<p>As several responders pointed out, selective colleges are likely to know your son’s school and the curriculum offered at the school. They will compare him with other students who’ve applied to see whether he has taken the more challenging courses. That said, it is unwise for him to take AP courses in subjects in which he does have an interest. Many students will get mediocre results when in such classes. So the criteria for what to do is a mixture of his “passion” for the subject plus availability of the class. I would encourage you to let him decide.</p>
<p>In practice, the AP classes (with the possible exception of those in foreign languages) are unlikely to compare to “similar” classes offered at selective colleges. So I think that “AP” is often a misnomer for classes in the sciences (especially) and in areas such as history. The intent is not to place out of them, but to better prepare for the college classes in the equivalent areas.</p>
<p>Thank you to everybody who responded - just now finding time to read all of the responses. A lot of good info to digest.
I did e-mail the guidance councilor but haven’t heard back from her yet.
Very tempting to let my S. decide but since everybody is playing the “admission game”, we are sort of forced to do the same.</p>
<p>I totally agree with those who said it doesn’t make sense for him to take AP classes in areas that are not of interest to him which would be anything math/science related pretty much so that makes me think that taking AP US History may not be that bad for him.</p>
<p>He doesn’t want to do it because they were pretty much told that AP class is a cycle of note taking - tons of homework - tons of tests routine as opposed to his current Humanities (gifted) Social Studies class where there is time for debates and discussions and creative projects all of which he really likes and doesn’t want to lose. It’s difficult, it’s almost like having to tell him “well, if you want to get into a good school, you’ll have to play this game and take at least some of the AP classes because other kids will be doing it”…</p>
<p>It’s not so much that APs are useful for getting into good schools; it is that they are so often so much more challenging than ordinary classes, including Honors classes. For many students, including my own, that was the draw, not the getting into college.</p>
<p>If your son said that he didn’t want to take AP World History, don’t push him. If he’s not motivated in the beginning of the classes, it will be a nightmare for him AND you! AP classes look good on a HS transcript only if there is an excellent grade to go along with it. A solid “A” in an Honors class is much better than a “C” in an AP class. Also, many schools require that students take the AP exam which can cost almost $90 for each test unless you qualify for free or reduced lunches. </p>
<p>Another thing to consider is the teacher. As many posters have already stated, the degree of difficulty of an AP class really relies on the curriculum set up by a particular teacher. My D has taken several AP classes with widely varying degrees of difficulty. We have also run into the problem of AP teachers not actually teaching becasue it is an AP class. Ask around about the AP teachers and see which ones are really worth your son’s effort.</p>
<p>As an AP euro history student, I can say it is not the easiest class in the world. Granted I don’t have the best teacher either. Personally I only took the class to improve my ranking. You do not need it unless you want to give some weight to your GPA. Hope you make the right decision.</p>
<p>Decided to use this thread, rather than starting a new one.</p>
<p>S is a freshman right now, planning out his sophomore schedule. At his school, they offer a combined Humanities/English curriculum and next year, there are two choices - the “regular” class or the AP World class. He’s definitely signing up for the AP World history class - we talked to his teachers/guidance counselor and everyone agreed with his choice. With our daughter (who went to a local public school), we found that taking the harder (the Honors or AP classes) was almost a necessity - she was bored stiff during the “regular” classes.</p>
<p>Question on the AP science track. S is currently taking Chemistry. He was thinking of taking AP Bio next year. But some folks have suggested that it might be better for him to take AP Chem for two reasons. (1) continues with the Chemistry taken this year and (2) AP Bio is easier with a strong chemistry background since a lot of AP Bio is actually bio-chem. What has been your experience? S is planning on checking with his teachers and maybe some friends who’ve taken this course before deciding.</p>
<p>^Taking AP Bio first is far more common at our school - I don’t know if there is a good reason for it though. Both my kids got 5’s on Bio. Older son took AP Chem junior year having just had a summer course in Chem and did fine. Younger son just took AP Physics C and didn’t take AP Chem at all.</p>
<p>My son graduated from an IB school in Florida and had many AP and IB classes and took the corresponding tests. Tests were all absolutely free for all students. The best part for us was that it got him 45 hours credit going into FSU. If money is at all a concern, it definitely pays off and after freshman year, you can already be classified as a junior and finish much sooner…</p>
<p>arisamp – my kids’ HS required them to take both regular Biology and Chemistry before enrolling in an AP science. Both kids took AP Bio after Bio and Chem, then AP Chem, and did equally well in the classes and on the exams. Others chose AP Chem or AP Physics after Bio and Chem. If your school does not require a particular sequence, then AP Chem next year makes sense to me.</p>
<p>Our HS was in a state of transition regarding the science track when S was there, but they put kids on the “top” science track in his class on a sequence where Chem came before Bio, which most people seem to think makes more sense, ultimately. His class did Honors Foundation of Science freshman year, Honors Chem soph year, AP Bio junior year, then AP Physics and/or AP Chem senior year. (They had been offering AP Chem sporadically because there weren’t enough kids who wanted it in the older configuration where you had to take first the honors class then the AP.) The classes after his were able to go straight to AP: Honors FoS, AP Chem, AP Bio, AP Physics. My uinderstanding is that it was important to make sure that the math sequence matched and provided a strong enough background going into honors/AP Chem.</p>
<p>Thanks all. It is my understanding that the AP Science courses/tests are being reworked and it makes more sense to take AP Chem right after Chem, followed by AP Bio. But in his school, one must take one Bio, one Chem and one physics class to graduate. He already has his chem class - so AP Chem is not a required class and does push out his required Bio class by a year. I’ll pass on the information and see what he decides to do.</p>