<p>Kids can take AP tests without having ever taken a class in the subject. I know of a couple of kids that got AP credit in college doing that.</p>
<p>My advice is to help your student focus on organization and study habits. This is particularly important if your child is moving from an "easier" middle school to a "harder" high school--like a magnet, or just a high school with APs, etc. Things like writing down assignments, turning in homework on time, reading the assignment sheet or rubric carefully, knowing when the test is, can become much more important than it was in middle school. Grades can take a hit from things that don't relate to how well the material is mastered, like missing a homework assignment. This is the time for the speech about how these grades really count now, and how important it is to avoid problems that are within your own control.</p>
<p>I am the parent of a very new, (as of yesterday), 9th grader. He has been admitted to his school's I.B. program, (which I understand won't really start until he is in the 11th grade). He is signed up for Honors classes, (History, Biology, English, Geometry/Algebra, and French I/II with extra work in French because he is I.B.). His school is on a 4x4 "semester" schedule. They do "weigh" grades. And..., they do have AP courses, too. What's the difference between AP and Honors? Once I.B. classes officially start would/could he continue to take AP/Honors, or will I.B. suffice for "the most challenging?" (I may have asked that question some months ago, but now that he is really in high school, I need clarification.)</p>
<p>He is my first and only child. I have never experienced I.B., weighted grades, 4x4 "semester" schedules, etc. I am still digesting that he is in Orchestra, (he plays violin), for only 1 semester, and then he MUST take Freshman Seminar the second semester, as it is mandatory at his school. Does your school have Freshman Seminar? I am thinking by the time second semester rolls around, he should know most of what Freshman Seminar would have covered, (organizing, school rules, studying, etc.).</p>
<p>My son started 9th grade last week. There are about 900+ kids in my son's local public high school freshman class (about 3200 kids in the high school). Of the freshman class alone, about 110 of them have a "gifted" IEP (IQ over 130). The school ranking system does not take into account the rigor/weighting of the classes so there are many kids getting A's in regular classes who get into NHS and have higher ranks than kids who are taking honors or gifted classes. I tried to convince my son to drop out of "gifted/honors" since it is NOT noted on the transcripts to colleges! The colleges only see the word honors without knowing which student took the tougher honors class. There is a BIG difference in the workload of the honors classes as compared to the gifted/honors. Yes, gifted/honors tends to learn more and get specially trained teachers BUT, why do it if your GPA and workload suffers? Son elected to stay in gifted to stay with his middle school friends but I am concerned for him. He thinks that he is a better student than he really is. He is not that motivated (ie. he is upstairs right now playing video games instead of doing homework. He will get the work done eventually, but will wait until last minute to do it.) Part of me says "such a waste of a bright mind" when he does this, the other part of me says "he will reap what he sows" (or vice versa). I cannot be the reason for his success or failure. After getting two older kids off to college, I am exhausted.</p>
<p>Mamaof1, have you asked your son's guidance counselor if there if he can do Freshman Seminar as an independent study? Or if there is ANY way to get out of it? Can you ask the parent of a kid from your kids HS who got into an Ivy (or were otherwise known to be top notch) if they know any way to get out of it? At our HS, top students and their families know, for example, that they can do independent study for some of the school's official PE requirements and that they can do the required health class as an online class (if they are willing to pay for it). (The PE and Health are probably required due to state laws.) If other parents don't specifically ask about exceptions, they may not hear about these possibilities. My daughter really wanted to be in band and orchestra both when she was a freshman, and didn't want to sacrifice her foreign language, so daughter had to have a somewhat unusual freshman year schedule. An older girl who we didn't know well had done the same thing and told us how to do it. Very helpful (and lucky)!</p>
<p>And no, our school has nothing like what you refer to as Freshman Seminar. </p>
<p>p.s. I have a new 9th grader too and our high school has great AP classes. They are starting an IB program now too, but his class will be the first class with the chance for an IB diploma. I think we will not particularly encourage him to be one of those in trying for the IB diploma; I am thinking there will be kinks in the system that will take a few years to iron out.</p>
<p>my son's school has IB, but offers only one AP class (Calc AB) so they can route kids into IB. They do not weigh grades at all. There is a grand canyon of difference in work level between the regular classes and the IB classes. I am in a quandary for S as he is bright, but with no weighting and the difficulty level of the IB "rouute" - just a few 'B' grades or a 'C' would sink his rank like a rock. Do colleges understand this at all? Would it be better to take some regular classes and not have the "most rigorous" designation, but a higher GPA and rank? Scholarships are important and I'm seeing kids get an IB diploma (HUGE committment of work) but with a 3.0 - 3.5 and 25th percentile ranking - numbers that leave them out of alot of scholarship contention. Any thoughts???</p>
<p>D2 just started 9th grade at a small competitive private school. She has a lot of potential (32 on the ACT as an eighth grader) but has thus far not achieved the grades she's capable of. She was a B+/A- middle school student but so far seems to be more engaged in her hs classes. I think she likes the teachers better - they are more challenging and that seems to make her want to do better. Of course, we're only two weeks in. Still, I'm seeing real excitement in her over her bio and history classes - not something I saw in middle school. Cautiously optimistic.</p>
<p>As far as her "approach", she is in the honors track for math and English this year. Next year she is permitted to start in with APs. We are not even beginning to talk about what those might or might not entail - have to see how this year goes first. She chose to discontinue her music elective and instead take a free period. She is also sitting out her fall sport. These were her decisions - I argued against it. But she is telling us she wants to establish her gpa first and then start in with electives. I think this is advice she's getting from big sister.</p>
<p>I'm worried for her, of course, but I also enjoy the fact that as they move into hs it really does become their game pretty much entirely. The are the ones in the trenches and with the best understanding of the school. I think we have to be at peace with the fact that they are making their own decisions pretty much from here on out.</p>
<p>Generally schools with an IB curriculum will mark it as the most rigorous available (they may also mark that for a full plate of APs). At my kids' IB program, several of the courses are also AP courses, and for some other IB courses many of the kids take the AP exam as well as the IB exam.</p>
<p>Oh, here's a piece of advice that I just remembered: If your child wants to take accelerated or advanced classes, don't give up just because the course book says the classes are only available to juniors or seniors. I was a total rule follower and took the rules as gospel. </p>
<p>But remember that Grapevine, Texas girl who had the highest GPA in school history but couldn't be Val because she was graduating in three years? (That was our school district.) They flashed her transcript on the local news a few times (so we could see all the amazing numbers) - but what I noticed is that she was allowed to take a whole lot of courses as a freshman and sophomore that are "officially" limited to upperclassmen. It made me realize that exceptions ARE being made in our district - you just don't hear about it. Through the years, I've heard of quite a few kids taking different paths - it's just not broadcast that it's permitted.</p>
<p>Respecting parents's wishes to control, I still feel that if we did not let our
D. to decide on her classes, she would not feel responsible for her grades. Since she choose all of them by herself, she tried her best to maintain the highest possible grades even in classes that she absolutely hated, but signed up to fullfill future requirement in college. All were her choices and she felt commited to them. This type of commitment has helped her to graduate at the top of her class, which made enourmous impact on her future.</p>
<p>Child #3 starting 9th grade today.
Am I the only one whose 9th grader is still in a Middle School?
This is a re-entry week with welcoming the new students to the school. Real school starts up next Tuesday.
She is talking about focusing on one EC and school this year. Dropping her sport. I have mixed feelings about dropping the sport but she is standing firm. She really feels like she wants to get strong grades.
Her college plans as of today are to attend the community college for 2 yrs so she can continue to participate in her EC activity. She would transfer either to the local UC or to a 4 yr school away from home.This EC is expensive and she is already trying to convince us to continue funding it for her first two yrs of college since the community college is a huge savings over going away. I am stressing that things can change. Keep your options open. In 4 yrs she might be bursting to get away from home.</p>
<p>Just make sure she keeps her options open. Four years ago, my youngest wanted to be homeschooled so she could train 36 hours a week in gymnastics and get a college gymnastics scholarship. We didn't go that route. Last spring she retired from gymnastics and hasn't missed it for a minute. Kids change their minds.</p>
<p>I have a hs senior this year who is preparing for college next year. My advice on the AP's for parents of students who haven't taken any yet and have time is this. If the student knows that they love the maths and sciences for instance and is thinking of a degree that will use those subjects, it is valuable to have those AP's to elimate some entry level college courses. If they are history buffs, have them do the AP's that are in the history and literature areas. In other words, it does not help a student to struggle through AP Calculus, not do well in the course or on the test if they are not going to pursue a degree that will use advanced math. Choose the AP courses carefully and it will pay off. The colleges seem to be looking for a transcript that shows that the student has challenged themselves and not just taken the state required course of study in order to graduate. </p>
<p>It is becoming more competetive as more and more students apply for colleges. The admissions people who review the applications are looking for not only the GPA but how the student achieved it. The SAT and ACT scores are considered but often the transcript shows more of how a student learns and retains knowledge. Some people can study an SAT guide and Ace the test. That does not necessarily mean that they learn well.</p>
<p>In my sons case, he will enter college with between 25 and 30 AP credits which will eliminate almost an entire year of entry level study. If he pursues an engineering degree, he can begin the more interesting courses as a Freshman. </p>
<p>Even though many students go into college undecided, the AP and honors courses in the general areas as Economics, Literature, History, etc. can help to eliminate some courses needed for the general education portion of most degrees.</p>
<p>Hope this helps :)</p>
<p>^ My D's experience with APs has been kind of opposite of that. She took AP History because she hated it so much and History was by far the hardest class for her. She wanted to take care of it and never take it in college. With enourmous effort and ton of help from her dad, she got her "A" and "5" and even got 690 on SATII. Her goal was accopmlished, no more History class in her life. On the other hand, she enjoyed her AP Bio, got credit for it, but was not allowed to skip first Bio class in college, being pre-med. She was happy with that, it appeared to be very hard class even after "5" on her AP exam. She would have not been able to be successful in subsequent Bio classes without that first intro class. She also was happy that she took AP Bio since it gave her background for much harder class in college.
So, it all depends on individual situation. However, the more APs the better. D. will have Junior standing starting second semester of her Sophmore year, which means of all other benefits better parking spot for her car.</p>
<p>If the college credit part of APs is the driving factor, pick out some likely schools to see what, if any, credit they give for AP classes. Some are very generous, giving credit for 3s, 4s and 5s on most tests. Some require 4s and 5s and only give credit for a few of the AP classes. Some don't give any credit, but you get a higher placement in your first class in that subject. Don't assume that if you have 5s on 15 AP classes, you'll start school wtih 45 hours.</p>
<p>DS is an 8th grader. Thanks to the advice I got on this board over a year ago(when some were bashing me for engaging in the college process so early) my son is in more challenging classes today. He needed challenge.
I do not care about the college at this point (or should I say I don't obsess about it :), but our problem was to keep this child challenged adequately. He was getting straight A's but was constantly complaining of feeling bored and "class was moving way to slow" for him.
Thanks to the advice I got on this board we learned how to advocate for more rigorous work. He was able to work on his own in Algebra 2 class last year and this year the school has instituted a pre-calc class for only two students - my son, another boy and a teacher! This is like a dream come true, after years of struggling.
In science he is taking an online course in physics. Finally, he is not complaining of boredom. The most important aspect of the whole thing from my standpoint is that he is doing that advanced work while AT SCHOOL, DURING SCHOOL HOURS.
He has matured a lot over the past 6 months or so and is taking much more proactive approach to his studies.
Again, thanks to this board I have found out about SAT II tests and will advise son to take SAT II math at the end of this school year, when he is done with pre-calc.
I do not know about GPA averages yet, as far is his future HS is concerned. Class rank as far as college admission might not be as important as class rank needed for scholarships. But I would hate to advice him to take easier classes for the sake of class rank. He will most likely attend an IB program, at the school that also offers many AP classes (from what I am seeing many are labelled AP/IB). I strongly believe that he should and is capable of taking the most rigorous curriculum offered at the school but I do not want him to be overwhelmed in 9th grade by AP courses. The current path he is on right now will make it possible for him to take AP Calc BC as well as AP Physics as a freshman. I worry about that, as I think the shock of switching from a small charter school to huge HS might take its effect on him.
Thanks for this thread, makes me feel more at home here on CC :)</p>
<p>Sounds like he could be in classes with Seniors as a freshman. Just make sure he has SOME classes with his fellow freshman (esp. if he ever wants to get a date!)</p>
<p>Kelowna:</p>
<p>Very glad that things are working for your son! My S was not ranked because he graduated early. Also, it would have been very hard to rank him anyway because of all the college courses he was taking (and the school does not weight), some of which ended up as Pass on his transcript. But when it came to college admission, it did not matter.</p>
<p>It is eye opening to hear that football counts as two classes. Where I grew up, and around here now, even the during school hours gym class (football was after school, as was cheerleading, kickline, twirlers, and all team sports) did not count in the GPA. I was also unaware that the school newspaper can be a class for a grade, and sometimes yearbook as well. In my own old school everything like newspaper, yearbook etc. (except Chorus) was an after school activity. Chorus was a class, but not band or orchestra. If you wanted a music class, they had music theory. School plays were not a class, and there was no drama, but plenty of art.</p>
<p>In my D's school, all teams are extra curricular activities. They offer some music and singing groups as classes, and quite a few art classes. Freshmen must take english, social studies, science, math and a foreign language. Although some students take two languages, this is not encouraged.</p>
<p>At our school, if you want to be on the Oral Interp team, you must audition for and take Oral Interp class. If you want to be on a tech crew for a play, you must apply for and take the Tech Theatre class. Debate is a class, too. I'm used to kids having to take a year of debate to learn how to do it, but in our school, to be on the team, you have to take the class (again and again.) It is very difficult for a student to be in multiple activies (e.g. theatre, band, baseball) because everything is a class (or two.)</p>