Essays will not be reread. If the FRQ’s were publically released, you can request a copy of the booklet, but it will come without a score and without any notes from the graders. You can request to get the MC rescored. As with everything with the College Board, there is a cost involvers; $10 to get the FRQ booklet, $30 to get the MC rescored.
@albert69 … Have fun!! Any flying is good flying :-c
I actually brought my computer with me this time, so here I am… no flying yet, but lots of absurd singing on the trip here. I am soooo glad I went. I’ve had such a good time and this is only the first day!
Fabulous results for DS on his final AP - Physics C were all 5!
^ ^ Very nice! Congratulations!
My son did well enough on the AP exams for 16 credits 
He said he “thought” he did well, but in the past has gotten 2s when he “thought” he did well.
He can graduate at least a semester early, and it will facilitate him doing a co-op but not falling behind his graduating class.
So - speaking of AP credits - what are everyone’s thoughts on how well they prepare for college level classes? The University of Minnesota seems particularly generous with their credits (many classes only requiring 3’s to get credit) so S has 33 credits and entering as a sophomore.
Not sure which courses he should be ‘re-taking’. He had trouble with Calc BC so he will repeat with Calc 2. Although he hasn’t had French in two years he did well enough on the placement exam to bypass 2 semesters (of the four required) of language. In order to take the intermediate economics classes (one of his majors in addition to CS) he must declare his major for spring semester in order to take it.
Declare a major in freshman year? It all seems to be moving too fast.
My son seems eager to start in Calc 3 (diff eq usually); but then again, I teach advanced college math and his father also has a lot of math skills, so we are letting him go into it. Likely will have him take the advanced class sooner than later, so he doesn’t forget the Calc 1 and Calc 2 material. He did not do well in the class, but he is someone who will be better off taking 4 classes per semester instead of 8 all year, from what we’ve seen in him doing summer classes.
I would suggest that your son pick up the French 3 textbook and take a look at it - if he has to take it no matter what, check out the book and get a copy of an old syllabus. Language is at least something he can practice on his own through many different means. If he took the AP two years ago, I’d be more worried than as you indicate he just did well enough on a placement exam.
(there ARE language courses at colleges that are for people with no experience at all in the language…)
At least 75% of college students where I teach and where I went to college declared majors on their applications, though some ended up changing. My son’s college visits all included advice to “narrow it down” to the college within the university at least, and preferably have a few possible majors lined up.
Luckily for my son, he tanked his 10th and 11th grade AP exams except for one, and that one is an AP English so he just gets humanities credit and it is very unlikely he will “forget” anything let alone take a direct descendant of the course. He might not even take any more English at all.
The financial aspect is important to us, but also the freedom to do a co-op without losing time.
@rhandco - Thanks for the tips. S only took French 3 and 4 - no AP but he has been taking french since preschool so perhaps it is a little more entrenched. Still, it is good advice about looking at the text book ahead of time. I’m not worried about the written portions but the listening tests are always much harder (often spoken very quickly and not that clearly).
Also, on the CS front I’m questioning whether he is starting out at too ‘low’ a level. He took AP Computer Science (java) in sophomore year and a mobile app programming course last year. He was planning to take C++ but was placed in Intro to Computers (seems mostly for people who have never programmed before).
I have been asking him to contact the departments to determine the correct levels he should be in but he hasn’t done that and his advisor only spent a half hour with him during registration so I’m feeling it was not very thorough or with much discussion.
A half hour advising session during orientation is generous.
Giterdone’s S is going to the same U and he had an hour so I was expecting the same. The parents were also told at parent orientation that the advisors try to get to know their students (e.g. areas of interest, extracurriculars, desire for study abroad etc.) so I had the impression it would take more time.
@singermom4 That title seems more like a computer technology class than even a beginning programming class. Did your S take the CS AP exam? For many schools you can look for “university name ap credit” and get the course equivalent. Then you can usually search the website to find the actual course requirements for an undergraduate CS course. Even if your S did not take the CS AP exam, it seems he should at least be in the first programming course of an undergraduate CS degree program. In some instances, these may cover more material than the AP exam so they may not give AP credit even though they assume no prior programming experience.
Also, some schools will have a department test that a student may take to test out of a class or get credit for a beginning class. Be careful if it is for credit, however, because the exam score in that case would probably be counted as a course grade factored into the GPA.
@singermom4 My daughter will also be at UMN, but not in Computer Science. If your son got credit for his AP Computer Science course (with a score of 3, 4 or 5), then that should satisfy CSCI 1103, and it looks like he should be in the CSCI 1913 Intro to Algorithms class as the next in the sequence.
Acceptable Sequences for CSCI I & II Courses
CSCI 1133 & 1933
CSCI 1901 & 1902
CSCI 1103 or 1113 & CSCI 1913
He can drop/add courses easily online all summer, but he should email his adviser to check on this before changing anything. The course you described seems to be for people who did not get AP credit for Computer Science. You might review the APAS report also to make sure it shows he has credit for CSCI 1103.
MuggleMom19,
I am so, so sorry to hear about your son’s diagnosis. I can imagine how stressful this whole college process and transition is.
I am sorry that I don’t have experience with a diabetic in college, but, Lord willing, I will. My 2015 son is a T1 diabetic (diagnosed a few months before he turned 11). However, he is taking a much needed gap year to deal with his many health issues including diabetes. He will begin at University of Pennsylvania in August, 2016.
Do a search of the Parents Forum for T1 diabetes. There have been several threads on parents of T1 diabetics. There are special challenges that your son will face, and there are a number of things to think about: ease of medical care, location of medical care, enough sugar on hand at all times, glucagon on hand, informing others, talking to professors and disability office about it, location of cafeteria from dorm, whether to have a roommate or not, what type of dorm environment, how to get diabetic supplies, what to do when ill, etc. are a few that I can think of off the top of my head.
I think the time of engagement with the adviser is a two way street. @singermom4 I don’t imagine your S was kicked out… If there isn’t much to talk about? Or the kiddo is uber prepared? my S’15 said some kids were in and out of there in 15 minutes. And personalities, etc… are all a factor. My S is a chatter box, so it wasn’t a surprise he spent an hour.
Also, class selection/availability might be slanted toward the admitting college? If I remember correctly, your S is in CLA, where the more specific programming classes are reserved for those entering through CSE.
Seems there is a new class progression, application process with required GPA for fall of 2015 for a B.A. in Computer Science? Could it be that the placement in the “easier” class is a strategy?
https://www.cs.umn.edu/academics/undergraduate/guide/application-to-major/cla-students
My DD could sign up for her courses online for TCNJ, to be tweaked during orientation.
However they have some limitations on who could sign up for Calculus (you had to have a certain Math SAT score) so she contacted someone in the dept to get her in. Also she wanted Sociology as an elective but was placed in her second choice so she asked if she could have Soc and the person changed it. So by the time she got to orientation she was all set.
S got a score of 4 on the AP Computer Science test. At the orientation, he exchanged contact info with another student also interested in double majoring in CS and who had also taken AP CS. Prior to the advising session, they were both planning to take C++ programming. S contacted him this morning and he was also placed in the same introductory course.
@giterdone - thanks for the link - that is interesting information. I asked S to contact the CS department in CLA to confirm the coursework necessary for a double major. He has taken two advanced programming classes in hs so it doesn’t seem to make sense to take such a basic class. As for the adivsing session, he did play around with schedules ahead of time and he probably presented as someone who knew exactly what they want. I wish they took the approach that most freshman change majors even when they appear to know what they want. S is not that talkative so he probably only answered the advisor’s questions.
@mommyrocks - I concur that it seems he should be in 1913. But given the new competitive process, giterdone raised a good point that perhaps it is easier to enter from option 1 rather than from option 2. One more class is required, however, in the option 1 sequence and makes the AP credit useless. S will be contacting both his advisor and the CS department before making any changes. It’s also possible that the on-line catalog is not accurately reflecting the changes taking place.
My daughter got her letter from school telling her her AP scores get her out of 4 semesters of music theory and 3 semesters of psych! She is starting to get wicked excited about going away.
She has been texting her roommate and they have been figuring out who is going to bring what, and we are bringing the fridge. I got it yesterday. It’s purple. She is very excited about that.