My daughter is starting a private high school this Fall as a freshman, after being homeschooled until now.
While she was homeschooled, she has taken community college courses that are considered equivalent to following popular AP courses that are also offered by her new high school; APUSH (US History I & II) and AP Art History (Western Art History I & II)
It will be relatively easy for her to take them, as they will be essentially repeat of her community college courses that she already aced.
Strictly for elite college admission, would it be better to take those AP courses during her high school years or take alternative AP courses? Will the colleges generally take look at those courses she took before high school for admission purpose?
@SculptorDad: This is a question you should ask of the CC staff at Grier as that is part of the excellent counseling you are paying for at boarding school.
I’m surprised, though, that the BS is allowing your daughter to repeat material she has already mastered. That seems a waste of both her time and the resources of her BS and probably won’t be viewed positively by any college.
OTOH, I don’t recommend taking APs at all as they are teach-to-the-test courses that negate the reason you send your child to the academically rich programs that most BS offer. Your daughter can sit for any AP she wishes and can score well just from the BS general curriculum without getting caught up in the tedium of the AP format which is not the best of what your child’s BS offers I’m sure.
Again, you will get your best guidance on this question from the staff at Grier, but I believe that all college credits (and your daughter has 60, correct?) will need to be reported to any college she applies to. She may not be able to be viewed as a freshman.
So it sounds like you are already using the resources of her new school and they are giving her good advice. You can trust that they will continue to do so as they guide her to her best college fit and outcome.
@ChoatieMom, It’s been a while and it is very nice to hear from you. Grier has been very accommodating and allows her to take all the challenging courses for Freshmen years. So we are having a very pleasant surprise.
Perhaps you will be even more surprised that many other schools that didn’t accept dd, both elite and less elite, suggested, not just allowed, her to repeat many courses that she has taken so that she can be in the same classroom with peers. So that was what we were ready to accept as a price to pay for going to a high school vs early college.
For APs, I agree that she might learn better with none-AP or even elective courses. I will keep that in mind! She is taking only one AP course this year - AP Environmental Science. She has prereq for all other AP science courses too but we were afraid that will be too academically heavy for now. We asked Grier about APES and a few science electives and Grier’s college advisor suggested APES.
Grier staffs have been very helpful on setting up her schedule for her Freshman year. But for subsequent years, I think it might be better to let them experience her for a year so they will know her even better. For now, I was just hopping to get general ideas because I am curious how it would work.
I have no doubt that the school staffs are way more qualified than I am, and will continue to let them do their job.
Regarding not getting freshman status, so far none that I have contacted. However, @ChoatieMom has a valid concern and it is like a minefield for my dd due to her specific case that I am hesitant to discuss yet. It is a tricky issue that I don’t want to rise up. If anyone has a similar concern for their children, I am willing to discuss further in PM.
Regarding the original question, yes I am afraid that you are right. I don’t want her look that way.
Now, in addition to the original question if you don’t mind.
She has taken English 1A which is equiv to AP English Language. But she will have to take a few even lower level, her grade level English courses, and eventually is likely to take AP English Language/Literature. I don’t see way out of this. And hopefully colleges won’t look that as grade-grubbing. What do you think?
Also, she has taken 2D, 3D and Drawing, which are equiv to AP Studio Art: 2D, 3D, and Drawing. Will submitting AP Studio Art portfolios without taking classes also look like grade-grubbing? On the positive side, wouldn’t it be nice to add 3 easy APs for State AP Scholar and other considerations?
For what is worth, she aced all her CC courses except B for a Physics course equiv to AP Physics 1.
I’m a little skeptical that a cc class is at the same level as an AP or “better than AP” class at an elite prep school. Even at our public school, the dual enrollment classes are considered a little easier than AP. That was certainly true of the one DE class my kid took. Also, unlike the actual cc courses which are open enrollment, the high school dual enrollment classes required something along the lines of minimum 550 scores on each section of the SAT in order to be admitted.
@mathyone, thanks for joining in. CC courses dd took were regular courses. Without actually knowing how difficult highschool AP courses are, my guess is that majority of them are at similar level to AP of normal high schools. Her US History I was super easy with multiple choice questions, while US History II was had all essay based quiz, tests and 4 long research papers. %of A were often 10~20% only.
But how would college admissions will see them in general?
If they are actually required by the high school, then it should be explainable on that basis. At least for English courses, the reading lists can vary more than for other subjects, so there is at least the possibility of reading and writing about something new.
Would she have the option of taking senior-level English electives in place of the lower level English courses?
SculptorDad: I don’t mean to be harsh, but please take a step back to enjoy the moment. After a long and anxiety-ridden process, your daughter has chosen to attend the school that loves her, and is about to embark on her journey of enjoying life at BS with her peers – the “being a teenager” experience that you have said she is craving. Please, just celebrate this, and take a moment to catch your breath. The fact that you are already concerned about chances for her elite college admissions when she has yet to begin her first year at BS (and, yes, she certainly deserves a lot of credit for being a VERY accomplished young woman already) is a bit concerning. Like many of us BS parents, I think you’ll need to find a new “hobby” when your child leaves for school! But seriously, and I mean this in a kind and supportive way: for your sake and hers, give this a rest and appreciate this special time for her. As ChoatieMom said, Grier has good college counselors. They will guide her (and you, if you’ll let them!) well. I promise.
I don’t see why a college would object to the series of English courses. Clearly, she’ll be reading many books which she didn’t read in her cc English class, and she’ll be writing new things, not just rehashing the exact same papers she already did. Those courses are more about improving reading and writing skills, and exposure to a variety of readings in the field, rather than mastering a narrowly-defined body of knowledge. Besides, she probably needs 4 years of English to graduate from high school.
You could ask your daughter to take a sample APUSH exam and see whether the material covered is stuff she already knows. My older kid learned everything she needed for the US history SAT2 in APUSH, so you could look at that as well. History classes with the same name might have very different emphases. My daughter says that the world history class offered to students who don’t take WHAP at our school is nothing like WHAP.
Thanks for your advises and concerns. I feel that I have better understand it now.
She will take 9th and 10th English at Honors level. After that, she may take electives instead. We will see. And @cameo43 is right about me jumping in way too fast.
@mathyone, Her US History 1 was similar to APUSH, but US History 2 which covered after the Civil War, was more like real college courses that they focused deeper in selected few topics connecting them with current politics and research writing, therefore wasn’t a good prep for APUSH. (But it made an ok writer out of her.)
Since there are other interesting world history / geography / elective courses, I think it’s best to skip the APUSH (and AP Art History as well)
On the contrary, I think these issues need to be sorted out in order to plan her coursework. You don’t want to be kicking yourself in a year or two because you didn’t investigate and made choices that didn’t make sense.
Generally speaking colleges don’t see anything or even want to see anything from before high school. A child who did very advanced work before high school will be able to show that by doing even more advanced work in high school.
Yep. It is very unusual to list anything before 9th. I know one kI’d who did something extraordinary in middle school and even she was told they just don’t care. And she definitely continues to do extraordinary things in h.so. more than enough to fill an app.
I also agree with @cameo43
Other than you and your D, nobody will care about any AP scholar awards. Additionally, in case you are not aware, most elite schools and art schools will not give credit for AP studio art scores. And while some disagree, IMO AP scores will matter little in the admissions process. Your D really needs to maximize the resources available at Grier, and not to point out the obvious, she hasn't even started yet. Focusing on things before the HS years is just a waste of time for all involved, IMO.
College applications require that you have official transcripts sent from any college or community college courses taken. There’s no qualifier about the age/grade at the time the courses were taken.
All the more reason I am glad many boarding schools don’t offer as many AP classes. As has already been said, choose boarding school for the depth of education not the breadth.
But seriously, and I mean this in a kind and supportive way: for your sake and hers, give this a rest and appreciate this special time for her. As ChoatieMom said, Grier has good college counselors. They will guide her (and you, if you’ll let them!) well. I promise. 