If I were making my own schedule, it would look very different from what my kids choose. (In my own high school, we didn’t have AP back then… I took only what I had to take for the c olleges I was interested in for math and science and took almost every option possible at my school for English and social studies).
If I were making my kid’s schedules, there would be just a bit of difference from what they choose themselves, at least initially. My d19 talked to upperclassmen at her school before deciding to switch two of her class selections from honors to AP. From what they said, there was little to no difference in work and difficulty levels for those particular classes anyway, so she would prefer to be with friends in AP. Her reasoning was sound. If she bit off more than she can chew, she has a couple of weeks at the beginning of the school year to make changes or will fight her way through the year and then take a lighter load the next year.
First, they are money makers for the College Board…huge money makers.
Second, isn’t it ironic that the schools that demand that your transcript of loaded with APs are the same schools who won’t give you advanced credit for taking those classes? I’m talking to you, Ivy League!
I wish S19 didn’t feel like he had to take APs. Teachers obviously have to teach to the test and I really do not like that. Once kids hit junior year, though, at our high school many honors classes are replaced by AP. (For example, no English 3 Honors, just AP Lang and no Physics H, just AP Physics, no US History Honors, just APUSH). There’s a huge difference between the APs and the regular level classes that most honors-type kids really do not like the regular level classes. And, for better or worse, the best teachers at the school teach the AP classes, not regular level classes.
Here in California there is a significant advantage in having 8 semesters of AP classes to get the GPA bump with the UC’s and CSU’s. Without them it’s a tough admit at the UC’s and better CSU’s. Beyond that it is certainly a balancing act to have rigor but maintain the unweighted GPA as well.
I cringe when a hardcore AP teacher hands out a bunch of B’s on difficult tests and delivers the “well it is an AP class afterall” line.
My pet peeve is how challenging it can be at some colleges to find the AP credit policy and most importantly how it applies to a given major - never easy.
So far my d19 is falling in love with a public university that should be a safety for her (unless she bombs standardized test waaaaay more than her practice ones have shown she can do).
Our hs has regular, honors and APs of many classes. The only exceptions I can really think of (core class wise anyway) are if you are extending beyond what you have already taken that is HS level. i.e we have Calc AB, BC, and a college credit Calc 3. We have AP Bio, Chem and Physics available after the prerequisite Bio, Chem and Physics (honors not required but is available for those).
We do have 11th grade English and American History both regular and honors and AP Lang and APUSH.
My d19 has already decided for senior year English that she doesn’t want to take AP Lit and would rather take 2 half year, more fun English electives. But basically for English and Social Studies this coming year she decided that taking the AP is worth the possibility of getting useable college credit. BTW, she knows (teachers did point it out) that she could also take the AP exam when she has taken the regular/honors English and Social Studies classes but again, she is going to do the same amount (roughly) of work either way and will enjoy it more with her friends.
@RightCoaster and anyone else with kids interested in Engineering - there are a number of colleges offering 5-7 day taste of engineering summer programs. Mostly after sophomore or junior year. S17 went to UConn last summer and I also saw one at Michigan State. It was 5 days with seminars from 12 different kinds of engineering during the day and a project in one area in the evening. Live in the dorms, see the campus.
@mom2twogirls I like that idea of not taking AP Lit and picking up a different English class for senior year. Our school has a Rhetoric class that’s supposed to be amazing and also a writing seminar for kids who really liked AP Lang and want to write more. Debate class might be a good option too. Thanks for that idea!!
@homerdog my d really enjoyed her English 9 teacher last year. He also teaches a Shakespeare elective and she thinks she would like it since she enjoyed his teaching style. She is leaning towards one of the classes that is more writing based for the other, just not the one taught by her current English teacher.
Sounds good to me!
My DS16 benefitted greatly from AP classes. He took a total of 8. He was challenged and invested in the classes he took. He also benefitted from the GPA bump, ranked higher, qualified for some great merit scholarships , and was accepted into two competive honors programs at 2 of the schools he was accepted to . He started his freshman year just shy of enough credits to be considered for junior status . He was able to register earlier for classes. Used his AP credits for Gen Ed classes which allowed him to balance out his more difficult classes with classes that are less difficult . He does not plan to graduate early , just balance his schedule . The AP classes in our school district are free, unlike DE classes. The school system paid for all AP exams so I didn’t pay a cent to the College Board . He took only the classes he was interested in so he wasn’t "gaming " the system. It worked well for him. Not everyone may have the same results , but APs can be very beneficial in some circumstances . He did kit apply to any superselective schools.
I’ve noticed a few posts here and there including @carolinamom2boys post above that talk about kids GPAs being bumped up from AP classes. Our school also gives an additional point for AP and honors classes (i.e. An A is worth a 6.0 instead of a 5.0). Our Naviance also only graphs weighted GPA. I often wonder if unweighted even matters now.
I know there’s a ton written about how colleges look at grades and transcripts, but I do wonder if some colleges just look at weighted GPA when it comes to either admission or scholarships. Maybe this is more likely the case at a big state public school? S19’s weighted GPA definitely looks better than his unweighted.
WGPA is taken under consideration when assessing rigor of the program your student took at your high school and can also boost rank. If those things are important to admissions for the schools that you are targeting , then it can be helpful @homerdog . I’ll use Clemson as an example . They admit based on GPA, test scores, rigor and rank. In this case , a higher GPA will increase a students rank . The GC also completes a form regarding your students rigor in relationship to what is offered at your particular school. A student who takes advantage of AP and Honors classes at their school if offered would be considered to have a more rigorous program. Our school offers 1 point higher for H and another point for AP.
Our school offers a 0.5 for honors classes and one point for AP. Some colleges simply take our weighted GPA and don’t recalculate it (the school system doesn’t report an unweighted GPA on the transcript) - the counselors add notes to Naviance pointing out which schools do this. My D16’s experience was that large public schools definitely accepted her weighted GPA or she wouldn’t have gotten in! She has a scholarship that required a minimum 3.4 GPA and her unweighted GPA was probably barely over 3.0.
Our grading system isn’t one where you could get a 4.0 with a C in an AP class or realistically have a weighted GPA over 4.5 (there are no honors foreign language, arts or PE classes, and most APs have to be taken junior and senior year). At schools where kids routinely have well over a 5.0, I would imagine colleges would have to recalculate it.
No weighting no ranking here. Which I love. We’ve got happy kids not trying to game the system or each other.
As for AP’s our school offers zero honors classes past 10th (and no math honors classes at any grade) so it’s AP or mainstream and it’s a wide gap. Which sometimes is great and others, not so much.
I will say this, S17 really considered not taking AP lit and taking 2 semester long classes instead. His GC (who rarely weighs in on anything) was very firm that colleges would vastly prefer to see either the standard English 12 or AP lit and to only take the semester options if they were in addy to. Ymmv.
@eandesmom ok that’s interesting about the AP Lit vs. semester classes. I will ask our GC too. He’s been around forever and is a great resource for us. I have to say, though, I’m already tired of the fact that S19 has to take classes to impress colleges instead of maybe taking classes that are interesting to him. Hoping he will have a little more leeway in college to discover some interesting classes!
@dfbdfb there is absolutely no harm! I’ve actively encouraged this school because I’ve been reading CC long enough to know that loving the “safety” is the most important thing. She can shoot for the moon on any other apps and not feel bad or be too stressed with waiting for results.
My only reason for mentioning it was to point out that for her, choosing AP classes had nothing to do with Ivy or other selective schools.
Our school doesn’t have a standard English 12. English in 12th grade is either 2 electives or AP Lit.
Some of those electives are available with college credit though.
Honestly, it’s not something I’m concerned with for a STEM kid who will have already taken a list full of AP classes, honors classes, college credit classes, etc. And excelled in those classes. If there is a college out there that wouldn’t admit her because she chose 2 electives for 12th grade over yet another AP, then that isn’t a good college for her.
I do think that for an English, undecided or similar major, taking AP Lit would be pretty important. I would have taken it for sure. But I wouldn’t have taken any of the science or math APs that my d is taking,
Wow, @payn4ward - 9 is just daunting. My daughter will have taken maybe 5 when all is said and done, and that’s not certain.
When we were at the UF tour, they talked quite a bit about the application process (a hard Nov. 1 deadline, btw) and how you have to self-report your transcript, class by class, for all years, and then UF will take that information and recalculate your GPA based on their formula, which apparently bears no resemblance to anything our schools do. I didn’t investigate very carefully, because I really don’t envision D qualifying for admission in any way that we can afford.
My S’s HS doesn’t have any weighting nor does it have any honors or AP classes. That is I believe the norm for the private schools in my area. The public schools do the AP classes. So at S’s school A=4.0 and that’s the top. A+ is also 4.0. A- is like 3.8, I think? So a 4.0 means you only got A’s and A+'s, for 4 years.
