<p>bluebayou:</p>
<p>That's the point I was trying to make.</p>
<p>I had not thought about the "magic certificate" issue.
Many of the APs offered at our hs are for languages; there must be about 12-15 APs offered in total, so it is indeed quite hard for a student take 8.</p>
<p>Yet olin puts in their acceptance stats the number of ap scholars admitted. Of course they look at what was taken compared to what is offered or taken at one school. That is the point of a counselor letter. But I have had students do 14 test in two years. My sister who teaches in a different state had a student do more than that. It is interesting though how in some school district they will let young kids play varsity sports when they are ready but then not let a student take an AP course until 11th grade even if he can do it. Sort of like making a kid play chop stix when he is ready for Mozart . IMHO</p>
<p>It is not that difficult to take many APs on a block schedule. With 4 courses per semester, one could actually take 8 per year if there are no restrictions.</p>
<p>It also depends on how schools construct their AP programs. For example, our school offers only AP-Physics C, not B; it requires that students take AP-Calc AB or BC, not AB then BC. and so forth. it offers several languages, but APs only for Spanish and French. I calculated that it offers only 12 APs, though it recently moved to a block schedule. One reason for the limited offerings is that students can go to the Harvard Extension school for courses not offered at the high school.</p>
<p>olddad: LOL</p>
<p>If you don't mind, I'll use your music comparison the next time I speak with my esteemed Board members.</p>
<p>Hadn't thought much about these awards, until a prior poster noted that some schools make a big deal of it. Remember that the Newsweek ranking of high schools uses AP courses, and # of kids taking them, as one of it's main criteria. No need to debate why Newsweek ranks this way...lots of other threads deal with that...but could be why it's more of an honor to the schools than the kids who receive it after they've left high school.</p>
<p>For a school to be able to say that it has x AP scholars is a sort of short-hand for saying that x number of students took several APs and scored 3 or above on those APs. So much faster, isn't it? But when adcoms look at a student's application, they don't look at the designation: they look--if they do--at the AP tests and the scores. S did not list his AP scholar status on his app. He thought it was obvious from his AP scores.</p>
<p>Our HS only has 6 AP courses and almost never allows them to be taken before junior year. In fact, they are filled with mostly seniors. The fact that some of them are really good classes with good teachers has been most important to my son.</p>
<p>Some students self-study for APs; it is not impossible to take APs before junior or senior year.</p>
<p>In DS2's IB program, freshmen take AP US Gov't and APUSH in 10th. He is also taking AP Enviro next year, so he'll have three by the end of sophomore year. It will be nice to have some of these out of the way before all those IB exams, and these APs are subjects he would be taking in any event -- so why not go for it?</p>
<p>A note to CountingDown - you might want to check whether AP Enviro counts if S is hoping to be designated AP scholar by end of sophomore year. A couple years ago it was considered a half year course, or something, so students with 2 full APs and Enviro do not qualify (until they take another full year course.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
My entire adult life as a parent has been geared toward getting my kid into a good school. You mean he'll get awards that DON'T COUNT?? Gasp!! </p>
<p>[This is what I refer to as Dry Humor. Please don't take me seriously.]</p>
<p>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Cue your favorite Drew Carey "Whose line is it Anyway" Quote Here</p>
<p>unfortunately, I can't think of one. </p>
<p>Ok, first chuckle of the day</p>
<p>Because colleges often do not ask for scores or ask them to be listed we were told to add the AP awards in list of awards. I know many students list National Merit even though a lot of transcripts show the PSAT score. </p>
<p>Would agree with all above postings regarding Newsweek, benefits to high schools etc. Also think that maybe AP is doomed to impode because of the CB and colleges. First, it was" We look at high SAT/AP test scores. So the kids takes the tests and pay for reviews and take the test again and again. Then it was:No test scores are not everything. Then it was: You have to take a toughest curriculum. Then: No it is taking the AP tests that counts. Then: We did not mean to you should take that that many. And now by the way we won't take your credits. Nothing like mixed signals to these kids.</p>
<p>Oldoldd:</p>
<p>Things have not changed that much. Harvard went from granting credit for scores of 4 & 5 to granting credit for only scores of 5s. Other schools have similarly tightened their requirements.
Many LACs have not granted and still do not grant credit for APs. But APs still can be used for placement. So my S has not made use of his APs to get Advanced Standing but was able to place into more advanced classes; just as he used his college classes, for which he would have received no credit at all, to place into more advanced classes.</p>
<p>And the other wonderful thing the High Schools do not do: they don't tell all the pitfalls of taking the AP classes. AP is highly stressed at our kids' schools, but they don't tell the incoming freshman things like ... Eventhough that B or C you might get taking AP Bio your freshman year (which, btw, they push for honors/gifted kids) is a wonderful full point weighted grade at school ... so it won't hurt your GPA, most colleges don't weight grades the same way, and some awards at your school, such as NHS, only use unweighted grades. So, a kid who might get quite a few B's in his AP class, for example, because he wants to take the most rigorous schedule he can finds those translate to 4.0 B's for ranking but 3.0 B's for a variety of other things. I have a son who's passed six AP's with 4's, mostly got B's in the classes, and can't get into NHS. Luckily, he could care less ... but there are kids who might, and they aren't being told the "down sides" to AP. </p>
<p>Zebes</p>
<p>
[quote]
I had no idea who got NMSF status until we got to the little (before school) reception.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>We didn't have any reception at my school, in my day. Somehow we all knew who was who.</p>
<p>tokenadult:
My S knew who was smart, but SAT scores never came up in discussion.</p>
<p>Zebes: S did not apply to NHS. S1, who got in, did not put it in his app to college.</p>
<p>zebes - that sounds like a policy that could be changed if people spoke up. Why weight grades for transcripts (that colleges recalculate anyway) yet not use those grades for internal purposes (NHS)?</p>
<p>I agree, lefthandofdog ... at the very least, kids and parents should be informed as incoming freshman how all this works so that there are no surprises down the road. </p>
<p>Zebes</p>