Are my worries justified?

Parents Forum
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<p>Son came home with Senior Schedule. Due to usual snafus, was not what we expected.</p>

<p>Here it is: AP Bio, AP stats, AP lit, AP psych, AP Gov/Comp Gov plus two mandatory music classes.</p>

<p>I think he needs another, stronger AP to add rigor. AP euro would be good, but he would have to take outside of school.</p>

<p>So far, AP's he has taken are AP human, APUSH, AP World, AP Calc AB, AP Calc BC, AP Lang,AP micro/macro, AP music theory, AP physics. </p>

<p>He does not want to take AP Euro as an extra class because he feels his schedule will be too packed with college apps, essays, supplement, plus regular full schedule of EC's. </p>

<p>I understand his feelings, but am concerned that the rigor is not enough for top schools (HYP). Yes I know they are all a crap shoot, but he has the stats and a strong package so he's going for it. Safeties are in place.</p>

<p>That said, I want to make sure that something like the lack of one class does not trip him up.</p>

<p>Should he spend the extra time and take AP Euro outside of school? Or am I just a bit too worried about all of this?</p>

<p>Any input is much appreciated. Thank you! :)</p>

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<p>He’s already taken 9 APs, among which are the most rigorous, he’s taking 5 more, and your worried that his schedule is not packed enough???</p>

<p>Lighten up and let the kid breath!</p>

<p>(Or to paraphrase my daughter, “If a school won’t take him because he’s missing one AP, even though he’s taken 14, is that really a school he wants to attend anyway?”)</p>

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<p>You’re worrying too much. Why two mandatory music classes? Is he majoring in music? Just curious.</p>

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<p>I’d get rid of at least two of the APs. He doesn’t need them. Kids with a bunch of APs are a dime a dozen. You think you are increasing his chances; you might actually be decreasing them.</p>

<p>What does he do for fun?</p>

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<p>No. </p>

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<p>Yes.</p>

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<p>You are concerned that HYP will perhaps see him as slacking off because he only has 5 APs, excluding AP Euro.</p>

<p>I do not share that concern. I think he is fine as he is. </p>

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<p>I think your son is right.</p>

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<p>Ha, ha! I thought you were going to end with worries about too MANY AP classes !</p>

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<p>At my kids HS it was mostly impossible to do more than 4 AP’s by the time you finished. Someone once graduated with 6- she was super-human. School sends the top kids to HYP, the next tier down to the rest of the elites, and even the bottom of the barrel do fine. Kids routinely got into Cornell, Penn, JHU, U Chicago with 1 or 2 AP’s total.</p>

<p>What are you worried about? Unless your HS is so weak that there is no academic rigor whatsoever, I think your concerns are unwarranted.</p>

<p>But why so many AP’s??? I don’t even think the schedule you describe is physically possible in most HS’s.</p>

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<p>I almost hope you are trolling but unfortunately don’t think you are. This is crazy!!! When does your son have time for friends…for fun…to breathe? These schools want well-rounded kids. If he is not admitted, it won’t be because of this 1 AP class. Are these the schools your son is interested in or those that you are pushing for? I think you need to step back and let your son figure this out.</p>

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<p>There is always the chance that his grades or apps might suffer because of too many APs. I think at this point, the quality of the apps/essays and really good grades for the first semester are more important than one more AP class.</p>

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<p>The schools care about the rigor of his academic schedule given what the school offers. There is a box on the common app for the counselor to note the overall rigor - if the counselor can check most rigorous without all of these additional AP’s then no need to take them.</p>

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<p>I agree with Mini. Talk to the counselor and ask about what s/he would classify his schedule for overall rigor. A lot of top schools are making the point to show they don’t care about APs, though they do, but when it doesn’t matter, they will make that point. Your son is ripe for them to do that to him. The only AP that is worth while him adding IMO at this point is AP English, and he can get rid of all of the rest on his schedule and take courses he can enjoy.</p>

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<p>Instead of APs, he should be working on the cure for cancer, or his third novel.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your replies. Yes, I am a worrier. My husband told me to lighten up. The counselor thinks his schedule is okay. She would prefer that he take AP Spanish instead of AP Psych, but it is not available in the time he needs. He has four years of Spanish, so I think that’s okay.
To address some questions, yes, he does have time for EC’s and friends. He’s does get stressed a bit and we have to tell him to slow down, but for the most part, he does quite well.
No, I am not a ■■■■■. :slight_smile:
His school is ultra competitive, so taking all of these AP’s is necessary to say that he has taken the most rigorous courseload available.<br>
His school is an arts magnet, thus the required music classes.
He is taking AP Lit next year and took AP language and comp this year so I think he has covered the English.
We had this discussion last night and my son and my husband told me that I was way too worried (as usual). I told them that I would put it out on CC and see what you guys had to say. I trust the judgement of those of you that have done this already.
This is my first to go through the college drill and he will be the hardest since he has the long shot at HYP.<br>
Wherever he goes, they will be happy to have him. (Mom can boast a little after all this worrying, no? :slight_smile:
I thank you all for your input and welcome further ideas! :)</p>

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<p>He already has enough history with AP World and APUSH. I don’t think he needs AP Euro.</p>

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<p>I expect the HYP schools to be concerned about his AP exam scores more than how many AP classes he took. Many high schools offer limited AP opportunities. At my D school, there is a total of 6 AP courses. Though, several graduates were accepted to HYP schools. Lighten up, one AP class won’t make or break his chances.</p>

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<p>Try a crass thought experiment:</p>

<p>You are an HYP admissions officer. Overall, you are going to admit one of, say, 20 students. But that hides a larger reality: within that 5%, a certain portion are going to be recruited athletes. Another portion are going to be sons and daughters of Senators, Congressman, diplomats, etc. Another portion are going to relatives of major donors. Another portion a re going to be legacies. Another portion are going to be children of foreign heads of state, etc. Another portion are going to have absolutely unique skills that you want on your campus. Still more will have published novels, hold three patents, canoed around the world while doing her APs, etc. And half the campus has to be close to paying the full-freight. And you want some “diversity”.</p>

<p>If your kid is not in any of those categories, what could your S. being doing with his extra time and energy, instead of adding three extra and unnecessary APs, to enhance his extremely limited chances? (Best would probably be choosing different parents; second might be bulking up to 320 and playing offensive tackle, but barring these…)</p>

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<p>There are always outliers - right. And I am feeling like D might fit into that category. She took a total of 4 AP classes during HS. Never the less she was admitted to her top choices for college. It didn’t seem to matter.</p>

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<p>That schedule makes me want to hide in my house.</p>

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<p>That schedule is ridiculous. Is that how you “tell him to slow down” , by making sure there is never any down time? I would drop an AP class, and use the time to sleep, or eat, or pursue an interest. By the end of his senior year, he’ll be a burnt out, stressed out shadow. You know better, or you wouldn’t be asking :)</p>

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<p>I guess my children are doomed for failure as I thought my daughter’s senior schedule with 3 AP classes was ridiculous. Lighten up and add in something fun or interesting. One AP class is not going to determine if he gets into Harvard or not, and AP Euro is incredibly time consuming and demanding.</p>