Wisdom teeth: S had a dentist appt yesterday. 0 cavities, 2 wisdom teeth. Last time he got xrays, it looked like there might be room for them, but they are crowding other teeth. Dentist said they should come out by winter break.
Peer tutoring:@CT1417 We have a school-wide study hall 2 days a week. Some kids are student teachers in various subjects during that time. S student teaches in the AP Physics 1&2 classroom, where kids can come if they are having trouble in the class or cramming for an upcoming test.
In terms of AP cal vs. AP stats, the context really needs to be in terms of objectives and schools being applied to. Obviously a STEM major should pursue cal b/c cal is vital part of STEM curriculum. It is not so clear cut as to why someone with a humanities goal should pursue cal over statistics. Statistics is more relevant. But some schools are going to want to see cal. Not to take it means reducing the likelihood of being accepted.
(But, I don’t know if I would want a student who struggled in math to attend a college where cal was the norm. It is sort of on par with our ds not applying to schools on the quarter system or a high content liberal arts core. He is dyslexic and slow reader. He knows his limits. He was concerned he couldn’t keep up with reading on quarter system and really did not want to take a heavy humanities core.)
@262mom The College Board used to have an AP Computer Science AB test that also included Data Structures. Colleges often gave credit for that class, but not the CompSci A class that still exists. They discontinued it probably because few high schools could get a teacher qualified to teach Data Structures. I think the last year it was offered was the year our kids were in 7th grade, so before the big uptick in kids wanting to major in CS.
@smcirish My D loved her visit to Smith and it’s on her definite apply list. Like @Atyraulove my D got a very personalized tour, with just one other girl who was also a prospective engineering major. I think they work hard to match up the tour guide with the visiting student. Our sense is that the environment is very supportive. They have an open curriculum, but whereas when we visited Brown, my D got the feeling she might feel lost/overwhelmed by that, she did not have that feeling at Smith. @snoozn and @dfbdfb also have D’s interested in Smith so maybe you’ll hear from them too!
First off, while I admit being a bit too aggressive in encouraging my D and while she was advised by her GC to keep up her course rigor, she came up with this schedule on her own. She wanted only AP classes mainly because the teachers are better and the students more engaged.
AP Calc AB/BC (two periods)
AP Macro / AP Gov
AP Lit
AP Bio
AP Latin IV
Band 4
She is taking Latin III over the summer so she can take AP Latin senior year. She wishes she had more periods in the day so she could take AP Stats, AP Comparative Government and AP Music Theory also. Those courses did not make the cut the based on our strategy in post #8200. She plans to take Music Theory in college as a fun elective.
Strategy for 6 AP exams
I am concerned 6 AP exams will stress her out so I have encouraged her to put her focus where it will do her the most good.
Most Focus
A 4 on the Calc exam earns credit for Calc 1&2, that is all she will need for her degree
A 5 on the Bio exam earns credit for two Bio courses, again meets here degree requirements
Nice to have
A 4 on AP Lit earns credit for two intro Lit courses, but she would probably take other Lit courses in college, so these would just be Gen Ed credit. This should be her strongest subject so I would imagine she could pull a 3 or 4 with minimal preparation, if not its no biggie.
A AP Macro / AP Gov 3 on these exams just gets her some Gen Ed credit
May not need to pass
If she can score a 540 on the Latin SAT II in December she can get FL exemption so she will not need to worry about passing the Latin AP in May. A three on the AP exam would give her the FL exemption plus 3 Gen Ed credits.
Do I get my helicopter pilot wings now?
Edit: With this post I am now a member, so I got that going for me now
@CaucAsianDad Does she already know where she will be attending? Colleges on DS’s list give AP credit varying from zero, zip, nada to fairly generous. Since the AP tests are after decision date (but not after paying for them), he will take the tests that make sense for wherever he is attending.
I am merely a fly on the wall to Ds schedule. She took charge of it when she decided to do IB last year. I told her I thought she should take pre-cal since she was starting to lean towards STEM. But she wanted/needed IB math and her school does not have IB Math HL. She took the one year IB Math (Math studies?) so she could have options her senior year.
Well, IB Math studies turns out to be a useful class (heavy on stats) with “some” pre-cal but not a lot. She had straight 100’s all the way through the year which is fantastic for the GPA but really not enough meat for what she needs. So after encouragement here, she met with the Calculus BC teacher (who has a fantastic reputation…SO excited for her to have an enthusiastic math teacher!) and he looked over her work, gave her a summer assignment and approved her to be in his class.
So her schedule looks like this:
IB English HL
IB German (idk if this is HL or SL?)
IB Film HL
IB Biology HL
AP Physics
AP Calculus BC
IB HOA HL
IB TOK which splits the year with Dual Credit Gov
So for right now it sounds pretty horrific to me and I wish there was more balance. But it’s a done deal and she is excited about the calculus so I’ll leave it.
D is not gunning for any elite schools so for college admissions I think this will all be fine.
For her life and balance, I am not sure it will be fine.
We found with D15 that some of the more elite colleges only accept a small number of AP classes for credit. She was able to get credit for two AP classes. She also had DE credit, but to get credit at the college she is now at, she had to demonstrate to the administration that her DE classes met the rigor of her current school. This meant submitting the syllabi, list of books used, and other documentation. I think I have said this before, but keep the syllabi from DE classes if your child will be attending a more rigorous school that the DE school was. D had to do a lot of recreating to get those credits, but it was worth it.
S17 is such a laid back kid that he doesn’t want to battle through a highly ranked school. He wants to be a big fish, and therefore is focusing on the less elite schools where he can attend the honors college. All his AP and DE classes (absolutely not as many as many of the kids on this thread) will apply. He may be able to finish early, or spend the last year (or a little more) doing a combined Masters. There are so many paths to success that will work for our kids.
Senior Rigor
D is taking AP Chem, AP Psych, AP Lit, AP Stats, AP Gov, AP Macro, Philosophy (Dual Enrollment) and Sociology. Gov, Macro, Philosophy, and Sociology are 1 semester courses. (I think she has Gov and Macro Sem 1 and Soc and Philosophy sem 2.)
Yes, this is crazy.
Parents and GC wanted her to throttle down a bit but she patiently explained and argued for this schedule. She has to take a gov class and a consumer ed or econ class for state requirements, so she chose the AP options. Philosophy, Psych and Sociology “just sound really interesting.” She is going with the school “reputation” that all of these senior APs are a good deal easier than the APs she took junior year.
How many weeks till I have to remind her that when you make choices, you shouldn’t resent the consequences of those choices. The same applies to me because I chose not to veto her schedule. It was the last chance I would have had to exert that option, but I did not.
My daughter’s motivation is a bit different, but the result is the same—she doesn’t like the competitive vibe she got from a lot of the quite-high-end schools we toured, and so her list’s average USNWR ranking is 65 (range: 19 to 115). She also feels that it would allow her the freedom to experiment a little and get things wrong in ways that she might not have at a hyper-top-ranked school.
@CaucAsianDad your daughter must have an insane amount of homework/studying with 6 APs.That is amazing she can deal with that.
@Dave_N another crazy schedule! I don’t know any kids who dual enroll.
My son is definitely not highly competitive in terms of striving for the highest GPA or attending very selective schools. He likes to do well in school but does not have the drive that would allow himself to focus on 6 AP’s. He has gotten better as he’s grown thru high school and I think his next year’s schedule will be more than enough for him to deal with successfully. He wants to go to a school environment where there are a lot of group projects and hands on learning vs" study study study" all the time in a competitive group.
Son is taking 2 APs (for a grand total of 5), one advanced honors, three honors classes, and one non-honors class in senior year. I feel like a fish out of water here.
Math
I completely agree with @Mom2aphysicsgeek about Calc vs. Stats. Why in the world would colleges rather see AP Calc BC for a non-STEM student (unless the student really wants to take Calc)? I’ve used calculus exactly zero times in “real life.” I use stats knowledge every time there’s a new “study” on the internet and when people I’m talking to mis-use statistics in the Mark Twain “lies, damn lies and statistics” manner.
PE
Three semesters are required. D got two waived by an outside sport and is doing one (aerobic walking - ha!) this summer.
Senior year rigor
D will have an interesting senior year. She’s taking AP Calc BC, AP Physics, and Senior Engineering Design at her HS. She’ll be taking two concurrent enrollment classes at the state flagship. These will be humanities classes. I’m not sure if the rigor will be harder due to the three tough classes or easier due to taking only five classes. She hasn’t had as rigorous a schedule as a lot of kids here, so it could be pretty tough. @eandesmom, yep she doubled on English earlier, so none senior year.
75% and APs
I’m a tad bit worried hearing about colleges wanting 75% or above and tons of AP’s. D will only have three AP’s (though at least they are all STEM and she’s going into engineering). I can’t even imagine taking as many AP’s as some of the kids here. Also, out of 14 schools she’s only at 75% or auto-admit at three of them. She’s pretty close (63% or above) at six more, but I’d been looking at those as very likely. On the good side, most of her schools have pretty high admit rates. Her three reaches are pretty reachy and I’m discounting them as realistic choices.
Grand Canyon
My S18 really, really wants to visit the Grand Canyon and D17 really, really wants to see Yellowstone. Thanks to @fun1234 for reminding met that I should act soon for next summer. We’re hoping to do both and surprise the kids next summer. I’ve never been to either, so I’m pretty excited.
Smith @smcirish, D and I visited Smith while they were in session, so I can’t speak to how a summer visit would be. I second everything @Atyraulove and @thermom said. We had a tour with two guides (one in training, but she was better than some solo guides we’ve had at other schools) and just one other family. We also met with oldest D’s friend who just graduated and everything she said backed up what we heard from the school.
It’s not necessarily that hypercompetitive schools want to see tons of AP classes, it’s that they want to see that the applicant took something approaching the most rigorous curriculum available—consider, for starters, that there are a number of high schools, including some hypercompetitive high-end ones, that offer neither AP nor IB, and they place plenty of graduates in top-end colleges.
My oldest will have taken 3 of the 5 AP classes offered at her high school, and one of the missing 2 will be replaced by a dual enrollment course, with the other missing one being due to a scheduling conflict coming about because she’s taking the most advanced levels of both Spanish and math her school offers. That (plus her other, non-AP courseload) is enough to get her guidance counselor to check the box saying she took the most rigorous courseload available to her on the guidance counselor report, which I have been informed from multiple sources is really what matters, as opposed to the sheer number of different sorts of courses.
@Mom2aphysicsgeek when one isn’t looking at highly competitive schools, that data generally isn’t out there as that is not the type of student they are targeting (though certainly they will take them). :)) I agree it is not as simple as matching up GPA’s and test scores and due diligence is required to ensure your child exceeds the basic requirements and at least matches up with the freshman profile to the extent you are able to find the correct data points that are relevant. In our case it really is about finding the best “A” school for my “B+” student, that I can afford, using our own methodology. I really do feel for the kids and parents though that do not educate themselves on where they really stand. I am definitely aware CC is a bubble. 38% of our large public HS plans on a 2 year college, 51% 4 year and the rest have no clue. I had to have a “come to jesus” meeting with S19 last night about what he has done to his own prospects this freshman year. Great test scores can only get one so far and lopsided = red flag for many.
Some of the course load the kids here have boggle my mind.
@STEM2017 not at all. There are those of us with less rigorous schedules for sure. My S will have a total of 6APs, 3 honors and 1 College in the Classroom (which isn’t really honors, AP or DE so I don’t know if it will get weighted or not as rigorous but it did come with 5 credits and a UW transcript lol).
One summer we drove from Seattle, by way of ID, MT, WY, CO, NM to the Grand Canyon, and then back via UT, OR.
4 kids in a minivan, packed to the gills as we camped at the Grand Canyon so had all that gear with us. Brought every kind of electronic in that van known to man at the time. They didn’t use any of it. Instead, we ended up stopping at Barnes & Noble 3 times on the trip to replenish books and the 3 younger kids whipped through the entire Percy Jackson series as a shared reading adventure. Older one slept and read a rock history book. LOL!
Amazing trip which included yellowstone and the tetons.
The Georgia Tech stat is very interesting. I wonder if most GA schools offer many AP courses of whether Georgia Tech is just choosing students from schools that do and that have taken many, because those tend to be stronger students when everything else is factored in.
D’s school offers 22 AP exams and the full IB diploma. I think the number offered makes a difference. Everything in context.
@STEM2017 If it makes you feel any better, my dd will have absolutely ZERO APs on her transcript. As I am sitting her going through her lesson planners from the past 3 years and writing course descriptions, all I can hope is that admissions officers will really look at what she has done. It boggles my mind the things she has read and the studies she has completed.
If they don’t, she won’t be accepted or if accepted, no scholarships. If they do, otoh, she will be very competitive. In my counselor letter I am addressing the fact that her high school literature courses are so abnormal b/c in 7th grade she fell love with epic poetry and Shakespeare, and by the end of 8th grade she had already read Song of Roland, Marmion, King Lear, Macbeth, Dante’s Inferno, and Paradise Lost. We took her literature courses to a different level b/c that is the level of critical analysis she was functioning on. (This year the first semester was spent reading fairy tales read along with books psychoanalyzing them in terms of Freudian views. Not your typical 11th grader’s lit class.)
She has not gone the AP route b/c she thinks the courses are too restrictive and she wants to dig as deep as she can for as long as she wants. The thing is, she has. Way beyond a high school level for most subjects, science being the notable exception bc she really doesn’t like science.
BUT, it makes for a transcript that cannot be weighted in terms of AP or DE. There is absolutely no predicting how her transcript will be evaluated. Only time will tell. (If she were applying to Stanford, I think they would love her transcript and course descriptions. How ironic!)
We offer 18 AP exams. For kids with zero interest in AP studio art, AP music, AP language that brings it down to 13. Practically speaking from a schedule standpoint given the grade level or track on which the AP courses are allowed, it would be impossible to take all 13 and meet our graduation requirements. What level then, of AP, is considered rigorous specific to our school? 4 of those are considered occupational classes for our curriculum, not core. Are they equal or less?
@eandesmom Congratulations on your S17’s B on FL! It must have been nerve-racking! Not all teachers have completed their grading but she will end with 2 Bs (1 B and 1 B+) I think. Yeah, not bad. Maybe I’m over-reacting but we are relying on the 100% need met schools and they are all pretty tough to get into, so sometimes I get really scared.
Of course we have UW and WWU which I like (and she is OK with), but I just want her dream of going out-of-state come true.