Parents of the HS Class of 2014

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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<p>mom4art - The only AP class offered to sophomores at our local public (which my older child attended) is World History. Sometimes I read about kids on cc who have taken 12 or 13 AP’s and I wonder how they did that. I guess many self study, but we knew of very few who did that and no one at that HS who took that many.</p>

<p>At S’s school, World History is required of sophomores, but is not considered an AP class. However because of the level at which it is taught (it’s a selective magnet HS) some students choose to self study and sit for the AP exam. S plans to do this. He plans to take AP Euro next year which will be his only sophomore AP.</p>

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<p>No AP’s for sophomores in our school. We only have six AP classes, and kids start them as juniors. IMO, this is another area where inflation seems to be creeping in - I agree with Ordinarylives about how meaningful could it be for a sophomore. I have seen posts on here stating that kids are taking 15-20 “AP” courses. Competitive/Selective Schools want to see that the student has challenged themselves lby taking the most the most rigorous course work available to them. I think if one keeps that in mind and structures their courses in that manner, they will be fine.</p>

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<p>Let me hear an amen. I’ve got a senior, too, and in the end, kids go where they can afford. Makes the whole stressful process seem foolish, at best. Much rather see a kid be engaged in something he or she likes or just wants to try than loading up on APs just to get into a “good” college.</p>

<p>Our school offers 8 APs. D1 graduated without any and had no trouble getting into the colleges she applied to. D2 may end up in a couple, if she wants, but I certainly won’t push it.</p>

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<p>DS’14’s soph. schedule is mostly filled with requirements, but he is taking Choir and AP Eur. History as electives.</p>

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<p>One of the reasons why students, including my oldest son, complete high school with such AP totals is that they begin their academic programs so early. Both of my sons took Algebra I as seventh graders. My youngest (Class of '14) took Spanish I as an eighth grader. By the time they are sophomores, they are running out of classes (unless they want to take lots of shop-type subjects, which holds no interest for them). So, as a result of scheduling, they need to move to the online AP subjects just to fill their days. Their motivation has never been to impress some college. They just love to learn, and as long as they feel that they can manage their studies with all the other things that they do, then one should be supportive.</p>

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<p>^ When D was in MS, the HS foreign language classes were not available until 8th grade. If a student stayed with the language, he/she took the AP class Senior year. Now the 7th graders can take the languages and the program is 6 years with AP still taken Senior year. </p>

<p>It was very rare for a 7th grader to be in Algebra 1 back then, now it is fairly common. I don’t know how or if this has changed the math sequence at the HS.</p>

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<p>Hey everyone, I see a few familiar faces. I had to come look for this thread since the activity for our graduating HS senior is dying down on CC. ;)</p>

<p>I have a S’14 who is different from my D in almost every possible way. I expect the process to be so much easier and more relaxed now that I’m so well informed. Hope these aren’t famous last words!!!</p>

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<p>Hi All
We too are totally chill now that our Sr is set.</p>

<p>Our frosh is soooo different…
No one at our private HS does APs til Jr year…they just aren’t offered. Less than half of the class takes them as a Jr.</p>

<p>Just now I told kiddo I hope that as an adult, kiddo has FIVE children just like 'em!</p>

<p>It has been one of those evenings… :rolleyes:
hehehehe Wanted to say “I can roll my eyes too ya know!”</p>

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<p>Glido, That’s awesome! Way to go!
mom4art, My S14 was trying to get a free summer program to study Arabic or Chinese abroad or stateside. He’ll try again next year. Hopefully he’ll give a more convincing reason for why he wants to learn a new language so that he’ll pass the interview stage.</p>

<p>Re. AP courses, My S14 will take more AP courses next year than either of his older siblings ever have but that’s just because he (and I) learned from their experience and got prerequisites out of the way sooner. He’s in AP world history and environmental science this year. He’ll be in AP Spanish lang, English lang, calculus AB, statistics, economics and government next year as well as band and physics. But he’s one of a kind at his high school and will be moving on to a more demanding school after his sophomore year. At some schools, like my son’s, the only way to be in classes with other motivated kids is to be in APs.</p>

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<p>I have been a lurker for sometime now… I have finally decided to join/post. So here goes. I am the mother of a freshman/daughter… she is 15yo. We redshirted her way back when and it was the best decision that I have made thus far in her educational journey… She has always been a straight A student and very mature/focused…</p>

<p>We live in the inner city… guns/violence… rampant teen pregnancy… educational mediocrity… but I have managed to keep her and her older brother above the frey, through hard work,extremely high standards and a no nonsense, old fashioned/down home household.</p>

<p>Her K-8 experience was a small parochial school(200 students) and is now in a large (780 students) public high school which focuses on healthcare or business. They actually have a very close relationship/partnership with Yale University med school. So she will be able to experience some interesting things @ the medical school in her junior yr. </p>

<p>All the freshman took the PSAT back in October and many of the public school 8th graders take the PSAT as well…she did quite well for her freshman status… she is an avid reader and did amazing… her math was a bit low… but her GC feels that once she completes her Algebra II class will help to increase her scores!! She will double up next year and take ALG II & Geometry. </p>

<p>Her GPA 4.3 and is # 9 in a class of 201… IF she had been placed in all honors classes(she was waitlisted for this magnet school, we pulled some strings so she could get in but it didnt happen until the Friday before school started! So by the time her classes were selected, most of the honors classes were filled) then she would have a much higher rank. Which is so important in HER life… and where she wants to go in 2014. Yale(which is 2 minutes away), Harvard, Princeton, Spelman top her list of schools that will get her attention in 2013 when the process officially begins.</p>

<p>Her school frowns upon soph’s taking AP courses, but I was able to get permission from the principal… though he thinks its a bad idea… But she really wants it because she has had such an easy time in ALL of her classes this year… she is seeking rigor… so who am I to thwart her efforts? She decided on AP psych d/t her interests in medicine… the other AP courses have pre req’s that she has not taken… And yes! she will be in ALL honors classes next year… </p>

<p>Her EC’s are</p>

<p>Book Bowl (her team won the city wide contest last week)
Science pathways @ Yale<br>
Delta Gems(mentoring program)
Yale Piers Foreign Language class(Italian)</p>

<p>She is also has interest in marine biology so she became a docent at an aquarium here in CT which is a 2 hour drive round trip but well worth what she has learned educationally and personally…she will be able to increase her responsibilities once she turns 16…such as working with the stranded seal department, animal husbandry etc…</p>

<p>I realize that she has a long way to go to become Ivy worthy… but I am always in search of classes/activities for her to broaden her spectrum and her increase her so called WOW factor… she will be @ Choate Rosemary Hall for 3 wonderful classes this summer. She will hone her skill set/work on any deficiencies that she may have… I am sure that this summer will help her to mature even more and to show her how private high schools educate their young and show her what her 2014 competition is doing! I am hoping this will be a eye opening experience and being gone for 5 weeks will help her to see that my overzealous views about the whole college process is not so overboard afterall.
They will be taking tours of Ivy league schools and having college fairs on the Choate campus throughout the summer. </p>

<p>We have already gone to a college fair last fall and will be visiting Harvard next week on a day trip… Many folks in my circle ask" Why so soon? she is only a freshman!!!" but I say… “Why not?”. I am sure that all of the posters on this board share my sentiments…</p>

<p>I hope this first post wasn’t too long… are your eyes glazed over yet? lol</p>

<p>Any advice on how to get her to include the “classics” to her reading repetiore? She has read many for school assignments, but I want her to begin selecting them on her own…</p>

<p>Any programs that she should consider? She has always been interested in medicine.</p>

<p>Which online AP classes/programs do you folks recommend? Which companies are the best to go through?</p>

<p>What are your freshman doing this summer?</p>

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<p>NewHavenCTmom, My kids have enjoyed Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development summer programs and Concordia Language Villages. I can not recommend CTD’s online classes. S14 tried their honors algebra II class a couple years ago but it turned out to be an old fashioned correspondence course via email. There was no instruction and the course did not take advantage of any internet features that could have made it interesting. He dropped it after a couple months and picked up a different course that, unfortunately, does not seem to be available outside our state.
What I’ve learned is that colleges seem more interested in leadership and service than anything else so I’m sure that your daughter’s volunteer work in her area of interest is a good thing. My older daughter took AP psychology at a young age and loved it. That would be a very good first AP course. In our area, most kids do AP world history first - a bad idea because it covers an overwhelming amount of material. Psych is more fun and interesting. Good luck and welcome!</p>

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<p>I always teased my older two as they were studying for the AP World History test: “They can ask you about anything that has ever happened in the history of the world.”</p>

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<p>Apollo6,</p>

<p>Thank you for your insights… It is so crucial that she get this thing right! I came across a website [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.nationalmathandscience.org%5DNational”&gt;http://www.nationalmathandscience.org]National</a> Math and Science Initiative<a href=“I%20saw%20the%20commercials%20on%20TV”>/url</a> and visited the site…</p>

<p>Under the “resources” section, a documentary is discussed… the title is 2 Million Minutes. The premise of the movie is that after our kids finish the 8th grade, they have 2 million minutes left before they graduate from highschool and into the world… and how will they be prepared for that world… and what are they doing with their valuable time. </p>

<p>Thats a very compelling thought… I always remind my dtr of the time that she has left before she will begin the whole application process… she only have 2 years and 6 months left before the fall of 2013 and as we know, this is when the ever so punctilious process begins… Boy, time flies when you are raising college bound kids! Actually, the process has begun in our home… not on paper, but she is readying herself for what she will present to the AC’s!!!</p>

<p>I must say that from reading many a post here on CC that the reason why I am so fanactical about her achievement on this end(before the college years) is because I never want it said that she got into school because of her skin color!! Why is that always an assumption? Isn’t it possible that black students can gain entry to these places sans the “diversity” card? I want her to gain admission because of her accomplishments/grades/high test scores! But there will always be those who feel that she doesn’t deserve her place next to them in class/in the dorm… and it sucks… </p>

<p>Missypie,</p>

<p>I am sooo glad I didnt push her to take the AP WH class… I thought it would be a better class to take. But my dtr stood her ground and wants AP psych…I want her 1st AP to be challenging yet interesting and one that will not have her pulling out her hair with her full load of honors classes, sports, her volunteering @ the aquarium and her language class that she will take @ Yale…we went out today to pick up a few of the AP pysch study guides/CD ROM so she can begin to peruse the information… she even was smart enough to grab the course syllabus from the AP teacher to see what she has in store for the fall!</p>

<p>Wow another long post… I promise, it won’t be so long next time… :)</p>

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<p>NewHavenCTmom, Of course you want her to stand on her merits, not her skin or family background. I would want the same. I feel strange enough about my Asian adoptees being considered “Asian” even though they’ve been raised in a white family. That being said, don’t hesitate taking advantage of any opportunity that comes from being female and non-white. TASS is the biggest example but my older daughter also enjoyed free, and even paid, summer programs for engineering and computer science. Ultimately, she decided she wasn’t interested in either of those fields but it was great that she could try them out at no cost to her family. Your daughter will have many opportunities.</p>

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Each family and each kid is different, but – I would not feel right about adding to my kids’ stress in this way. I don’t see the high school years as primarily preparation for the game that ends with a fat envelope, and I don’t want my kids to see it that way either. To me, the goal is happy, well-adjusted high schoolers, then happy, well-adjusted college students, and so on until hopefully they are happy, well-adjusted elderly people some day. (Of course, even “happy, well-adjusted” is a moving target, heh heh.) I want them to make a living, feel fulfilled, have good relationships, and have a positive influence in the world. I also want them to have fun.</p>

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Wait! In terms of college/competitive programs, is a female/white having advantage or a female/asian having advantage? I could be listed either way. I’d really want to know. Please tell me. Somehow I got the impression that being Asian gives you the worst deal these days.
Am I wrong?</p>

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<p>These days I don’t think being Asian is any advantage except in admissions to less competitive schools that are looking to become more diverse. Being female is an advantage in fields such as engineering, mathematics, physics and computer science.</p>

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<p>Things are looking up for S14. Just got off the waitlist for a residential Flagship Chinese language summer program at a local university. He will be a little surprised because he was hoping to begin Arabic this summer but I think he will find Chinese interesting and fun, too. I’m just glad he will have something interesting to do this summer that I can afford.</p>

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<p>Apoolo6,</p>

<p>Try startalk… its a program that offers Arabic, Chinese and Urdu I believe.</p>

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<p>You are right - that’s what he applied for. He was waitlisted for an Arabic program in Georgia but just got off the waitlist for Chinese in our state. I couldn’t find any other residential Arabic programs for him to apply to. He’s looked at the daily schedule now and thinks it will be fun. I told him he can try again for Arabic next year - that he is not obliged to continue in Chinese if he has another preference.</p>