<p>S1 had 9 APs, split evenly by choice between BC Calc/Stat/CS AB/Physics C Mech and E&M and Eng Lang, World Hist, Comp Gov’t and US Gov’t. All 5s. He got credit for three quarters of physics, a quarter of Stat, a quarter of Calc and Comp Gov’t/US Gov’t. Chicago limits AP credit to 6 units. He got placement for a lot of math based on Chicago’s math placement exam. He talked to the CS folks and got carte blanche for other work having nothing to do with AP.</p>
<p>S2 took 11 APs – US Gov’t, Enviro, USH, Calc AB, Eng Lang, Stat, Bio, Euro, Macro, Micro and Spanish Lang, plus 6 IBs. Got credit for all of the APs and comparable credit for three of the IBs, based on his scores, but Tufts will only apply five units of placement/credit towards graduation.</p>
<p>Both kids took what interested them. </p>
<p>Colorado_mom – we found that among S2’s schools, the only SL exam that would get credit was Spanish. He wound up taking APs for the SL courses to make sure he got credit/placement.</p>
<p>My son got his AP Scholar certificate this week (after sophomore year) and had absolutely no idea what it was. He didn’t know they had categories, even though three older siblings had earned various distinctions. I’m surprised at the idea that this certificate/distinction drives anyone. </p>
<p>In terms of AP Lite courses, it’s the same as college. Organic Chemistry is probably going to be a harder course for most people than an Intro to Psych course and yet colleges offer both. College courses are not all the same so why would AP courses be?</p>
<p>Interesting to see that Group A of this list is almost identical to my list of ‘legit’ APs posted earlier. I think college admissions officers in the US also have a similar bias.</p>
<p>The ‘legit’ APs are part of a natural progression of classes in the ‘most rigorous’ curriculum. If someone foregoes a chance to do Physics (AP or non-AP) but does AP Environmental Science and never takes Calculus (AP or non-AP) but instead takes AP Comp Sci, then whether it is true or not, the adcoms may interpret those choices as the student trying to avoid dealing with difficult material.</p>
I’d like to discuss the question: “Is what’s required to do well on the ‘lesser’ AP tests academically significant enough to warrant the ‘AP’ designation?” In fact, this question may be expanded to include all subjects, if you’d like. I believe to most people AP = college level. </p>
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<p>I’m not putting down these subjects per se, and I also realize a good teacher can provide a rich and rewarding experience to the students in these subjects. In fact, I think more is required to teach a good and engaging humanities class. My concern is with the depth and the difficulty of their corresponding AP tests, and the perceived status attained from the test results.</p>
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<p>Excellent point here. I think this may be the source of my gripe. </p>
<p>Who load up on AP’s? By and large, they are the top students, those who move on to elite colleges. If the basics, which they must master before moving on, are taught at a low “75%” level, then these kids are missing out on what their elite colleges can offer them if they choose to advance, or choose to not to take a class because they already took the AP version. If their colleges don’t honor AP’s, wouldn’t the students’ time in high school be better served by doing something else, e.g., research, rather than loading up on AP classes that they have to repeat again in college?</p>
<p>samuck, thanks for the interesting info from UCAS.</p>
<p>"If someone foregoes a chance to do Physics (AP or non-AP) but does AP Environmental Science and never takes Calculus (AP or non-AP) but instead takes AP Comp Sci, then whether it is true or not, the adcoms may interpret those choices as the student trying to avoid dealing with difficult material. "</p>
<p>I would think skipping HS physics and HS calc would be odd choices for anyone headed in a STEM direction. Someone headed in a purely liberal arts direction, would be more inclined to take hum/soc sci APs than comp sci or enviro sci, I would think. Or maybe not.</p>
<p>“If their colleges dont honor APs, wouldnt the students time in high school be better served by doing something else, e.g., research, rather than loading up on AP classes that they have to repeat again in college?”</p>
<p>probably, except they take the AP’s cause they think they need them for admission to the elite colleges, and in some places social pressure to take lots of AP’s.</p>
<p>S2 took Enviro soph year because he’s been interested in the subject for a long time and knew IB demands would not permit him to take it later. He said that it was not a tough exam, but cautioned that folks who didn’t take it seriously were surprised when they didn’t score well. It’s a multidisciplinary course, which suits S2’s learning style, anyway. He took AP Stat instead of BC Calc (though he wrestled with the decision because he ‘clicked’ with Calculus) because he knew for what he wants to do, Stat will offer a better foundation. He made National AP Scholar as a junior, but had no idea until the certificate came in – and that it was AP Spanish, of all courses, that got him over that hump.</p>
<p>PCP, S1 only took AP courses that interested him and instead focused on the excellent post-AP offerings at his school. He got into MIT EA without taking AP chem/physics/bio, though he was taking mathematical physics with a pre-req of MV/DiffEq at the time. He took the AP Physics C exams in May of senior year.</p>
As mimk6 pointed out, not all college courses are the same in terms of difficulty/rigor, etc. </p>
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<p>This may be true, although one might think if the student has indicated an intended major of Psychology, that taking AP Psych somehow makes more sense than taking AP Physics just for the “rigor”. Once the students are IN college, they are not looked down on for pursuing easy majors (except, of course, by those who are pursuing hard majors, lol).</p>
OTOH a kid who does AP Comp Sci as a freshman because they are ready for it presumably gets brownie points.</p>
<p>I certainly think that the APs that only cover a semester’s worth of college material stretched out over a high school year should be considered lesser, but I think kids should just take what they are interested in at the appropriate level. My older son took some APs (science, math) out of interest and others (History, Econ, Latin) because he needed demanding courses and was happy to get out of taking them in college. My older son has not repeated any AP course work in college and has been on the Dean’s List every year.</p>
<p>My younger son took a slightly different set of APs (more history, less science, same math) as his interests and abilities were slightly different. </p>
<p>In both cases they took about the number of APs that top kids at their school take (8 to 10), but they certainly weren’t in any race to take more, and in both cases they turned down some APs because they didn’t like the subject.</p>
On the other hand, sometimes it makes more sense for the Science/Engineering major to just take the regular physics course and then, rather than taking AP physics - which many engineering programs won’t give credit for, or which can only be used to fill an unneeded science elective - taking instead a humanities AP which they are more likely to get credit for as an elective outside their discipline.</p>
<p>Offering research at a high school is a tall order. You need to have proximity to a research facility or researchers who are interested in working with high schoolers or teachers who can oversee high school research at a “meaningful” (definition TBD ) level. And/or you need to have access to scholarly materials, lab facilities, etc etc. Heck, our public school district can’t even afford for chem students to do ANY lab work! Not to mention that the high school students would be doing research without even having had very basic “college level” exposure to the field they’re researching. There are some students who can work at this level, but not many. I suspect that those outlier students are already taking paths like what CountingDown’s S1 chose. </p>
<p>Taking the AP courses might not let the students place out of classes at elite institutions, but it gives them initial exposure and a running start when they matriculate to elite institutions.</p>
<p>Music Theory is one of the hardest, IMO. I don’t get where the lower rating came from.</p>
<p>If you are gifted in music and esp. if you have perfect pitch (very small segment of the population), the aural exam is not so bad. Otherwise, it’s a killer! And the written is also dependent on specialized training…you might be a fine performer and natural musician, but you have to have learned music theory at a college level.</p>
<p>SlitheyTove, S1’s HS offered research courses and there area lot of research opportunities available locally. The kids have to identify profs/researchers and contact them. Some had family connections, but S1 looked at what the CS folks at the flagship researched, wrote cold-letter emails to two profs who worked in the area he wanted to study, went to talk to the profs, and chose one. We felt very fortunate he could pursue this stuff for the cost of a bus ride over to the flagship. Am keenly aware we would have been in a VERY different boat had we lived elsewhere.</p>
<p>I have gone back and looked at the schools our Sr will apply to/or likley apply to–
and many many of th APs even in the level A–will end up being a nice exposure to the material and a chance to move to a higher level course, with no credit.
The B level group isn’t recognized at all. (neither APUSH or the other history classes)
so while some of those may boost GPA at hs and maybe will help show “rigor”, in the end, this is a money maker for the AP people.</p>
<p>My D is a bright girl and hard worker who had a fair amount of honors classes and one AP her soph/junior years. Senior year she has 3 APs, and I don’t see why people say AP Psych is “lite”-- maybe it’s just the way it’s taught at her school, but it is by fair the most demanding class with a significant daily workload. Fortunately, she loves the class, but it is by no means easy. </p>
<p>I have a friend who’s an Ivy-educated, extremely smart teacher at a very good private prep school. She teaches AP Gov and says it is a college-level course.</p>
<p>Great idea to watch the West Wing! I’ve wanted to re-watch that and will suggest to my D, who is interested in politics and has AP Gov coming up. Will make for a nice break from Law & Order if I can talk her into it!</p>
<p>My S got credit at his big state u. for his AP Psyc,ES, and Statistics. Also got credit for APUSH,Calc.AB and Bio. Got nothing for Eng. Comp. Since he got credit for all those classes, I think they are all credible and he was very glad he took them and got the credit.</p>
) level. And/or you need to have access to scholarly materials, lab facilities, etc etc. Heck, our public school district can’t even afford for chem students to do ANY lab work! Not to mention that the high school students would be doing research without even having had very basic “college level” exposure to the field they’re researching. There are some students who can work at this level, but not many. I suspect that those outlier students are already taking paths like what CountingDown’s S1 chose. </p>