Probably another snow day for us tomorrow, another 6 plus inches falling during the day time, so cruddy driving.
That’s 3 days in the last 2 weeks, not good. School is out today for a teacher’s meeting day, so son19 will have a 5 day weekend. Crazy.
Thanks @rightcoaster. That’s how our honors pre-calc is, too. I think they recommend BC for kids who breeze through honors trig/precalc with an easy A. He doesn’t like trig and struggled with two units this quarter, but he admits he didn’t try that hard (not used to struggling with anything in math), and now they’ve moved on to something he understands. He’ll probably initially sign up for AB and see where he is at the end of the year.
I’d like him to take CS, but think AP Chem would be easier than 8 credits of chemistry in first year engineering. A couple of my D16’s friends in engineering ended up re-taking that in the summer after their freshman year!
Also, I probably just spend too much time on CC and have seen too many prospective engineering students who manage to take Calc 2, AP Chem and AP Physics C by junior year!
D is in AICE Pre Calc right now, it is like an AP level course and it is the only pre-calc our school offers. It stinks, it is super hard but the only choices are AICE or take it online. D is not doing well, she got her first ever C the first quarter and a B second quarter. She still does not know what she got for the semester - it depends on her midterm grade which the teacher has not told them yet. (even though they took it before winter break!) She does not think she did well on the midterm so I am guessing this will be a C on her report card. She is pretty upset but I think since it has been so long she is starting to get over it. Her GPA would still be in the 3.9 range I think but I’m sure her ranking would drop. We will have a huge decision to make for next year - do we dare attempt Calc or do we do Stats? Most people say Calc AB is easier than AICE Pre Calc but D hates math so much I’m not sure what to do.
@carolinamom2boys That’s funny that you say Elon seems more southern than Clemson, I haven’t heard that but then again I haven’t heard much about either of them from actual students or people who have been there. Someone else mentioned the Discover Clemson day in May. They said you have to send your test scores and if they are good you get invited. I don’t know if I want to wait that long - what if she doesn’t get invited? I’ve been going over my schedule for the next few months and it is so booked I might end up not having too much choice which weekend we visit.
@RightCoaster From all of your posts I know you live close to where I grew up. I’m going back up to MA for my mom’s birthday this weekend and I’ve been watching the weather - luckily I fly in Friday so I shouldn’t have any problems with flight delays. My only problem is that I was’t thinking ahead when I booked my flight home and it is during the Patriots game!! I looked into changing it but it would cost over $200 so I haven’t done it yet.
@eh1234 At our school, Calc AB is actually known as easier than Pre-Calc honors. It’s BC that’s the bear because it covers all of Calc AB first semester and the BC concepts second semester. Can he take AP Computer Science A instead of Principles? That’s the one that schools want to see. Principles is a fairly new course and not so rigorous. Our S19 took AP Comp Sci A soph year without any programming experience. It was kind of a bear but he got through it with a little help from our neighbor who is a senior and is way into programming. I think Calc AB and AP Comp Sci A would give him the strongest schedule for a prospective engineering student.
S19 has to decide on classes next week as well. Multivariable Calc H, AP French, AP Physics, Honors Writing Seminar (instead of AP Lit), AP Gov/AP Macro (each a semester)…leaves one spot. He was originally going to do AP Art Studio but he really wants to take Philosophy which is a semester class. If he chooses to take it, he will forgo AP Art and take half a year of honors Portfolio instead. He’s not going to be an art major so I don’t really care if he bags AP Art. These kids hardly ever get to choose an elective just because it sounds interesting so I’ll be happy if chooses Philosophy.
@eh1234, the kids at our school currently taking Honors Pre-calc don’t get to choose what they take next year. If you are getting an A you get approved to take Calc BC. If you have a B you are taking AP Calc AB. I’m not sure what you take if you get a C in Pre Calc, maybe there is CP ( college prep) calculus class offered.
@momtogkc at least the snow should be gone for you. Supposed to get up to 50 degrees again and melt it all away. We are having a weird winter here in MA.
AP Calc AB is the dark spot on my son’s bright schedule. He puts in more angst for that class than any other. He’s going to get a solid B+ for the first half of the year (I think), ruining his 4.0. He’s slated to take AP Statistics next year for his final math class, and he can’t wait. Somehow I think it’s going to be harder than he thinks it is.
I haven’t managed to meet his calc teacher except through emails and vicariously through him. She rides a motorcycle and studied medieval history, so I would love to be her friend once my kid is no longer her student, I bet she would be a riot to talk to.
Kid signed up for classes for next year and I think that the guidance counselor will not be able to tick the ‘most rigorous’ box on college apps. It’s a very rigorous schedule, but there’s one class request that is pure fluff.
@Rightcoaster I’ll probably have S19 take AB regardless. He’ll have a B/B+ at the end of the first semester. I think I’d rather have him get a strong foundation in Calc than rush through it.
My S19 has zero programming experience and believes he has no interest in it. I don’t think computer science A would work for him if it’s going to be “a bear” - Our school really wants to see kids take the regular CS course first or show proficiency in Java.
I thought CS principles might give him a broader view of the field and would be better than having no experience in CS. If he doesn’t do engineering, he could do something like data analytics which I think might be at least touched on in Principles.
Of course, S19’s GC might just try to convince him that he’s not a good enough student to take more than 2 AP classes again, in which case this might all be moot!
Honestly, I think math just gets hard by junior/senior year and if the student isn’t particularly math-y, it’s hard to decide what to do. Our D21 was accelerated two years in math in middle school like S19. Unlike S19, though, she’s struggling this year in Algebra 2/Trig H. She seems to understand the material but then can’t get an A on a test to save her life. We are considering moving her down to regular non-honors math for next year since we can now see the difference between the two kids when it comes to succeeding in honors math. She would take non-honors pre calc and then AB Calc and then AP stats. Good enough for a kid who doesn’t love math.
At our school, math and science honors and AP classes are the hardest classes for sure. Honors/AP English and honors/AP social studies are still challenging (and possibly more time consuming) but, if a student can get the work done and is a good writer, As are attainable. Some kids just cannot excel in honors math and science when our tests are so dang hard. The questions hardly ever resemble the homework and the student really needs to be able to apply the concepts on the fly during the tests.
I have no idea what ticks the ‘most rigorous’ box at our school. Part of me feels like what’s done is done for S19. It is whatever it is. There are some kids (very few - maybe 10 or 12 out of 700) who take AP Physics, AP Chem, and AP Bio. S19 is not one of them. His only AP science will be Physics because the school does not offer honors Physics. Anyone who takes three AP science classes must have dropped foreign lang or social studies in order to fit it in because kids have to take the honors version of each science as a pre-req for the AP class (ie. honors Bio before ap Bio, etc.) Those science kids at the school are insanely smart.
My d19 is in BC this year. She did well in preCalc last year (it would be an A on a letter grading system) and finds this year probably about the same level of difficulty. It’s hard to equate though since last year’s teacher went out on maternity leave partway through the year leaving a long term sub and this year’s teacher has an especially anxiety reducing way of teaching that clicks well with d19. Since AB is quite a lot of precalc review, I would think a kid with a B or better would do well in it.
She is also taking AP Chem this year. Not AP physics because our school switched this year from offering the easier AP Physics option that you didn’t need a physics prerequisite to take to the harder one with a physics prerequisite (I’m sure some of you know what I mean without me having to look it up… I think AP Physics C is the harder one?) Anyway, she is taking Honors Physics with optics though. She finds Physics, especially in combination with Calc, to be easy and enjoyable. She enjoys chemistry but the exams are very very hard. He uses AP type questions and doesn’t expect kids to score highly, he curves similarly to the AP chem exam though. He wants them to be used to taking tests that they don’t know all the answers to. It’s stressful but she really enjoys the subject matter so she still enjoys the class.
She isn’t a fan of AP Lang. It’s the class she has to fight to get a good grade in. She hasn’t consistently figured out what the teacher is looking for in writing and seeking help from her hadn’t been all that helpful. She strongly dislikes the subjectivity of the grading.
My dilemma with S19 is going to be what to fill the schedule with. He will take English 4, Math (Precalc), half year Economics, and half year of gym, all of which are required. This fills 3 of 7 periods. And then I don’t know. The only AP’s he’s eligible to take are Stats, Human Geography and Psychology. I think I will encourage him to take 2 of those. He isn’t eligible for any of the science APs and he’s exhausted the history electives. I think he will be left with fun electives like video production or cooking again, and maybe a whole year of study hall.
The big course selection dilemma in our household is what to do about the PE requirement (two semesters required to graduate). D19 has kicked the can down the road and now time is running out. Options are online vs. traditional, and summer 2018 vs senior year. She seems to be leaning toward traditional summer school because you basically just have to show up and suffer through it, as opposed to online that requires having an in person pre- and post- session fitness test, creating and recording fitness logs, reading online materials and taking quizzes, writing a power point report each semester, etc. Our summer school sessions are condensed down to 3 weeks, Mon-Thurs, so 12 days (8 am - 1 pm) in the classroom for each semester’s worth. D19 is a major procrastinator so doing it online creates great stress. Also we’re in AZ and it is extremely hot in June and July, so the only part that is actually outdoors in summer school is the first 15-30 minutes each morning (when it’s merely 90 degrees).
Another PE related issue is that D19 has had knee problems ever since puberty. She has something called femoral anteversion which makes her look extremely knock-kneed. Her kneecaps tend not to track properly. She gets some relief from physical therapy but tends not to keep that up. But between that and being out of shape she definitely won’t enjoy having to jog the track each morning.
D19 is having issues picking classes either. She was all set to take AP Bio. But colleges are telling her to take bio in college (they recommend that bio majors take bio in college instead of via AP). She still might take AP bio though, because she needs another science to graduate. And I think AP bio is the only other science they offer (she’s taking AP Chem and AP Physics this year).
She knows she’s taking AP Lit and AP Spanish. She needs a fourth math and is deciding between calc and AP stats. She’ll also be taking XC/track. But that’s only 5 classes and school is 7 periods long.
As for taking AP Chem and AP Physics at the same time, it’s a lot of work. Even moreso because her teacher apparently “doesn’t teach.” So she has to learn everything on her own. Chem isn’t too bad, but she’s getting a B in both classes.
@homerdog same thing at our school. The AP math and AP science classes are really hard, even AP stats is no joke
Son19 doesn’t mind lit/language/English classes, but he doesn’t; like the subjective grading on papers. That’s why he likes math, you either get it right or wrong, lol. And that’s why no lit/English AP classes taken. He’s not interested in taking AP Spanish. He likes those classes, but just happy in Honors classes instead. I don’t blame him, lol.
I don’t know it takes to check the " Most Rigorous" box at at our school. I’ve never asked. I should find out, out of curiosity. Son19 will end up with 4 AP Classes in total. maybe 5. I’d say the top 1/3 of the grade takes some AP classes, but some not until senior year. Then there are kids who max it out and probably end up with 6-9. I don’t think there any kids that end up with more than 10, but there are probably a few kids who do, like maybe 5-10 kids max. So I wonder if they get the most rigorous, or is there a trickle down thing going on and kids who take between 4-9 also qualify? Or only the kids who take the AP STEM classes too. I should find out.
S19 attends a small, Catholic high school. We are waiting to find out if the school will offer AP English next year. The powers that be have been considering it. He is taking APUSH this year. And honors English. He would have done AP English this year if offered. But honors was the highest he could go. He has stayed in college prep “regular” track math and science.
Yikes, we’re thinking about SENIOR year you guys! S19 is my oldest so this is BIG over here.
I’ve never asked if d19’s schedule counts as “most rigorous” but I assume it would. She had an issue in a group project recently and her Spanish teacher talked to her and said she shouldn’t worry about his class or spend too much time with it outside of class because he’s seen her schedule and knows she has plenty more demanding classes to focus on.
Do kids list their senior classes on the Common App? With many kids not taking AP classes until senior year, they wouldn’t be seen on a transcript that ends junior year.
I only wish we had a two semester gym requirement! All four years here! If you are a junior or a senior on a varsity sport, then you get to substitute gym for a study hall when in season. It’s still baloney, though, because most of these kids train all year round for their sports via club sports in the off-high school season. If someone is swimming competitively or playing soccer or tennis 20 hours per week, they shouldn’t have to take gym yet they do. Our D21 dances 25-30 hours a week with a pre-professional ballet company and she has to go to gym. S19 would easily say his sister’s ballet is as rigorous as any sport he’s played.
NY requires PE all 4 years and there are zero waivers, summer school, online school or sports substitutions allowed.
We have a two-year PE requirement (9th and 10th grade). It was good for my couch potato who only likes snowboarding and longboarding, but I understand the frustration for the year-round athletes! The course covers health and driver’s ed, so 10th grade is really just a semester of PE.
I have a feeling that “most rigorous” in our school is probably easily 10+ APs across all subjects (and most kids don’t take more than 1 before junior year). My kid will have 6 total (maybe 5) and none in English/history/language. I’m not too concerned about it unless this relative lack of rigor would keep him out of our third-best public school or schools like it.
As far as I know, Common App and all other college applications want to see the senior year schedule.
NY also required a .5 credit of health. Our district requires a full credit. And IMO the health classes were horribly taught.
Driver’s ed isn’t taught during school hours at our school.
We have a 1 year PE requirement. Kiddo wanted to save it until senior year, but schedule mixups meant that it was the only thing that would fit in one slot for freshman year. There is a half-year health credit and a half-year social studies requirement that go together.