Replying as a Physicist. Taking AP Physics 2 will definitely help him in AP Physics C, assuming his school does what a lot of schools do, which is teach AP Physics C Mech as a semester 1 course and AP Physics E&M as a 2nd sem course. And it will help him clarify if Physics is something he would like to major/minor in or if he would like a more Physics intensive Engineering major such as Aeroscape or Material engineering. If he doesn’t enjoy AP Physics 2, he could also choose to not take AP Physics C in 12th and choose a lifescience or something else - options include AP environmental science, AP Psycology etc.
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My DD just made her schedule this week. Dropped a lunch to take 2 1/2 year classes she is interested. Not sure I agree but she insisted. We have 2 local college tours scheduled y spring break!
ENGLISH III A
PRECALCULUS (H)
MODERN WORLD HISTORY (AP)
ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY (H)
SPANISH IV (H)
PE WELLNESS 11/12
WIND SYMPHONY (H)
KINESIOLOGY & ORTHOPEDIC ASSESSMENT (H)
COMPARATIVE WORLD RELIGIONS/ CONTEMPORARY LITERATURE
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A physicist’s insight is definetly helpful. Thank you, calimombkwm.
S26 is taking the ACT at school right now. It’s ACT day for all the Juniors at our HS and Sophomores could opt in to test as well. I think it’s great practice. Taking the ACT is a graduation requirement in our state, therefore the school time testing.
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S26 has begun the college search process. We toured two schools over spring break - a small private college and a state flagship. He was impressed by the private school and could see himself attending it even though it does not offer his current preferred major. On the other hand, the state flagship, which does offer the preferred major, was not for him. He felt it was too large and too sports-focused. (The tour included a photo-op stop at the football stadium. 
)
We have determined that S26 would prefer a small to medium-sized urban school with a defined campus. He wants skyscrapers and public transportation.
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Great start!
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Mine did two tours too! One with me and one with his grandfather.
The first one checked every box on his list but he didn’t rave about it and thought it was too far. The second school didn’t seem like quite as good a fit when we researched it, but he was in love. So,’that is a very nice feeling!
We will have to see if his major choice stays stable, as they don’t have some of the things he’s been interested in before.
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The school my kid loved might fit your kid’s criteria!
Totally agree! My D24 is finishing her second year of AP Research and it has been an excellent experience. We’re going to try to get her paper published. I think she has a real chance, which honestly before this class I would never have thought.
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My son has decided to take APES and Regular Physics (not AP, not honors) for junior and senior year, but is not sure when to take each class. He’s planning to major in Creative Writing and History. He’s currently getting an A in Advanced Chemistry but says he’s not a science person. His junior year schedule looks so heavy to me and I want to make sure he has a good balance of classes. So far he’s signed up for the following next year (junior year) and has the following planned for senior year. What do you all think?
Junior Year
AP Calc AB
AB Lang
APUSH
AP Seminar
Advanced Band
Advanced Spanish 4
??APES or Regular Physics???
Senior Year
AP Stats
AP Lit
AP Gov
AP Research
Advanced Band
Econ (not AP, not honors)
??? APES or Regular Physics???
Here are some things your son might consider, perhaps many of these are obvious though… 
- Many students would put the most challenging one in senior year, since the grades in junior year matter the most and not all colleges will see your first semester senior year grades. But your HS might differ from others on which one is more challenging (depends on the teacher, etc).
- Is there a difference in which teacher is teaching each one in different years? Better teacher can make a difference.
- Would already having an AP score from APES when applying to college make a difference? That might depend on which colleges are being targeted and how they consider AP scores. (Many don’t care)
- Sometimes kids make choices based on friends taking the same class that year (no problem with that if it helps motivate everyone!)
- Also… one or the other class might simply fit into the schedule better (depending on which period it’s taught in). My kids don’t always get the classes they want…
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Thank you, @tamagotchi ! I appreciate the insight! I will pass this on to my son. You’re so right about better teachers can make a difference. My son has a 99% in Advanced Pre-Calc AB because of his teacher who’s amazing (AP Precalc wasn’t an option when he signed up last year).
As far as colleges he is targeting…My son wants to major in Creative Writing and History and for now he’s planning to apply to Va Tech, UVA, Pitt, GMU, JHU, and maybe CMU. JHU and CMU will be reaches for him. These schools have Creative Writing majors/concentrations. UVA may be a reach since UVA likes to see 4 years of a foreign language in HS, and my son will stop at Adv Spanish 4 (he took Spanish 1 in 8th grade) in order to take Econ (required) and AP Research (to get AP Capstone - his choice). He is open to other schools but for now these are the ones he’s looking into.
Are you sure they won’t consider that to be 4 years? My impression is that many schools are happy with the 4th year being taken in junior year like that, but I don’t know about UVA specifically.
D22 was admitted to UVA with AP Spanish 4 in jr year bc Spanish 1 was in 8th grade. For her, that was the end of the Spanish curriculum, so it might be different if you have a Spanish 5 option and choose not to take it. But in general, I don’t think your situation is a deal breaker.
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My son’s school offers up to AP Spanish which he should take Senior year (after Advanced Spanish 4 junior year), but he’ll be taking Econ instead, a required course to graduate. UVA may argue that he could drop AP Research (an elective only) senior year to take AP Spanish, but my son is very interested in finishing off the AP Seminar/AP Research combo. It’s ok. I think UVA was just recommending taking 4 years each of the 5 core courses in HS to make my son more competitive as an applicant. But there’s so much more that goes into that equation like grades, ECs, essays, LORs.
UVA doesn’t look at HS courses taken in 7th and 8th grade. My son took Spanish 1 in 8th grade. The highest level of Spanish at his school is AP Spanish after Advanced Spanish 4.
Ok! I think many schools would treat 3 years that include AP Spanish as “4 years of Spanish” but if UVA does not, that’s interesting to know.
I think taking 4 years of a foreign language in HS gives a student a competitive edge at UVA, but of course, there are other factors they look for too. I think UVA looks at whether a student took the highest level of a core subject available to them. In my son’s situation, the highest level Spanish available to him is AP Spanish. Had he not taken Spanish 1 in 8th grade and took it in 9th grade instead, then the highest level of Spanish available to him would be Advanced Spanish 4 in 12th grade. I don’t think students at his high school could go from Adv Spanish 3 to AP Spanish…
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Onto round 2… DS close to committing to a school - so now its time to switch my focus to DD. Took her and her friend on their first college tour today. Both have older siblings but this is the first time it was focused on them. Good day - both liked the school. But we shall see ..
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We, too, are moving to round 2. Stumbled across a UAH (Univ of Alabama-Huntsville) announcement online that also mentioned Univ of Arizona. Told D26 about it and she thought it was cool. At the moment, she’s really interested in U of AZ’s degree in Intelligence & Information Operations. DH & I are also encouraging her to consider doing an undergrad certificate in cyber operations or cyber defense through the College of Applied Science & Technology (http://azcast.arizona.edu).
Anyway, the UAH announcement talked about this new internship program that UAH is doing w/the Dept of Defense, along with Augusta Univ (in GA), Florida International Univ, and Univ of AZ.
It’s called VIVID, or Virtual Internship and Varied Innovative Demonstrations. A 3-year program funded by a $3.2M grand from the Dept of Defense.
the program will hire interns from these 4 universities. Specifically, college students studying in of those 4 universities’ Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Education and Research.
UAH’s coalition will be with Redstone Arsenal and the UAH interns will work with:
- Army
- NASA
- Missile Defense Agency
- FBI
- DIA (Defense Intelligence Agency)
Augusta University interns will work with:
- NSA
- US Cyber Command
Univ of Arizona interns will work with:
- US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command
- Electronic Proving Ground
(both in Fort Huachuca)
Florida International University interns will work with:
- US Army Garrison, Miami
- US Southern Command & US Coast Guard Base, Miami Beach
There’s going to be 20 interns per cohort at each location. They’ll work for 8 weeks and there will be 4 cohorts per year. Interns will work 20 hours a week for $18/hour.
D26 is pretty stoked that this is basically right in our backyard.
She said last week that UAH is officially off the list because she thinks it’s too far away. I’m a little bummed about that because I think it’s a hidden gem of a school, but she’s the one who’ll be going to college, not me. On the bright side, it’ll mean that we won’t have to think about getting her a car right away (I’ve read that Huntsville is very car-dependent…plus it’s hard to get to an airport).
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