<p>Very interesting thread! I’ll through in my experience for whatever it’s worth. My son (and first child) took a very challenging course load leading up to college. Not so much AP classes --he only took two of those-- but many classes at the local state univ, and quite a few of those were upper division classes. (He was taking them as a non-admitted student, and was not seeking to apply to his “real” college as a transfer or anything like that – they were just part of his very individual college prep/high school process.) He was accepted to Amherst a couple years ago and he really loves it there.</p>
<p>My daughter was just on her own path from a very early age. She didn’t have any interest at all in competitive academics – she preferred to learn independently. She homeschooled all core academic subjects aside from chem and bio (and the latter she wishes she had studied on her own), and she took SAT Subject Tests in world and U.S. history, lit, math, and Latin. She entered our local very average regional state univ. at 16 with the intention of transferring the next year – but wasn’t interested in elite schools. She really liked having people of all ages and walks of life in her classes. This year, at 17, she’s at the honors college of our flagship state univ. She’s already got a part-time job as a research assistant to a professor in the honors college. The academic expectations she’s having to deliver on in her classes is every bit as rigorous as my son’s at Amherst, and probably greater, to be honest. Just talking to them, and seeing what they’re reading and the writing required of them – to me, it looks like the level of work her courses require is higher.</p>
<p>There are personality reasons why a small, personalized LAC is a better fit for my son. Having been through this process with both of them now, I don’t make any assumptions about what schools are “better” unless prestige and ranking are the main criteria. Don’t misunderstand, I love my son’s college and I think he’s getting an outstanding education there, but my daughter is getting one every bit as good at the honors college of the flagship state u. I have no doubt their graduate school options will be equally good, assuming they get through undergrad with equal success.</p>
<p>AP courses are turning into the monster that ate the high school curriculum. They are supposed to offer college level material. Many don’t. There is a reason why some highly selective colleges are no longer allowing freshmen to skip intro courses that were supposedly replaced by AP in high school. </p>
<p>At the high school I’m most familiar with, the combination of AP mania and HYPS mania has led to unspoken competition to see who takes the most AP classes. As the school doesn’t offer AP classes in all subjects, this leads to some unfortunate curriculum choices. Those choices may get graduates into a great college, but some kids are specializing so early that they are missing out on big chunks of human knowledge. Plus, some of the courses are so exam focused that they make students fairly cynical about knowledge in general. The AP classes are tuned for the tests. Many are a far cry from the kind of class that excites interest in a subject. </p>
<p>My advice on APs is take them if you like the subject or the teacher and you want to. Otherwise, take the other courses, the most demanding ones you can handle. The point of high school is to end up well educated so that you can take the college major you end up fancying. Different people mature intellectually at different rates. Some bright kids will find that the rigid demands of AP classes create undue stress and pressure and leave no time to explore the byways of knowledge may seem interesting at the moment.</p>
<p>If a college rejects you for that, fine. There are a lot of colleges in the world.</p>
<p>"My advice on APs is take them if you like the subject " - Actually D took one that she absolutely hates and it has always been the hardest for her. Her goal was to be done with the subject and not neede to takie it in college. She knew that to accomplish this goal, she needed at least 4 or better yet 5 on AP exam. She has accomplished it thru enourmous effort, aloowing herself to spend most time on this in her senior help, seeking help from her dad and anythin else that was available. She got an “A” and “5” on exam in AP US History, the hardest class in her HS carrier.</p>
<p>"My advice on APs is take them if you like the subject " </p>
<p>Like MiamiDAP’s DD, my son took the Lit & Comp one senior year, knowing he’d be lucky to get low 80s. He took it because of the teacher (who is known to be very tough gradewise). He knew it would help him develop stronger writing skills and he wanted to be as prepared for college as possible. As expected, he wound up with an 80 in the class (our HS uses numeric grades) but he’s glad he did it.</p>
<p>jerzgrlmom,
D took that one also. It was another very time consuming AP class despite the fact that she is a very strong writer. Teacher specifically limit them to 2 pages short essays that still had to be deep in analysis which has helped D to develop brand new writing skill for her. She was able to get only 4 on exam, but one semester of Honors English in college was very easy for her (although time consuming because of ton of reading material), she got her A and was done with English reguirement. I would advise to take AP English no matter where you are planning to apply and even if you are not planning to use for credit at college. Very very useful class.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP, that sounds alot like our HS. Most top kids take both Lit and Calc APs. They pick and choose the others, but it’s generally recommended to take the most difficult Lit and math all 4 yrs. People told my oldest (who decided during 11th grade to major in GD) that she no longer needed to take the tough classes senior year. She continued on her original path, up through Calc - thinking someday she might get an MBA or switch majors. At college, her design teachers actually spoke about the relationship between design and a strong analytical background. Fine art tends to be more creative but design requires a lot of problem solving. My youngest’s APHist teacher emphasized the need for analytical writing in his class. EVERYONE can benefit from strong writing reasoning and writing si I would also recommend the AP English, regardless of major.</p>