Honors? AP?

Parents Forum
1

<p>Are colleges impressed with Honors classes or do they just really care about AP's on a transcript? Couldn't an Honors course at one school be completely different from one at another school? AP is more standardised so the college would know exactly what the kid was learning, right?</p>

2

<p>If you mean highly selective colleges, the measure is whatever the school's hardest classes are. Many top private schools, for example, don't have anything called honors or AP, so clearly they are not expected. But they will not see honors in the same light as AP if AP was available.</p>

3

<p>Please don't go overboard in preferring AP over honors, especially when it comes to math and foreign language.</p>

<p>In order to qualify for AP AB or BC calculus, you usually have to take four prerequisite courses -- algebra 1, geometry, algebra 2, and precalculus, or whatever they're called in your school. Some of these may be offered at the honors level, in which case it's a good idea to take them at that level. Some may not be.</p>

<p>Similarly, in most schools, in order to qualify for AP foreign language, you have to have completed courses in the language (possibly at the honors level) through language 4.</p>

<p>Let's say that you are currently taking algebra 2 and Spanish 3. You could choose to go on to precalculus and Spanish 4 or, if you already have enough math and foreign language credits to graduate, you could take two AP courses in other subjects. Taking the math and foreign language is the better choice, even though it leaves you with fewer APs.</p>

<p>APs are nice, but you should be fulfilling the basics of a good high school education first.</p>

4

<p>I concru with hmom5. The advantage AP classes have over honors is that they by definition (depending on the college) offer a student to ability to have credits and advance placement (higher level) classes. This could save the student money in the long run if they've taken enough qualifying AP classes to graduate earlier, or could free up time in the schedule to double major.</p>

5

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<p>Colleges are interested in seeing that you are taking the most rigorous courses available at your high school--whether they are marked honors or AP doesn't matter to them. They really don't have the ability to compare the honors US History class taught at one school to the AP US History class taken at another school. The GC's School Report is useful in telling the colleges whether you have taken the most rigorous courses.</p>

<p>Another thought: colleges are interested in seeing your good grades. How to balance the two (grades and difficulity of Honors/AP class) sometimes competing interests...</p>

<p>For college application purposes, I think a safe rule of thumb is that you should think of taking an Honors/AP class if you can get an A or B in it.</p>

6

<p>Colleges are interested in both honors and AP and if both are available the AP class will be considered more rigorous. But that doesn't mean your child should always take the AP class. You should basically not take an honors or AP class unless you expect to get at least a B. Both my kids took honors 11th grade English although AP is available.</p>

7

<p>My son signed up for AP Physics for Senior Year. Due to scheduling conflicts the Counselor recommended to my son to switch to AP Environmental Studies. My son agreed. When I found out, I told my son to switch to Honors Physics. Having the 3 core sciences (already had Honors Bio and AP Chem) would serve him better than AP Environmental Studies.</p>

8

<p>While it is true that they look at students striving to challenge with the most rigorous classes, sometimes there is a conflict that prevents that. My d was recently accepted at a selective university. Because of the magnet program she is in combined with band, she had few AP's prior to senior year but a full tray of honors classes. On all of the applications she used the "tell us something we need to know about you space" to explain why she did not take the full complement of AP classes offered at her hs but took the most rigorous courseload available to her given her magnet program and band obligations.</p>