Parents of the HS Class of 2024 (Part 2)

Everyone I know at Madison loves it- if they can endure the cold and snow.

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I just looked and we have about 150 of 350 posts on the Instagram page. But most kids go to just a handful of in-state public schools.

Weird question but
 why would the AP test matter? You pass, you get three credits. If it’s a full ride, credits are free. Who cares about free credits in that case?

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If you said you planned to take AP tests in common app and decide not to take it, does it matter? It seems like colleges won’t care. S24 tells me UC cares that you actually took AP tests, is that true?

We have already paid for ours so that might be a reason to take them. Also, if she doesn’t end up going to the full ride school then she would want the APs. Plus maybe the APs will replace some basic credits and then they can take more exciting classes :slight_smile:

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AP credit for intro courses like Calc 1/2 or GEs gives you more slots for higher level courses, which can be especially important if you want to double major.

My D had a full ride. She was grateful for every one of those AP credits that could be used for GE or course credit because she did a double degree (BFA/BS with honors) and it was a struggle to fit all the requirements into the four years of her scholarship (most semesters she took over 20 credits).

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You can get credits which alows you to take a minor or double major or even graduate early. This is the reason my son has been studying for his AP exams otherwise he would have laid back and let senioritis kick in.

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I get that but 3 credits shouldn’t be the difference between double major and no double major. And if it is, take a summer class. With $380k in savings it should be doable.

Either way she obviously made it work. Congrats. That’s a great school and a great offer.

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I meant for three or more AP classes.

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The UC’s just want to know if you will be sitting for the AP exams that were listed on your UC application. There is no penalty/recourse if the student does not but they just want to be updated prior to receiving the official AP score report.

Our college wants the scores regardless what the grade is, so we have to supply scores.

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My kid refuses to post on his class announcement page- I bet there are kids who just don’t want to post. I love seeing everyone’s plans/schools.

I’m late to the party here, but D24 committed to Swarthmore!

It was . . . complicated. She made the ultimate decision about 15 minutes before the May 1 deadline. I left for my annual off-the-grid-in-a-tent vacation last Saturday, the day before D24 left for an admitted students’ visit to Dartmouth. Before I left, we discussed all her options in depth, and she was leaning toward Swat but was willing to be wowed by Dartmouth and hadn’t completely crossed out WashU. But I didn’t get the sense that she was terribly undecided. But when I arrived back from the sanctity of my tent on Wednesday afternoon, she was absolutely torn between Swat and WashU. She reported that she really liked most everything about Dartmouth except the art program. But she liked Dartmouth’s size and vibrant social life. Her Dartmouth trip made her reconsider WashU, which offers more social life, a larger student body, and a great BFA program. (Mind you, she also previously enjoyed Swatstruck and said she could see herself there when she got back.) So from Wednesday afternoon to evening, we had several calls and exchanged several texts, before she finally committed to Swat. But it was close.

So why Swarthmore? It was cheaper, she liked the people there a lot, she appreciated the access to Philly, she is slightly more inclined toward a broad liberal arts education than a focused-BFA education, and she liked the art program and particularly the off-campus opportunities it offers (presumably a benefit of Swat’s enormous endowment). But, like I said, it was a hard decision and I tried my best to offer neutral advice and not sway her one way or the other. I could very easily be writing the same thing about WashU. Once she made her decision, my final advice was to fully embrace Swat and not look back (no “what if’s” about the schools she could have chosen). Probably easier said than done though.

Anyhow, deposit made, college sweatshirt ordered, and looking forward to visiting Philadelphia!

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At many schools class registration is based on seniority. More hours can mean you are earlier in line to register for courses. That can be a big benefit, depending on the school.

At D22’s LAC they limit AP/IB credit to 2 classes total. For her there was no benefit for some of the AP tests, and she knew that going in, but she sat for all but the second English anyway. Her AP English teacher at the beginning of senior year said do NOT register for the exam if you already took another AP English last year and you liked your score. No one will give you credit for both APs. He said “trust me, you will thank me in May!” And he was right, she was thrilled not to have to sit for that AP.

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My son never did. My daughter posted on college page but prob won’t post on high school commit page :joy:

Senior project presentation is all done! Kid is officially all done with all of her HS schoolwork now. She got a really nice medal to wear at graduation due to completing the project.

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I am SUPER PROUD of D24 tonight. She & the other seniors went to a classmate’s house this evening for his birthday party. Apparently, it was a huge party. There was even a band. Some adult relatives of the birthday kid were handing out beer to some of the minors.

D24 said that birthday kid had also invited a couple of guys he knows from another nearby high school
the boys from the other high school got super drunk while there. D24 & BFF were ready to leave, but another female friend was still waiting for her ride home to show up. So not only did my kid NOT drink but she & BFF stayed w/their female classmate to make sure she didn’t have to deal with rowdy drunk boys on her own.

YAY!!! :partying_face: :partying_face: :partying_face: seriously, it feels like I should high five somebody right now.

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My view is that some entry-level classes are worth taking, too, like that intro college writing course so many LACs have. So even if you might place out of it, I’m not sure why you’d want to. And as you know, since it also depends on each school’s policy about which AP scores are accepted, it may or may not be applied as a credit.

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Thank you to everyone that gave such great advice on how my S24 could decide between Syracuse and University of Denver. After much thought and thinking about what was best fit for him- he has decided to be a PIO- so University of Denver. I am so happy for him and relieved that this process is over. I have learned so much about this process through you all in this forum- thank you! And best of luck for those still deciding.

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Anyone else have a kid starting to date someone (who is going far away geographically in Sept) in the last month (s) of school? I guess this is the time to let go and stop worrying but it’s hard! They are smitten. It’s really cute and sweet, but I worry about heartbreaks. Of course I don’t say anything to him about my opinions.

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