Parents of the HS Class of 2025 (Part 1)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
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Not a good result on APs here, but only moderately surprising. Kiddo got 3s on Physics 1, APUSH, and AP Comp A. The APUSH was better than I had expected, but he was shocked about AP Comp A. He felt great about the test. I wonder if his meandering writing was the issue? Oh well. Onward and upward.

Still only one school on the list for S25 (Rose-Hulman) and I can’t get him to consider or get excited about any other schools. I will have to resort to forcing some safety applications. He has no interest in applying to our state school, UTK, and I’m okay with it after 10 years of working for the UT system. (which I thankfully escaped this spring) I’m going to suggest some schools where he can get decent merit and still study what he wants to study…Ole Miss, Alabama, and maybe Arkansas. He’s over the 75th percentile at Rose with his scores, but I think he needs more options.

He’s meeting with a writing coach this morning to help him get going on his common app essay, so hopefully he will have that behind him by the time school start on 8/5. And hopefully he will get through his three books he needs to read for AP Lit by then, as well!

Enjoying seeing the rest of the college lists your kids have crafted! Send good thoughts that my kid will come up with some more schools!

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Lost on what to do about AP scores now. S25 got a 5 in Lang, a 3 in US History and a 3 in Physics. Yikes. He’s had 5s until now.

Would you all just leave off the 3s and submit his three 5s to top schools or not submit at all?

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I just got a MOM text from D25 (she had to be at work at 7:30 this morning!) I never know if it’s going to be good or bad when she just texts MOM. Then she sent the rest of it…she passed AP Chem with a 3! She was sure she failed it so she was VERY excited. And she got a 4 on AP Lit. Happy day!

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S is generally happy with his APs - he got 5’s on AB Calc and APUSH, and 4s on Lang and Physics 1. He really cared about APUSH - that is the teacher that he wants to write one of his recommendations and the teacher said he would only write recommendations for students who got 5s on the exam. I don’t love that way of doing things, but he teaches something like 150 kids across his APUSH classes, and it seems like most of them ask him to write letters, because he makes a sincere effort to get to know the kids during the year. We had a backup plan if S didn’t get a 5, and it was a solid backup, but S is happy he doesn’t need to go that route.

In terms of schools, here’s our current list - with major because not every school has every major. I think this is in current preference order.

  • UNC Chapel Hill - Geography
  • Clemson - Construction Management
  • Pitt - Urban Planning
  • VA Tech - Building Construction
  • UTK - Construction Management
  • UCONN - Geography
  • McGill - Geography
  • JMU - Geography

Carolina is a reach for anyone who doesn’t live in NC - on our tour this spring they told us that the out of state admittance rate was 6% this year. Yikes.

His scores and grades should be good enough for Clemson, and his heart is really with Clemson. If he gets in, I think that will be it for him. I need to get over my family members who are all kind of snobby about it and totally looking down on this entire list but Clemson specifically. (So far I’ve gotten “but I thought he was smart” and “I just… didn’t X (girl who had horrible grades and a drinking problem in HS) go there? Couldn’t he do better?”) I know that’s stupid, I just need to not let it bother me and to keep it away from him.

He really likes the program at Pitt, but I think the school likely doesn’t fit him quite as well as the others.

VA Tech is the school he doesn’t like because (1) it’s too gray and (2) too many kids from his HS go there. We’re going to visit again in the fall, because I think for so many reasons it could be perfect for him. I want him to give it another chance.

He hasn’t visited UTK, but it’s got the program he wants, is close to the mountains which he loves, and has the big school sports that he wants. We’ll see how it feels when he goes to visit.

He hasn’t visited either UCONN or McGill either - I wanted him to add them both because both have programs that would work, they are solid options that he should get into, and should be within budget at the end of the day. He’s totally ambivalent about both though. We’ll be visiting UCONN right before school starts, so we’ll see how that goes. If he gets in to Pitt early enough via rolling admissions, he may not even apply.

JMU is on here as an “if everything else fails” option. It’s got a stellar geography program, it’s got the sports feel he wants, it’s in a good location. But he can’t get past the reputation it’s got at our HS as “everybody’s backup school”. Even if he were attending because he got a great scholarship, he’s just biased and I can’t get him past it.

I wish I could come up with one or two other schools he could be really excited about, but he doesn’t want to go further south or west and I’ve got nothing. This should be enough, and I need to just let it go. (Why yes, I AM giving myself a pep talk! :slight_smile: )

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This is tough. A 4 is a no brainer but a 3 can be complicated, but I think it also depends on test scores, and class grades. IMO AP scores are often used to gauge if there is grade inflation in the classroom, particular if the college is unfamiliar with the school.

What does the college list look like(ish)? A lot of T20s? A lot of state schools? This all factors in the calculation I think. A great place to start is to look what score the college accepts for credit. When S24 took AP CS A, a graduating senior was going to skip the exam but then found out that the school she was committed to would give credit for a 3, so she went ahead and took it without much effort.

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I think that depends on whether they are relevant to what he wants to study. (Which I can’t remember.) Like if he’s a STEM kid - I wouldn’t send the 3 in Physics, but if he’s going for something more humanities, I’d probably send the 3 in Physics. A lot of kids don’t even take an AP science their junior year, so if he’s a humanities kid then I think a 3 in an AP Science junior year is something pretty strong and that I’d include. Either way, once he gets into schools and selects where he’s going make sure to send them all - many schools give credit for 3s.

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It’s a rough situation. S25 took his AP exams late after having an awful case of the flu, I can’t help but think it affected his performance. Here’s his list, we realize that Notre Dame and Wake in particular are a big long shot, he’s a legacy at W&L.

He has a 4.0 UW GPA and is 5th in his class currently, although they don’t report rank, so these don’t reflect his abilities in school but he’s also test optional. Advice appreciated!

Elon

Miami U

Gonzaga

Furman

SMU - Cox

Trinity University

Santa Clara

Lehigh

U of Richmond

W&L

Wake Forest

Notre Dame

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He’s interested in Business, so no real relevance I guess.

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Then I would lean towards sending Physics I think. Was his Physics test Physics 1? If so, look here at the score distribution - 2024 AP Score Distributions – AP Students | College Board - of all the AP tests, Physics 1 has the lowest percentage of students getting a 3, 4, or 5 (46%) and it’s among the lowest for 4s and 5s. I assume the admissions people know which tests typically have lots of high or low scorers. I think getting a 3 on Physics 1, particularly for a business major, is something pretty solid.

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But he also got a 3 in APUSH. Also, I would’t say a Physics grade is irrelevant to Business. Quantitative analytical skills are important.

What are his other APs prior and next year?

I would probably be considering what grade he got in the class and who is writing the recommendation letters. In addition, I’d search for statements the school has made on testing (not actual policy). For example, during an interview, Emory suggested they would be turning to AP scores for sussing out grade inflation.

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I don’t disagree with your thinking but its important to be aware that Physics 1 has such a low pass rate not because it is particularly hard, but because a lot of unprepared kids take it. Physics C is a much harder test yet the passing rate is quite high because kids self select into it.

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He’s taken Human Geography and World History prior. Both 5s. He got an A in Physics and the teacher told me he was his top student. He’s writing his recommendation! Yikes.

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I don’t think a 5 in these particular courses negate the 3 in AP Physics and APUSH in terms of rigor. Those are considered “soft” APs. Sorry… This comes out a little harsh and its not my intent. I am trying to make a somewhat “objective” comment without judgement, based on my school experience. AP Physics 1 and APUSH are what I would describe as “core” APs.

This is good IMO. At the end of the day, his performance in the classroom and how he interacts with the material is more important.

What is he taking next year? I think I would tend to send the scores… I am not sure TO and no AP scores for someone who took AP classes looks all that great. How is your college counseling? At my school I would be considering historical data with our CC. Another thing to check - our school profile states that you have to take the AP exam.

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Sure, I had kids who took both - I also think the year in school you are when you take it matters. Like my S25 took Physics 1 as a junior, and had never had a physics class before. My S22 took Physics C as a senior, after having taken Honors Physics and BC Calc the year before. I agree that there is definite self selection into Physics C, but I’d give more credit to the juniors in Physics 1 who don’t have as much prep, maybe, as the kids in Physics C.

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Not snarky at all, it is what it is. Do you know can he submit some places and not others? Just delete it from the Common App each time?

It’s a Catholic school where the CC is mostly concerned with athletes, he’s not good at all, although many kids do go to good schools.

He didn’t have to take AP exams, my daughter actually only took 3 of the 6 but she was looking at a different level of school. What he really should do is retake the SAT, his score isn’t bad it’s just not quite good enough, but he refuses to prep for it at all.

Anyway, I’m sorry for monopolizing this thread.

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I think this is a relevant discussion for a lot of people even if yours is the “case study.”

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Kinda surprised and relieved over here. Kiddo pulled 5s in all the subjects he got B’s in (Lang, APUSH, French) and a 4 in Physics I (which he’s very disappointed about–but this probably has more to do with wanting a solid streak for dumb bragging rights. He felt underprepared for it going in and although his grades in physics were better, this is the class where the teacher told me he hadn’t totally grokked the content.)

He got a 5 on AP World last year despite getting B’s in the class. I suppose admissions officers could see this and decide that his grades aren’t inflated?

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If you are open to additional schools of this size, KU (Univ. of Kansas) has a reasonably good Mech E. program, its COA would be in line with these others and would be a safety.

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I’d submit the 3’s to the colleges he’d get credit for them and not to the ones he wouldn’t.

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D25’s friend also got a 3 on AP Chem. It must have been a VERY hard test.