<p>Re APs: D1 only took one AP her junior year and 3 her senior year this year. And I don’t know how much those senior APs really accounted for because the school is on a trimester. Where she was accepted she applied ED. They just received a report from October. She was accepted to a top LAC.</p>
<p>I tend to think it is more about taking the most challenging courseload available. D1 still took honors courses and did well.</p>
<p>NewHavenCT: Looks like your D is on the right track. ;-)</p>
<p>My thoughts on SATs. D1 ended up taking a total of 6 SAT tests. 2 through John Hopkins. PSAT. A practice test offered early Junior year and twice for real. Then the 2 subject tests, once each. That makes 8. And she took the ACT (without a calculator, Dad’s fault). </p>
<p>The John Hopkins thing was nice because it set her sights high. But honestly her math score did not really go up that much from taking it in 7th grade. That is after 3 years of high school math. She looked into it and found that the young test takers guess better. </p>
<p>I constatntly asked if she had at least done the free practice test questions online at college board. She never had time because of her ECs. She definetely did not have time for a prep course either. Some of her scores went up and some went down between the two real tests. So score choice worked in her favor. She ended up with a 1900. Her ACT was actually pretty better. In the end it was essay that made the difference in admission.</p>
<p>I might bring up practice questions in a year to D2.</p>
<p>S14 took AP environmental science this week and felt pretty good about it. His class was full of junior and senior jocks. He and one other student bothered to take the AP exam. I hope he did okay despite the lack of motivation from his classmates. AP world coming up next Thursday. His older brother and sister took it at his age and both scored 4s so I am hoping for the best. He’s scheduled to take the SAT II for math II in June after he finishes his precal class. His older sister is taking precal as well so they will be testing together although she will also take biology and Spanish.</p>
<p>
My D3 will be in with your D4 when they start one. 
I also have a D’11 and S’14 to match your kids.</p>
<p>D’11 took three APs this year. She didn’t really have an opportunity to take any before at her small private school. Honestly, the courses the school offers are just wonderful and the AP touch doesn’t improve them. The AP classes, unless wonderfully taught, as her AP English Lit class is, seem to discourage real learning, critical thinking and growth. S’14 will take AP Computer Science soph year, only because he is all into programming and there is nothing else for him to take.</p>
<p>seattle_mom: My son’s school offers four APs – all to juniors and seniors. If you want to take another one or two or lots more, you take them through a virtual program.</p>
<p>That said, I do agree that some classes do not encourage critical thinking or learning. Sometimes, it’s the teacher. Other times, it’s the kids. My son’s school is open enrollment with classes, so anyone who does the summer work can take an AP. Right now, one of the AP teachers says that this will be his worst class in 30 years of teaching to take the exam. He does not look for anyone to get above a 3. Is it him? No, because this is a guy who consistently has big scores. This group of kids, he says, does not want to work. They think AP will look good on the transcript. Well, it does, if you do well in the subject. I keep telling the kids who plan to take the class that if you do, you will work. The payoff is not just a good grade or test score, but the ability to manage your time effectively. That’s what this class will teach – if you embrace it.</p>
<p>Seattle<em>mom and momreads – I am so with you on the APs.
From Seattle</em>mom: “The AP classes, unless wonderfully taught, as her AP English Lit class is, seem to discourage real learning, critical thinking and growth.”
Momreads: “They think AP will look good on the transcript.”</p>
<p>For D, APs were the death of learning. Maybe it’s her, maybe it’s her teacher, but one of my first posts on CC questioned the whole validity of AP classes. It used to be the way you showed this thirst for learning on a higher, more challenging level. Now, it’s a trope that all these college bounds kids blindly buy into (not all of them, but a lot of them). “You have to take 1 AP in 10th; 3 in 11th; 4 in 12th” is what I’ve heard. When I posted asking if APs were an idea whose time has come and gone, I was routinely shot down – it was as if I didn’t pray at the church of the Common App. </p>
<p>But it’s worth asking – are they still the best way for our kids to challenge themselves and get a college level experience in learning at a stimulating level? I think we all hope college will have some wonderful teachers who really open our kids up to learning and a love of learning, which is the gift of a lifetime. That’s what college should give you – not a job (although that would be nice) but a lifetime curiosity and desire to explore and learn. </p>
<p>APs (in my experience with D who has 7 under her belt) don’t do anything like that. They’re a ton of work; no real insights or excitement; it’s just something you do to get into college.</p>
<p>What I would like for S (HS Class of 2014) is the development of his own AP-type course where he maybe creates his own learning pathway on a subject that involves interfacing with college professors and/or independent study. One of the best times I had with D '11 was when she made up her own science project to study the properties of water. It never occurred to her that she could figure out a way to learn the curriculum without it being a preset, boring task handed down from the teacher. I want more excitement in the learning process. So far, I don’t think APs offer that.</p>
<p>Classof2015,Seattle_mom, and Momreads, I also agree with your comments regarding APs. It seems that the vast majority of AP classes involve nothing more than rote memorization. I read somewhere that the College Board is revamping its AP Bio to incorporate more “critical thinking” skills.<br>
We homeschool, which gives us the ability to design our own courses. S14 is finishing up AP Physics B at our local high school (he is taking his final exam as I write this), but he plans on only taking two more AP classes throughout his high school years.
It has been difficult for some of my friends’ kids to jump off of the AP treadmill for fear that they won’t be as competitive for the top colleges. Some of the kids in our area have upwards of 11-13 AP classes under their belt before they graduate (they are also staying up until 2:00 a.m. every day of the week doing homework), and they do extremely well with college admissions. As long as colleges continue to view AP classes as the most rigorous courses, I don’t see the AP craze changing.</p>
<p>@seattle mom: Looks like we will keep bumping into each other for years to come, eh?</p>
<p>D2 is at a new Charter HS. Only a few years old. They don’t offer AP now but talk about it for the future. Right now they somehow enroll them at a local Community College for that type of credit. Not sure how I feel about this either way. Any had this type of experience? Thoughts?</p>
<p>They also started Virtual High School (VHS). Our experience with VHS so far: D1 (who goes to our local public HS) took an AP VHS course with mixed results. She did it for one trimester because there were conflicts in her schedule and she would miss out on having her favorite French teacher for senior year. SO she took Calc AB AP online though VHS. It was like she was teaching herself. Spent so much time and effort figuring things out on her own, only to come out of the trimester with a B (which got sent to Wellesley, ugh).</p>
<p>So if anyone is looking at Virtual High School, taking a math class is tough IMO. An english or history class might be different.</p>
<p>^ S3 is just finishing up VHS Geometry this semester (a year accelerated in a semester online). The format has been difficult for him. He will be glad to be done and we probably will not got to this format in the future. He is a good student but he is one that feeds off of interaction with a teacher, class discussion, etc. You simply don’t have that online and he has missed it more than we thought. He’s done well, but it has been tough. The class is in addition to his regular classes at school, not to replace. His math sequence got messed up in middle school so he was ‘course correcting’ so to speak, not wildly trying to jump up.</p>
<p>VHS is the ‘go to’ answer for the school whenever there is a conflict. While it is helpful for some, I don’t think it is always the best method for all students.</p>
<p>I cannot imagine Geometry online. That is one class were you really look at the diagram and watch the equation unfold as it is explained.</p>
<p>We used to marvel at the way our teacher could draw a perferct freehand circle on the chalkboard. He would start with his elbow at the centerpoint and forearm hanging down and end up in a contorted position. He did it really fast too. Can’t get that online.</p>
<p>Our high school sends kids to the virtual world, because it just does not have enough academic electives available. </p>
<p>Foreign language, mathematics and various sciences are difficult to do in an online format. My oldest son did AP stats online. Loved it. Said the teacher was outstanding. She prepared him so well for his college statistics classes.</p>
<p>woodblocks, there’s a series of online math videos called the Khan Academy that actually does just that. The videos were started by a fellow helping his young cousin with her math homework. One of the interesting features of the videos is that they invert the usual classtime/homework model. Usually, everyone hears a math lecture together, and then they do problem sets as homework by themselves. Having online lectures changes this: the homework becomes listening to the lecture by yourself, rewinding when necessary so that the individual student can be sure they understand. Then, during classtime, students work problems under the teacher’s scrutiny. That allows them to get help in person if they’re not sure what to do next.</p>
<p>I first heard about these videos in a newspaper article a few months back. I started reading the article to D2, who is not a big math fan–after two paragraphs, she said “hey, that’s what we use in class! Those are great!” </p>
<p>Worth checking out as a supplemental resource. I know they go up through at least trig, not sure about calculus.</p>
<p>We love Kahn Academy! My 2011 son found the site when studying for the SAT. It’s a great supplemental resource, I totally agree.</p>
<p>^ another great resource for mathy kids is [Art</a> of Problem Solving](<a href=“http://www.artofproblemsolving.com%5DArt”>http://www.artofproblemsolving.com)</p>
<p>Hi all, my son will be doing a geometry class on line this summer. We shall see how it goes for him. I am guessing it might dissuade him from ever doing an online class again! I appreciate the links above to Khan Academy (Wow!) and Art of Problem solving.</p>
<p>Online math classes are a very mixed bag. My S’14 tried Northwestern’s Gifted Learning Links honors algebra 2 online class in 8th grade and it was terrible. It was basically a correspondence course via email. There was no instruction and only help if you recognized you needed it and asked for it. All grades were based on quizzes and tests. Even a gifted kid who loves math hated it. He switched to a local online course provider and found it was much better because it included video lessons, power points, lessons and quizzes with immediate feedback. Be careful choosing online math classes. Try to find out what the format is before you pay. We wasted nearly $800 for a bad course.</p>
<p>D1 had an online class this year. She thought it was awful! Boring, interacation “online” is not the same as interaction in person. She hated it. Doubt she would ever take another.</p>
<p>Oh boy. We’ve already paid. It is Stanford’s EPGY course. Anyone hear anything about that?</p>
<p>Hi Everybody! Ive been reading your posts for awhile now and like the healthy back and forth youve developed and would be honored to be part of this vibrant, ever-changing conversation. Our D (only child of two oldest, poor thing!) is attending a prep school in Minnesota and, so far, loves math and science. Not much interest in arty stuff. Loves to read but absolutely HATES the pick-apart, analyze-to-death nature of literature classes, for reasons well no doubt get into on this board some day. Shes a nuts and bolts kind of girl, I guess. This board will be good for me because Im just too into the college thing and enjoy discussing it but dont want her to feel the pressure that is inevitably and inadvertently implied when I do.<br>
Some of you seem very hands on with your kids while others tend to sit back and watch in awe; however, the thing you all have in common is the desire to do whats right, with the end result being a happy, well-adjusted college student! This just goes to show that each child needs his/her own unique brand of parenting, given their personality, gender, religion, race, orientation, aptitude, interests, etc etc. I just love that this group has such a variety of parents representing these amazing kids! WOW! As my daughter texts, ttyl!!</p>
<p>Welcome, Sandy, It’s not easy when you care so much but the best educational choice for your child is to live away from home. I sent my older daughter abroad as an exchange student last year. She’s at our state boarding school for gifted youth this year and on to United World Colleges next year. S’14 will do something similar. I feel for you. We’ll take D to lunch tomorrow just because I missed Mother’s Day with her last year and don’t know when I’ll get to spend it with her again.</p>