I think it really depends on the teacher. D took APUSH and APChem as a sophomore and found it manageable, but she really liked both of those teachers. APUSH was a LOT of reading.
I think @suzy100 is right - it depends on the teacher. S took AP Chem and APUSH at the same time (along with AP English and AP Physics) and was able to handle it. The APUSH teacher drove him nuts (S felt like the teacher tried to push a certain political take on the material) and it was a lot of reading and writing, but the AP Chem teacher did not seem overly demanding.
@BingeWatcher – I’ll echo the other replies and say it depends on the teacher and kid. D18 took honors Chem in 10th grade and did well/liked it. She took AP Chem in 11th and hated very minute of it because of the teacher (and that teacher was the only one we ever thought of launching an official complaint about to the school – several other parents did complain).
On the other side, D18 took AP Bio as her first AP in 10th grade, which is supposedly a tough course but liked the teacher and the class.
D18 says that other kids say that many of the Humanities AP classes are a ton of work. She didn’t take AP Human Geography in 9th grade like most kids because of that.
Knowing what I know now, I would look at your school’s criteria for the “most difficult” curriculum and use that as a guide to class selection. I hate it … but we’re all playing the same damn game.
S18 was taking 5 APs junior year but refused to take APUSH because it was too much work. shrug
Agreed, the teacher is what matters. The teacher here takes pride in overworking students. S18 breezed through AP chem (with a great teacher) but he loves chemistry and math - which is really the biggest hurdle for 10th grade students. He had a new teacher for physics 1 in 10th grade and was one of only a handful of students to pass. It’s getting better though as the exam has been out a couple years now.
If you’re really worried about grades or fit, don’t push (no pun intended). The work load junior year can be crazy though, so offloading a bit may be a good idea. On the other hand, most of the important skills take a couple years to develop, so if your D hasn’t got experience with these kinds of courses/exams, it may be a big adjustment. I wouldn’t worry about AP test results though. It’s a 50/50 shot and even less in many cases as many colleges want 4+ to get relevant credit. If you don’t get college credit, it still is the best way to prep for college IMO.
We visited one (top choice) during spring break. S won’t visit the others: 2 scattered geographically.
@BingeWatcher my d15 said APUSH was the hardest class she took in HS purely because of the amount of reading/material covered. It’s the only AP class offered at our school for 10th grade, so she wasn’t taking any other APs at the time.
Thank you all so much. I need to talk to some kids at the school and get the feel on the teachers. I certainly don’t want her to drown…
@BingeWatcher – I don’t mean to scare you off of the AP classes. Evaluate your kid and how they would fit with the classes offered. Many on CC have kids who eat AP Calc BC for breakfast then AP Physics C-EM for lunch. Mine wasn’t that way. Time management is D18’s biggest issue. If your kid is better organized and has a history of high scores on standardized tests then I wouldn’t have any problem recommending an AP-heavy schedule.
I will confess it is 1am CST and I just checked DD’18’s ACT score and went and woke her up. She raised her composite 2 pts and all of the subsections at least 2 points. Yay! So much more comfortable with this score. No real need to take it again. We will see what she decides. 8-} I-)
Good luck, to everyone checking today!
What time do they come out? Are they out already for the day?
Happy Day! She raised her composite 3 points and raised math 3 points! She is done testing!!!
Ugh, nothing here yet. I saw a tweet that the scores would be released by 9 a.m. est? Anyone’s scores not in yet?
I think my DS 2018 is likely not going to retake the ACT - he was able to raise from a 31 in Dec to a 33 composite in June. In Dec he got a 35 in English and in June a 35 in Math but the June composite is better - hoping the writing turns out ok for June test. Science subscore not great but he is a humanities kid. His grades are A-/B+ at a rather rigorous school. No significant hooks or major awards. Will apply to a range of schools though no tippy top ones. Considering taking SAT 2s in math & English. Hope he can draft a common app essay this summer! Congrats to all who are pleased with their DC’s scores and year-end school results!
Drats. DS got the same score as April.
DD has now taken the ACT 3 times. The 2nd time her scores didn’t come out until 2-3 weeks after scores were first released. @bearcatfan I hope you don’t have to wait that long.
DS15 was always a great test taker and only took ACT once and got a 36. DD18 is a totally different person. She took it in June 2016 and December 2016 and June 2017. Her score increased 2 points each time! Based on her current college list she is done! The only reason she might consider taking it again is to increase one guaranteed scholarship amount. But that school is not currently #1 on her list.
The first 2 times my DS18 took the ACT, his scores didn’t come till 3 weeks later - we changed testing locations and this time they came out much faster.
@BingeWatcher Any way your DD can take American History DE instead of AP?
My DD took APUSH, AP Chem, AP Physics 1/2, AP English and AP CAL BC in 11th grade it was a very stressful year! Instead my DS18 took two semesters of DE US history, they were on-line courses and way less work and stress then APUSH. This also freed up a class period so he could take AP Psychology, a class he really wanted to take.
My D took APUSH with 3 other APs, Spanish IV and two very heavy ECs. She has told everyone else not to take AP but to DE instead. At many schools it seems to be a huge time commitment.
Congrats on the ACT scores! I’m very curious about my D’s AP scores, she is definitely test-fatigued and just wants HS to be over.
@bearcatfan, hoping for good news for your D and that you get them soon.
Congratulations on those getting good news today!
@TexasMom18 . I know that is frustrating. My oldest took ACT 3 times and always got the same composite score, only the subsection scores would play swap the number. So it did change the composite for the schools that superscored, but only by one point. In the end, we only selected to submit the score from the 1 ACT test where she scored the highest on the Math & English subsections, luckily they were both on the same test!