@infinityprep1234, of course. I see. I always encourage daughter to spend much of evening hours with friends, which was a major goal of us, at the price of getting a B, which is an acceptable grade for us, instead of an A.
But if the school counselor and kid have unified voice which seems like working too hard for me, I guess I would trust them if kid sounds reasonably happy.
Some kids prefer the intellectual "excitement " of a very challenging class and are happy to sacrifice a grade or two for that level of engagement with smart, driven classmates. If the kid understands what’s driving this decision and can articulate it, and if he is still mastering the material, and the adviser thinks it’s working, I’d stay out of it.
There will be colleges that will appreciate his willingness to take an academic risk. Yes, it’s better to get an A in the hardest class but it doesn’t always work that way. It can be liberating to learn that the world doesn’t end with a subpar grade. I think that most BS afford kids a chance to find out how much is enough - at times by seeing how much is too much.
Hi Everyone- not yet @BS but want to share this story-- one AO told my kid that they have applicants for 9th already in Calculus. Our local school doesn’t give extra points or credit to the GPA. So, the 2 years of Honors Math & being 2 years ahead plus the 4.0 just seemed low to AO. But, the advanced Honors courses did help my kid score 99% in math on the ACT. Our concern is that our student is spending enough time on each skill set & really absorbs the material…,we want,lots of application & time learning …we want that “sticks to your ribs” math to apply for other science coursework…not just scoring high on the chapter tests! Hopefully, the high ACT & SAT scores will bring some scholarship $$ doen the road.
I heard from a student that even if your high school does not weight the gpa colleges will do their own re calculation of gpa. Is this correct?
It totally depends upon the college. UC’s do for sure. UMich supposedly does, although I’ve never seen anything from the school. Otherwise, whether they do or don’t, most won’t tell you. Regardless, file under “it is what it is.”
Having said that, colleges are generally aware of the rigor of a BS curriculum and that an UW GPA from a HADES school cannot be compared to that from East Podunk High.
One thing to keep in mind is that ALL classes at some of these boarding schools, at least at the more rigorous, selective schools, are advanced. It’s kind of hard to make generalizations here about honors vs. non-honors as the system each school uses is VERY different.
Per my conversations with one of my kid’s college counselor, I was surprised how extensively elite colleges actually communicated with the CC about the “high potential” kids’ transcripts. They asked a lot of questions on course sequence, why a certain course was taken and how rigrous it was even though they were already pretty familiar with the school’s curriculum. So, they may not (re)calcualate your culmalative GPA, they will manage to get a good idea on just how well you have done in terms of course rigor and grades relative to your peers.
I asked my eldest daughter that why she is taking all honors/AP level courses wherever it is available, why not slow down and enjoy school. Her answer is she is not alone, lot of her friends in BS are doing same things and she enjoys their company and the lively class discussions and she has no interest in taking less rigorous course load. Well I am not going to say any more.
My second kid going to attend a BS this fall already told me she has no interest to hear my advice and will take equally harder course load, Politely told to mind my own business. Therefore, I will sit and watch.
Guskid called with his proposed schedule for next year…AP Physics, Honors PreCalc, AP US History, AP Latin, AP Humanities, and God & Freewill. That makes me nauseous thinking about it, but if he teachers and advisors think he can handle it, I say go for it!
Gotta love these schools that make up their own AP classes. 
I assume it’s really one of the AP English classes.
Yep. It a two year literature and language class.
@gusmom2000 Doesn’t AP physics need calc first (or with)?
There are two AP Physics classes - AP Physics 1 which is Algebra based and AP Physics C which is Calculus based.
Guskid will need God and Freewill! LOL
Is SPS the only BS that doesn’t do the AP thing or are there others?
Many schools seem to be getting away from the APs because they don’t support “teaching to the test”. For example, Andover doesn’t appear to have any AP science classes, yet their students take AP exams and do well.
There are others.
This has evolved over time. As the College Board asks for courses to be recertified as AP’s (or whatever the terminology is they use), Andover has opted not to go through the process on some courses. Chem 500 is still labeled an AP course. Physics 550 and 580 are no longer labeled AP courses, but for all intents and purposes are still the same courses as when they had the AP designation.
Finally got around to reading this thread from start to finish.
I think it is VERY important, if kid has ambitions for most selective schools, that s/he take a course load that allows his/her CC (when the time comes) to check the “Most challenging/most rigorous” box on their recommendation form. If you don’t care about those schools, this should not be a concern.
The advice about looking down the road for pre-reqs is good. My thread earlier this season about “good summer online math programs” was due to lack of foresight (which I mostly blame on her parents!) with regard to 7D2’s Junior schedule. It all worked out in the end, but not without some anxiety and shuffling.
Believe it or not, some schools don’t check that box ever, just like they don’t provide a cumulative GPA to colleges. CC may verbally communicate whether the student is considered taking most rigorous courses but per school policy they don’t put it on record for anyone.
Interestingly, Middlesex does give different diplomas based on your cumulative (what they call life-time) GPA while attending MX…
A regular Middlesex Diploma -> below 85.00.
A Middlesex Diploma with Credit ->s between 85.00 and 89.99.
A Middlesex Diploma with High Credit -> between 90.00 and 92.99.
A Middlesex Diploma with Highest Credit -> 93.00 or above
This probably won’t matter in regular college admissions, as it is awarded upon graduation…