My guess is it’s less about the actual cost and more about the changes and the,IMO, not student driven thinking behind those changes. I’d be pretty upset about this. I don’t think the block system, especially with APs, is good for most kids. (I’m sure someone will come along and tell us how it’s great for their one kid - congrats - that’s why homeschooling was invented. Schools are supposed to do what’s best for most kids at their school.)
@Golfgr8 have you considered a parent coup? Get in touch with other parents, email deans, etc.
Also been told that there are some excellent ap study guides on YouTube. Just in case.
@Golfgr8 No, charges don’t seem reasonable at all to me. Our school sent out a list of the increases in expenses in a recent communication. They were larger than I expected in multiple areas (some of which I had not even though of). They were not passed on to students and parents during this tough time. I think it should be absorbed by the school unless someone needs much more additional help. DA could have stuck to normal semester blocks. Their change precipitated the need for the review. (And what are they going to do with kids who are reviewing and still taking classes?)
Thanks @Happytimes2001 - it is interesting about the expenses. Our school recently posted expenses related to COVID, also. Your question is what we are concerned about for the students. Yes - they will be taking their review courses in the Spring while also taking the academic courses (AP) per the Block Schedule. I think there needs to be some constructive input from students about the potential distress of this plan. Can’t do it all - most likely the AP Tests will be a bust for our student because we are emphasizing the course grade. Knowing kiddo, there is not enough horsepower in there to ace both the course and the test. Uncertainty with the uptick in COVID cases, who knows what may happen in May and there may not even be AP tests.
There should be tests no matter what. There were AP tests this past spring, they were done online. I can’t imagine that there wouldn’t be tests next spring.
I tend to agree with both @Golfgr8 and @cinnamon1212 . Elite college AOs know all about the academic BSs, but coaches outside the Northeast may not or simply may not care a whit, and some coaches in the Northeast may only care depending on whether it’s a hard recruitment or a soft recruitment situation.
Our experience has been, when using one of the coach’s “virtually no questions asked” recruitment spots (the magic 2-4 spots on a team), coaches could not care less what school a kid is coming from - only matters whether they can help the team win and enhance the coach’s status. As long as GPA and test score minimums are achieved, or it’s an SAT optional school and the kid is told not to submit the SAT, they know the kid is going to be admitted if they apply ED.
When the coach is at an elite Northeast college/university, and especially a NESCAC, and the coach is merely supporting a kid at admissions for a non-recruitment spot, they may care what school a kid comes from because they want some certainty the kid will be well received at Admissions and accepted without the “guaranteed” recruitment spot. Then they start gaming the “SAT optional/ED-EA/Academic Index” stuff.
When the coach is at a non-Northeast school, I feel in general, the coach only cares about the kid’s talent and stated GPA and test scores, and won’t dig deep on GPA and what it really means about a kid’s academic record. In other words, they don’t care that Smith Academy is amazing and has grade deflation, it’s a hassle for the coach to deal with the subtleties. I feel this is the case at some strong schools in the Midwest (Notre Dame, Michigan) and in the Southeast (Duke, Vanderbilt, UVA, Emory).
All AOs know and care about the great boarding schools and their curriculum and rigor. Outside the Northeast, not sure the same can be said for coaches.
Well, if the school is going to charge for the AP prep course, they should change the information that they share with colleges to reflect that AP exams became optional during the academic year (which seems appropriate anyway).
Seems really petty and small minded for the school to charge extra for the prep course. To be consistent, the school should also send checks back to families for all the standard things that the students are no longer experiencing - athletic team seasons, etc.
Agree @CMKDad - In addition, I think it is short-sighted. I wouldn’t want to be the development person who gets our phone number for annual fund this year!?