How do you decide how many classes you want to take in 4 years of high school? Is it better for colleges to see you have done more than it is required? If so, by how many?
Do you think your kids should take as many APs in high school? What is a good number?
My thinking is that they might need to retake some APs in college, why take them in high school then?
I just finished reading the book “Smartest kids in the world”. One problem wih our system seems to be too much repetitions which bores too many young minds.
Assuming that the AP courses are the most rigorous options in that high school, if they learn the material well and do not have to retake, then they can move on to more advanced courses, have additional free electives in college, or graduate early. If they do have to retake, having the most rigorous courses in high school will prepare them better than the less rigorous options.
“How do you decide how many classes you want to take in 4 years of high school? Is it better for colleges to see you have done more than it is required? If so, by how many?”
-It depends on time limitations. If a kid has a sport practice for 3 hrs, 6 times a week and going to the competitons, many out of town and taking piano lesson, art lessons outside of school and is school Newspaper editor, then she definitely is more limited in time in comparison to another who is not engaged in any ECs. There is no general solution. Some wants to focus strictly on academics, others discovered very early in their lives that they have to be engaged in un-related activities to actually enjoy their lives. Only student can decide.
Then there is another factor - how many classes school actually allow and how many AP classes student can take in one year. At D’s private HS, students could sign up for APs starting only in junior year and no more than 3 APs / year. It did not put them at any disadvantage though, colleges were aware of the level that regular classes are taught at this school. And some of the regular classes were taught at higher level than APs at other HSs.
There is no right number of APs. It depends on the kid and the school. One of my kids had 4. That was about right. The other had 8. That was about right, too.
To look good for college, you would want to take 4 yrs English, 4 yrs Math, 4yrs Science, Foreign language up to at least the 4th level, and 3-4 years of History/Social Science. Some people may want their electives to be academic, and others love band/choir so they will do those. Taking AP classes when you are not ready for them is harmful to your GPA. There are 3000 colleges out there…take the most challenging classes that you can handle and you will find a college for you.
@bopper’s recommendations for numbers of years of various subjects are a little on the strict side.
For many colleges, foreign language through level 3 is sufficient, and sometimes it’s not a great idea to take level 4. At some high schools, level 4 foreign language classes are mostly filled with kids who have some background in the language outside of school, and those who lack that background can’t keep up. This is particularly likely to happen with Spanish and Chinese. (French, not so much.)
Also, if your kid takes calculus before 12th grade and the high school doesn’t require another year of math, I see no harm in waiting until college to take more math. Sometimes, the math classes available to post-calculus kids may not be appropriate for your kid’s interests, or the kid might have to go to a local college for math, which can be very inconvenient.
If your kid has taken biology, chemistry, and physics and this fulfills the graduation requirements, I wouldn’t push for a fourth year of science (which would almost always have to be an AP) if your kid isn’t interested in science.
It’s still important to have five rigorous academic courses per year. But they don’t have to be one course in each of the five disciplines. For example, for a kid who has completed biology, chemistry, and physics and is not interested in taking more science, I think that a 12th grade course schedule that includes English, math, foreign language, and two honors or AP social studies courses would be just fine.
Math should be up to at least precalculus/trigonometry; take calculus if it is available and you complete precalculus/trigonometry in 11th grade or earlier.
Science is best taken as a year each of biology, chemistry, and physics first, then consider a fourth year of elective or advanced science depending on your college and major target list.
Some colleges also want to see an art or music course.
Child should consider taking the hardest (not necessarily the most) possible courses they can take AND do well in. The AND is important. If anything it will hopefully instill some confidence in them that they can handle more challenging material and help begin to nurture time management skills.
Note that the UC a-g requirements are almost the same as the CSU a-g requirements. Note that these systems cover campuses with a wide range of selectivity, so students aiming at the more selective ones usually go beyond the minimums listed.
Absolutely, a-g is just a starting point. What happens in addition to a-g is dependent upon so many variables, (eg, kid’s own ability, kid’s own hs reqs, college reqs that they might be interested in, when did they start hs algebra (eg 7, 8, 9 grade), interest in science, interest in foreign language, etc, etc. A-g is only a good startng point with I’d say minimum expectation of 5 academic courses per semester.
Also, keep in mind that some selective programs (that may be at the colleges that are not selective at all) actually will consider certain ECs and the lack of this certain ECs will result in not getting into such programs… So, while many kids do not know what major they want to pursue, start talking about it earlier may be a great advantage and not considering it at all may result in doors being shut for somebody with exceptionally high stats, including the most rigorous classes…
bopper’s recommendations are what is required for graduation in our school district, except only 2 years of foreign language are required. There are other requirements including the arts, but 4 years each of English, Math, Science, and History are a must.
I am currently a high school junior, and I myself have taken AP classes. Yes, they may seem a bit overwhelming at first, as it is college coursework. Our school district allowed sophomores to take AP classes last year, and it was probably the best decision anyone has made. Taking AP classes not only helps to prepare you for college coursework, but you could also receive credit hours, if the exams are passed, so you don’t have to take the courses in college, which saves time and money; most colleges want to see that students are taking the most rigorous courses possible. I agree that taking 5 or 6 may be too many, so I would tell anyone to start off with maybe 1 or 2. From my past experience, AP classes really helped open my thinking abilities and pushed me to realize what I really want to study in college.
For our district, those who want to graduate with a regular diploma must complete at least 4 years of English and Math, along with 2 years of a science. Foreign language is not required, but recommended that one should complete 2 years. Only 3 units of history is required, but one of them must be AP or reg. Government.
For those who want to take the honors diploma track, 4 years of a Math, English, and History are required, along with 3 years of the same foreign language, or 2 years of one and 2 in another (I would highly recommend to take 3 years, as this will help any student become more fluent, rather than 2 years of different languages.) Also 3 years of science, which must include either chem or physics, and another advanced life/earth science. 3 1/2 credits in electives, as well as 1 in the fine arts, is also mandatory. Foreign lang. may count toward the electives, so that is a little bit easier when it comes to scheduling.
I know I’m not a parent, but I hope my insight from being a high school student helps!
Students in our hs take about 7 credits per year. 4 cr from core classes (math, English, science, soc science) which are mandatory and two electives at 1/2 cr each plus 1 cr mandatory wellness/gym/health/homeec and a foreign language or more electives. My D liked science so in 10th and 11th grade she took two science classes (bio2/chem1, chem2/physics) and no electives other than the foreign language. Some kids love music or art and choose lots of electives in those.
AP World is offered as early as freshman year, AP US in sophomore, then junior year you can add AP Lang or Lit, AP physics 1 and AP Euro, senior year AP Spanish, AP Calc AB and AP gov. Most students take 6-8 of the available 10 AP offered.
