 available periods vs. 10. I am happy we have fewer as it can keep them more sane, I am glad our school is not a pressure cooker and has balance as one of its core values. When D was fighting the school last year to allow her to take a 7th class (the outcome was that she could audit a non-core class) I was kind of ambivalent, although I would like her to have the experience I knew she wouldn’t be penalized with a free period if that was what the school mandated.</p>
<p>jackief - no, my D won’t be cutting back at all next year. Right now, she doesn’t have a first period class - during the fall, she assisted a teacher, and now she’s going to be working on an independent research project. She has class periods 2-10 with a lunch. Next year, she’ll probably have a similar schedule - 6 APS, PE, Wind Ensemble, lunch, and most likely a free first so she can help out that teacher again. </p>
<p>I haven’t a clue what D’s GC would say about most of D’s friends (all excellent students)- but D pointed out to me that a few of them decided not to take AP Euro or honors chem last year, and this year, some aren’t taking honors Pre-calc which means they won’t be able to take AP BC Calc next year. From what the GC said to me, she wouldn’t give that most rigorous checkmark to anyone without all of those courses at the very least. I think she also requires foreign language through senior year as well. My guess is that she checks off the next highest box on that list for most of the kids taking tough courseloads. She also made sure that we understand that D’s school does not inflate grades. </p>
<p>And I can understand how your D and QM’s D feel - wanting to take classes but not being able to fit them into their schedules. Believe me, even with 10 periods, D has run into that problem due to scheduling conflicts. That’s a potential problem next year for sure, as most of the courses she wants to take are only offered in a single period. She seemed hopeful that we’d be able to work our way around any difficulties though.</p>
<p>jackief–I’m very glad as well that D’s school is not a pressure cooker and that we avoid the GPA and class rank scene, especially when I hear kids feeling like they have to avoid taking something they’re really interested in because it will hurt their GPA. It sounds like our Ds are somewhat alike in wanting to pack in as much as they can, but it’s nice that it comes from them and not from outside pressure.</p>
<p>Jackief - that’s the problem with D’s school - it’s great in so many ways - but for some kids, it really is a pressure cooker. It’s nice that they offer so much and are so flexible - but that makes some kids feel like they have to fit in every class possible - and that’s just not always possible (D wanted to take AP Art History and Psych, but couldn’t due to scheduling conflicts).</p>
<p>astromom- our GPA and Honor roll lists are both unweighted and the school does not rank. One thing they do do is include non-core classes in the GPA, D only has had one of them required for graduation Fr year, and we do a self adjust to take that out when we do comparisons on naviance. </p>
<p>I remember the rank gaming from my own HS, girl who was val had fewer and easier classes than me but I didn’t care. I seem to have instilled the same sense of not worrying about it and taking the best classes for you and doing your best to my Ds.</p>
<p>D can be a bit too serious at times, this year she needs to take English electives and is not happy that the class she got scheduled for this term she deems as “fluff” even though I’m sure it is not. The two teachers (team teaching it) are both Dartmouth grads, one has Harvard MEd also, and tell them they are teaching it like a college seminar but she gets negative feelings about not getting the class she wanted with her favorite (the toughest) teacher it is hard to get her to open her mind to change.</p>
<p>Jackief - nice that your D’s school offers English electives - that’s probably one of the weaknesses at my D’s school. There are a few, but they can’t be taken instead of the required English classes. D’s school also doesn’t rank, though they do have a val and a sal. Like your D’s school, my D’s school includes all classes when determining the cumulative GPA. Honors classes and AP classes are weighted, with APs weighted a little higher. Not sure whether they use weighted or unweighted for honor roll - but an interesting question.</p>
<p>Wow. I wish S’s school had 7 or 8 periods. With only 5, it’s really hard to fit in all he wants/needs to take. He has 3 APs this year and will have 3 or 4 next year. But it’s very difficult to fit in 4 with the other required classes (PE, computers, tech, etc) and have any time for Symphonic Band. This year he gets only one trimester of band, and next year may be the same. At least Jazz Ensemble is an EC(but they still get credit for it), so he can keep up with that.</p>
<p>Next year’s schedule:
AP English Lit (3 tris)
AP Bio (3 tris)
AP Stats (2 tris) – the only math left
Physics H (2 tris)
AP Amer Pol/Gov, Comp Gov (3 tris) or American Problems/US Gov/Ctznshp (2 tris)
PE (1 tri – required)
1 or 2 tris of Symphonic Band</p>
<p>BengalMom - I have a question for you - aren’t AP Stats and Physics supposed to be full-year courses? I noticed your S only has 2 tris scheduled for each. How does that work? I’m used to the semester system. And yes, having only 5 periods makes it really hard to fit in classes, especially when there are certain classes that are mandated by the state (like PE, Health, computers, etc.). We have those requirements as well, but with 10 periods/day, it’s really not a problem to fit them in.</p>
<p>not sure if this is a fortunately or an unfortunately, but I see the english electives withering… Next year they will be starting two new Jr year courses, AP Eng Lang and a full year American lit course. The latter for kids who need some continuity throughout the year but don’t get accepted for the AP class (they will do a writing sometime mid soph year to determine who gets into the AP), I see this (the Am Lit) as the course my freshman D2 will be best suited for. There is currently one section of Sr AP Eng Lit.</p>
<p>So between the 3 sections for these three year long classes, there will be fewer kids taking electives and fewer options. Between Jrs and Srs, there is usually only one elective offered per period, that will likely now be reduced and I fear some tracking as the kids in the (few) honors/AP classes will be in all classes together. Remember this is a small private school with all kids wanting to be there. As it is now, they really only have the option of one or two elective choices which fits their schedule. Although there are some really cool ones (she took Mythology in the fall) there are others which are not interesting to all the kids (baseball, one on war lit, the one she is in now is about the 60’s) It is also nice to have a mix of Jrs and Srs in the class, the majority of the Srs do not take AP Lit. Jrs also need to take composition for one of the terms, that will be folded into the new year long classes as well.</p>
<p>Yet another new topic…what advantages exactly does being a legacy confer on an applicant? D is just barely in the range of my alma mater (my H went to the same school-so she’s a double legacy, if that matters), will her legacy status give her a significant leg up, or will it just put her in the deferred pile to make her parents feel better.</p>
<p>QM, it depends very much on the schools she’s applying to. With some, like UPenn for example, being a legacy and applying ED gives a significant admissions boost. At other colleges it may give only a very slight tip. But, as the saying goes, it couldn’t hurt!</p>
<p>Now, if you and H have contributed, say, the cost of a new building to your alma mater… ;)</p>
<p>It’s interesting to see all of the different schedule variations. My school has 7 staggered and rotating periods (60+ min early periods, ~30 min last two periods), with all the usual state requirements (1 year gym, 1/2 year health, 1/2 computers). But after satisfying the school’s extended curricular requirements, plus taking band (required to audition for All-State Band) and a foreign language all four years, I have space for exactly one full-year elective. Coupled with a choice not to take APUSH this year (extremely hard teacher + I hate U.S. history + the honors teacher has actually made history interesting for me), I’ll be graduating with “only” 6 APs. Many students take classes over the summer in order to skip ahead in math/science, which is unfortunately forbidden in the humanities sequences. But that’s the drawback of a magnet school, I guess.</p>
<p>The juniors at D’s HS have to register for senior year by Jan. 31st. She turned in her course requests on Monday. My husband and I made her angry the other night when we had to sign the request form because we thought she might be taking on a little too much. But she said she doesn’t want to be in classes with kids who don’t want to be there. We reminded her that she will be dealing with all those applications come September but she stood firm. So the schedule for next year is:</p>
<p>English IV AP Literature
Statistics AP
Chemistry AP
History of the Americas IB (she’s not IB, but they let other kids take the class with approval)
Chamber Choir
Economics Honors (1/2 year)
Film as Literature (1/2 year-fill in for U.S.Govt AP which is required for graduation but which gets waived if you’ve taken APUSHistory and History of the Americas IB)</p>
<p>So 6 periods plus lunch and a study hall.</p>
<p>I haven’t focused on the legacy issue too much since my D is double legacy at a college that does not offer her intended major. But my understanding is that it can make a difference even if you haven’t donated because they think that you and she will have stronger ties to the college and might be more likely to give down the road. Some will only offer that advantage if she applies ED though, so I would check on that.</p>
<p>The Demon will be taking next year</p>
<p>IB Math Studies
IB History of the Americas HL
IB/AP Biology HL
IB/AP English Literature
AP Italian
IB Psych HL
Phys Ed
TOK
Honors Latin as her elective (God willing!)</p>