<p>Agreed Merlehay :). Everybody has their own set of challenges. I am not in the least concerned that my D is not taking an AP her senior year (two DE classes though). She can do the work; she has taken AP classes sophomore and junior year and passed all three exams. If the question comes up in an admissions interview about her class choices for senior year, I’m sure they will think D’s choices were reasonable and show that she has the maturity to handle decision making regarding her academics, artistic and athletic interests. Like many theatre kids, she uses every waking minute learning, doing and mentoring other kids in every activity.</p>
<p>My S1&2 went to a very academic high school and took a full load of APs – the source of much turmoil as they tried to “balance it all.” I know that the APs helped with GPA bump, which in turn helped with scholarship offers (I’ve mentioned in final decision background post and elsewhere that merit scholarships were VERY important to us.) S#1 had his math requirement waived, as well as a composition class waived, thanks to AP scores.</p>
<p>In the case of S#2 who did VERY well on APs this year – four “5s” – we just learned that his AP scores, coupled with high ACTs and doing well on placement exams, have effectively classified him as a sophomore by credits. While he still must fulfill the requirements of the MT major, he now has enough room to add a minor or 2nd major, and he’s seriously considering doing that in the area of Arts Administration. He doesn’t have to decide until spring semester.</p>
<p>Please note that this is such a case-by-case / student-by-student / program-by-program situation and even we were shocked that he was so far ahead, but you do start to see the benefits in hindsight!</p>