<p>Many graduate schools, med schools and business schools specifically, I've noticed, really look down on squeezing so many classes into a shorter time period. Many openly discourage taking summer classes, for example. If your daughter is looking to go to medical school (if I remember correctly?), then she should retake all of the lab sciences even if she has AP credit. There is a world of difference between AP Chem and a year of college chemistry, and no college should let her get out of these vital courses with AP credits.</p>
<p>This has been a hot discussion on the grad school thread as well. There are many, many grad programs that will not accept a person who graduated in 3 years, because they did not avail themselves of all the opportunities they could have.</p>
<p>Now, that doesn't mean accepting AP credit for a semester or 2 equals a 3 yr undergraduate. That extra year can be spent taking more electives, doing research, and all the things that get people into good grad and med schools.</p>
<p>She very likely needs to stay in undergrad for 4 years. But during that time, she needs to take advantage of all the opportunities she can.</p>
<p>Let's see if I've got things straight Laserbrother. You and your wife were born and educated in China - I'm guessing, since you've posted that you were born and educated outside of the U.S., you make grammar errors consistent with a speaker of Chinese, and you have railed on other threads about prejudice against Asian -Americans. You live just north of me in the Indian Hill school district; you feel your D must get into a prestigious college or you will lose face with your Asian "friends" and acquaintances (I'm quoting you); you think you are low income even though you earn a salary of over $100,000 per year; and you consider yourself to be a loser because of said low income. I can only hope that by some miracle your S and D end up leading happy lives. I hope that your kids' American friends do not judge them the way your so-called friends judge you. If your friends would think less of you because your D or your S does not get into the "right" school, then they are not friends by my way of thinking. </p>
<p>I agree with other posters that therapy would be beneficial. Perhaps a reality check would also help. Someone earning over $100,000 a year in the Cincinnati area, or anywhere in Ohio for that matter, is NOT low income!! My husband and I together earn much less than half that and we do not consider ourselves to be poor. Our D does receive scholarship and financial aid from her school, but we still must pay for the majority of her expenses out of our own pocket. We are managing to do it despite what you would consider our meager means. (By the way, our D's stats are comparable to those of your D's. We knew that she would not get a free ride anywhere because of the schools she had on her list. She is a musical theatre major. The top schools in that major simply don't give that kind of money. My D is bright enough that she could have majored in pre-med, but she is studying the subject that makes her happy. She'll probably always be monetarily poor in your book - just like me - but I hope that she'll lead a fulfilling life.)</p>
<p>Most of the reasonable readers of this forum would think that anyone worrying about school rule limiting a H.S. senior to taking only 5 AP classes has a problem. You wrote that your D's school is preventing her from taking the most rigorous curriculum because of that rule. No adcom would believe that taking "only" 5 APs would make a student a slacker! Perhaps your D's school is wisely trying to prevent students from burning out. A friend's son (who is now in med school at Johns Hopkins) tried taking 5 APs during his senior year. He was also very active in theatre and dance. One Saturday afternoon, on the way home from the public library, he feel asleep on the interstate and drove into the concrete barrier separating the north and south-bound lanes. The car spun around and ending up facing the wrong way on the berm. Thankfully, the boy was not hurt. The following Monday, his mother went to the school guidance counselor and pulled him out of one of his AP classes. She knew her son had fallen asleep while driving because he'd been keeping very late hours trying to keep up with his heavy workload. Perhaps, Laserbrother, your D has more stamina than my friend's son. If so, good for her. However, all of us have a breaking point. Schools restrict the number of APs because they do not want to see their best and brightest students reach that breaking point. </p>
<p>I do sincerely hope that you'll seek help for you and your kids. I do understand the kind of pressure many people with high IQ's place on themselves. It makes me feel bad to read that you believe that the only good thing you have accomplished is to raise high achieving children. As a mother, I do think that in itself is a pretty big accomplishment, but there's a fine line between being proud of our children and living vicariously through them. There's also a fine line between encouraging a child to do her best and pressuring her. I've worked with students who feel that mom or dad never feels that anything they do is good enough. What good is a degree from a prestigious university, lots of money, a string of accolades, etc. if you are unhappy? Life is a gift to be enjoyed!</p>
<p>dancersmom, YOU ARE MY HERO!!!!! I cant agree more with your insight!</p>