D25 took AP Lit last year and is doing Lang this year (long story, don’t ask). They didn’t have any summer reading–and per the teacher’s celebratory email, 50% of the class got 5s and 70% got 4 or 5. I know D25 has AP Calc homework to do, but thankfully, no other prep. Well, aside from college essays (and maybe actually, officially, finalizing her list?).
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We visited Lewis and Clark last week. We liked it okay, but Mr Groundhog thinks C25 should apply to “better” safety schools. 
C25 got 5s on Calc BC and Environmental Science and 4s on Lang and APUSH. I think they are a little disappointed with Lang since the teacher was sure that they’d get a 5. Not a big deal though.
D25 doesn’t have to read over the summer for AP Lit, but I did when I was in high school and I loved it. I still remember reading To Kill a Mockingbird at my grandparent’s house in Oklahoma.
I’ve been told that AP Lit had The Name of the Wind as a selection last year. Interesting choice!
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Our school is no longer allowed to assign summer work, so no pre-reads for AP Lit (or anything else). They have a lot of whackadoodle policies at this school, but I’ll take this one as a win.
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That is an eclectic list of schools, but it makes sense when you look at how you got there. I know it feels weird for the process to just be sort of truncated and focused on one school - that’s sort of where we are too. My kid loves on school, and he’ll probably get in there. I want him to have several schools all of which he’s excited by and could see himself at so that when it comes time to decide he can really think about what fits best and offers him something that feels best. But who are we to argue if they’ve basically done that already and are, pretty much, done? (And really, at least in my house, might as well save my breath.)
I think you’ve got a really good plan and, for those purposes, actually a really good list. Ok, there’s Rose. And if somehow things change between now and then and Rose doesn’t feel right to him anymore, there’s a smaller school and some larger schools so he’ll have options with different vibes. It’s sort of like, ok, you know what you want and if somehow that stops being what you want, the choices you have left should cover whatever differences it is that he could have grown to embrace. Not a bad plan at all.
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Thanks for your kind feedback and for sharing that you’re in a similar situation. I know I should be relieved that he has such a clear picture of what he wants right now. And I think he’s picked a perfect school that really matches him. It’s just my anxiety driving my desire for him to pick more schools. But this will make his senior year so much less stressful.
Happy your kid found a school he loves, as well!
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Bummer about the Japanese.
Your son’s reply reminds me of one I hear around here from time to time too: “You always say just because [insert friend/family member] is doing it doesn’t mean I/we should or have to as well.” I just love it when they turn the tables on us like this… not really.
I agree that it can be a relief when they have a clear picture of what they want, and at the same time, nerve-wracking, but really only because we want them to land where they will be happy, have a great experience, and of course receive a solid education. So we as parents want them to keep their options open as a way to protect them and make sure they are set on as firm ground as possible as they move into adulthood, I think. My kiddo also currently has a clear favorite and a vision for how things will unfold over the next year (really the next six months or so), but I am pushing for him to keep other schools on the table too. If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that things don’t or won’t always go to plan, no matter how solid your visioning skills are.
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This seems like a well balanced list! My D applied to most of those as well, except WPI and MIT, and ended up at Rice. She also added it late and in fact it was one of the the only schools she was serious about that we didn’t visit. After she was accepted we had to scramble to attend an admitted student day. If you have time it’s worth a visit - campus is gorgeous and it has a different ‘vibe’ from some of the large state schools on your list. Let me know if you have any questions!
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S25 does have to read one book from the list for his funky combo AP Research/AP Lit class. He has to reach out to his other new teachers to check for other assignments, since they didn’t do his course selection until school ended and I have no idea if his new teachers even know he’s in their classes. Book options:
The Overstory
Poisonwood Bible
The Vaster Wilds
Sea of Tranquility
Klara and the Sun
I’m actually OK with summer reading assignments, mainly because it keeps them reading instead of scrolling… S27’s school has an all-school summer read, which I also like. The other work of summer’s past for APUSH, AP Gov, and AP Bio was tough to get through for sure and created way more conflict around time management than I wanted.
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so do you feel it’s ok to submit 5s and 4s? do 4s add positively to the application or no effect?
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A 3 is a pass. A 4 is an above pass, and earns credit at nearly every institution that does AP credit. Yes, submit it.
(Again: A 3 is a pass. Please don’t stress about 4s. It’s unnecessary.)
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Who is to say? For certain it won’t hurt. I wouldn’t hesitate for a second.
I am of the opinion that APs don’t make or break applications but give context to transcripts.
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There’s so much conflicting advice - linking to two thoughts below. I’m letting my son research and decide if he wants to submit some of his scores or all of his scores or none of his scores.
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So is a C. Do you feel the same way about sending a transcript full of Cs? The bar for top schools is not “passing.” All that 3 is going to do is have them question the rigor of the class when the student has an A.
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Just brutal, from the Sara Harberson article (and I would tend to believe her, she worked at Penn and F&M):
Getting a 4 is okay in their eyes, but I have been part of admissions committees where the student gets a 4, especially in a subject matter they plan to pursue, and that’s enough of a reason for that student to be denied.
I do think many admissions readers are looking for reasons to admit, rather than deny. But readers are not a homogenous group, even those working at the same school. That’s important to remember…so many things are out of the applicant’s control.
I recommend students ask for guidance on what scores to report (AP and SAT/ACT if considering test optional) when they visit the school, during a virtual admissions session, and/or directly ask their AO. They may or may not get a direct answer but more information is usually better.
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Yeah, I’m thinking that it may be better to not submit scores at all to really competitive schools than to submit only a few good ones or a mix of high and lower scores. Just be purely test optional.
Of course that’s not foolproof either, each school will interpret it differently. Sigh.
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I loved The Overstory. Have recommended it to friends and it made me read all of his other books. My kid hasn’t read it though – they don’t read fiction for pleasure unfortunately. (I wish they did…)
My thought is that all or nothing is probably better, but that too has to be thought in context. Are your grades high? Low? Does that college know your school? Is taking the test mandatory at your school? Do you have other test scores?
Despite her example, I highly doubt it was the 4, in isolation, that kept the student out. That 4 probably highlighted some other “bubble issue” they were concerned about. Or maybe the 4 was in Calc and the student was applying to Engendering without a particularly strong SAT Math score.
Whatever it was, you have to consider your own case. One 4 and a bunch of 5s will hardly raise a red flag. A 3 in Physics C or AP Chem for a gifted writer who got a B in the class but has an otherwise stellar transcript is hardly going to be an issue. Now, if that kid has an A in the class they may raise a few questions… Did the student not try? Is there grade inflation at the school? How well do other students from that school do?..
There is no one answer. You have to thing about what is the “whole story” that your application tells.
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Or maybe they decided they wanted another flautist rather than an oboist, and the 4 changed precisely nothing. Or heck, maybe the 4 was a net positive, even a really big one, but they didn’t want another oboist anyway.
One of the worst effects of the black box that has become “holistic” college admissions is this weird attempt by applicants and their families to attempt to assert control by reading the the tea leaves and reacting accordingly. The problem, of course, is that the patterns left by tea leaves are random noise, and the conclusions we draw are a side effect of our species’s strong pareidolia.
Seriously, don’t try to game out random noise. It adds mental stress to the one trying to game it out, and is doomed to not succeed at its stated goal.
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FWIW, my son only had one school (Williams) that specifically asked him to self report AP scores in the portal. They were a 3 and 4s. He was accepted.
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