@ShrimpBurrito There’s really a lot of inconsistency on foreign language requirements, across a gamut of schools. Just wondering what the substitution will look like (a bail out?) and if continuance in college makes sense (can you just pick it up again or is it going to be 3 steps back…). She’s worked really hard thus far, and in her Senior year, it just seems like she should take hard classes she might enjoy instead of hard classes she’s not going to enjoy…
did she have foreign language in 8th grade? If so, does her last year of FL in high school give her 4 years by chance including 8th grade? Our school counts 8th as a year; so kids can count 4 years in after 11th without taking AP.
also, fencingmom, we are going through the same type of issue with my S20. He’s fighting me and one counselor on what is better for him; although its not what he wants to take. We need to talk about it soon; school starts next week.
@packattack1018 I’m sorry. It’s a rough transition time. You are not the only ones feeling the pressure, I promise. Hugs to you.
@fencingmom My foreign language junkie D18 is sitting here with me, so I asked for her opinion. She says she would take the class she wanted to take—Comp Sci or Art History—and self study French at her own pace to keep sharp. D watches Netflix shows in the preferred language to prevent backslide. Also, she has her default iPhone language set to German (one of her languages). She says it’s not the intensity that matters, it’s the frequency, and we all know how frequently they use their phones!
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I haven’t seen this before… so does anyone have a list of school that require an AP class to result in an AP test or its considered academic dishonesty?
I want to make sure to not include them on our list.
DD has to drop an AP to take a graduation requirement 2nd semester. But her first semester transcript/mid year report will definitely include that AP… so I guess we better make sure not to apply to any of those schools.
Regarding the foreign language, it really depends on what schools she is applying to. The top schools will want to see at least 3 years.
Our district allows up to two years of foreign language in junior high but you go into the third year as a freshman in high school and take AP as a sophomore. I’ve never heard of someone getting credit for a year in junior high if they repeat the course in high school.
@fencingmom I heard of student who sat for an SAT subject test in foreign language at the end of senior year in order to place out of it in college.
@bgbg4us The important thing is what * colleges * count for years of foreign language. Most colleges don’t count any classes taken in middle school, unless I suppose, it’s on the HS transcript?
Regardless, having 3 years in HS is usually fine, especially if reaching the 4th year level, or for non-elites.
You’ve come to the right place @packattack1018. We will get you ready. I was the same way with my DS16. I not only got through it but am much more calm this time around with DD20. It does all come together and they end up where they are meant to be. Of course, just having moved DS16 in for senior year, hearing about his summer internship over dinner, and then discussing what he plans to apply for in upcoming recruiting season does make it feel like it has all worked out fine. I will say graduating without debt gives him a lot of options so I am a huge supporter of searching for a good financial fit.
Regarding which schools require an AP exam if you took the course, I think you may have to call them. I can say in 2016, both Princeton and MIT were on this list.
No foreign lang in middle school. Just three years of high school French. I will have her check in with her college counselor on this one. Thanks for all the input 2020 parents! @ShrimpBurrito Love the idea of changing the language of the phones to keep the practice a daily one!
I haven’t seen any school that considers high school rigor actually state in writing (or on their website) that they don’t care if you take the exam. You might find out different information if you call but then you have to wonder the validity of the source.
Seems like a lot of schools are having self reported scores. That’s great, I like saving money instead of giving it to College Board. UIUC and Tulane both emailed to specify the self reporting scores.
No college - zero, zip, zilch, nada - will require a student to take an AP test. There have been apocryphal stories (actually a story) of an accepted student/parent calling “someone” Princeton years ago and being told by the mythical someone without a job title that not taking an AP exam could lead to admissions rescinded. I called bull on it then, and I stand firm now. And to be clear, I’m sure that the story-teller believed the story, but either s/he misheard, or the person giving the info was not in a position to give authoritative info. Any acceptance letter will generally have Terms and Conditions which will need to be fulfilled to avoid an acceptance being rescinded; none say anything about AP exams.
That said, almost every college will require the applicant to communicate a change in schedule, which could impact the admissions. But if they have an issue with the schedule change, the will say so then and there. Obviously DD does not need to take an AP test if she dropped the class. Additionally a HS can require a student to take the AP exam. Failure to do so can result in forfeiture of the AP designation on the transcript and corresponding weighting, which again results in a change of schedule that needs to be communicated to the college.
That’s the case for many colleges. But don’t conflate tests to exempt one from FL in college vs admissions requirements/recommendations to actually get into the college. One needs to get in first before worrying about college graduation requirements.
I’m sorry, but this is untrue. I can probably see if my son still has the voicemail from the Princeton admissions person with the instructions on this point exactly. It’s not a “rumor,” it’s not “without title” - really? It happened in 2016. MIT was in person but Princeton was a voicemail that he may even still have.
ETA: he does not have the voicemail but confirmed the story. Apparently the admissions person said that they would “probably not” rescind admissions, but that it would be “something to review regarding academic honesty” - which scared DS enough that he didn’t want to risk it.
My D18 took five AP classes her senior year, but only three of the AP tests. On her Common App additional info section, she explained why she didn’t take those two AP tests. It seems like that would be enough to avoid the “academic honesty” issue.
So when she applied in fall of senior year she was already not planning to take the AP tests?
Correct. She had already maxed out the number of AP credits she would receive at all of her colleges. She wanted the better teachers that the AP classes offered, but the money spent on the exams would have been for nothing. Plus, she didn’t want the unnecessary stress come AP exam time—she wanted to focus on the three exams she felt were more important to her.
Edit: she actually took six AP classes her senior year. I’d forgotten about one. So, she took four AP exams in May instead of six.
Re: MS foreign language on HS transcript. I got a copy of DS’s official HS transcript since it was required for his internship. Middle school grades were shown for the high school level classes that he took. His had 1 in 7th grade and 3 in 8th grade (2 math, 1 sci, & 1 fl). He’s only taking 2 years in HS. Even with a summer school class one year and zero period classes another SY, there was no way to fit it into his schedule with music, STEM, and the other required classes in his academic program. I believe that the colleges on his list require 3 at most, but some recommend 4.