<p>So I was going to put this in the what are my chances forum, but it's not really about chances so here it is. What is up with all these people taking 10+ AP's? Or better yet, taking all the AP's their school offers? I attend a local public school in southern Connecticut, and so far in my class, only one person has taken three AP's. This is as of junior year; next year, he'll probably take four. That's a total of seven, and our school offers around 15. That's not even half, and way less than most students here. So I ask, is this "normal" or are our students just lazy? For an even more detailed description, consider this: Only two kids took two AP's this year (Me and some other kid). Only one person is taking five next year (me), no one more, some are taking four, while the majority are taking 2-3. So yea, does this mean I attend a non-competitive school or what?</p>
<p>It's certainly less competitive than many.</p>
<p>some schools make it hard for students to take a load of AP classes, like if certain classes could not be offered in the desired time slots. is this the case at your school?</p>
<p>Which town? It wouldn't surprise me if you're in one of the smaller districts.</p>
<p>Norwalk. Although what gian says is true, the scheduling is definitely a pain in the arse! Unless you have a really awesome teacher who will let you miss class every x days for a lab, it's almost impossible to have a real class on the same period when you have a science lab. Luckily, my Latin teacher was one of those awesome people.</p>
<p>Wow! Okay, that is weird. Norwalk's really large. I was thinking maybe you lived in Old Lyme or something. It must be the scheduling, then.</p>
<p>Yea. I mean, do colleges know how many people take AP classes from each school? Because, from what I've read here, it seems that they take into account rigor, which makes sense. However, 7/15 AP's or whatever might not seem too great, but if you're only one of two kids who have done that changes things, I would think?</p>
<p>Well, 7/15 won't seem too good unless you explain that it was a scheduling thing, but your school will send along a sheet with your school's overall statistics, including how many APs are offered and how many people take them.</p>
<p>This is sort of unrelated, but I went to elementary school in Norwalk!</p>
<p>At my current school, in Texas, I'd estimate that half the school takes at least one AP class, and many people take three or more in their junior and senior years.</p>
<p>Jeez, 7 AP's will look solid at ANY school if you have the rest of the stats to back it up. That being said, I'll graduate with 10. lol</p>
<p>Oooh I'm in the same situation... I've taken one AP last year and will take 3 next year. My school offers... a LOT (at least 20?). But yeah we have a crapload of required classes, and many APs are hard to get into because of requirements or simply because 2501975210 kids are trying to get into the same class. We're actually advised not to take more than 2 APs in a given year (can't even take any freshman year..), for who knows what reason.. -_-. Can't take English APs until Junior year, History ones until Sophomore year, math ones until Junior year... scheduling is kinda a ***** too. =] I wish I had room to take more APs... some are really interesting.</p>
<p>Unless they are watered down to accommodate 14-year-olds, AP classes are college level courses. Why should 14-year-olds be taking college courses? I can understand highly selective private schools having freshman ready to tackle 3 AP's, or the "gifted & talented" crowd at the high school, but the vast majority of college-bound students out there are not wishing they could take more AP's because they are "really interesting"--like Crash-Blair (thumbs up to you!), they "want" to take them because they are afraid if they don't, they won't get admitted to the colleges on their wish list. I've known quite a few 10th graders on Prozac because they fell behind in school because they were overwhelmed taking 2 AP's, 3 honors classes, PE and an "elective" that really isn't an elective because they were told they need a 7-period day to stay competitive. I applaud the schools that discourage freshmen from taking AP classes.</p>
<p>I completely agree with 1Down2togo. High school should be used to develop a student's mental and social skills, kids shouldn't be killing themselves with academics just so they have a chance at top tier schools. Schools should stop freshmen from taking AP's and restrict sophomores to 1 maybe 2, unless they're unusually qualified. Social aptitude is critical once at college and in the work force and high school should foster that, not stagnate it.
My school is a top 3 public in California and only offers 8 or 9 AP's (3 are 2-d/3-d art and music theory) and two honors classes (chemistry and physics). We don't have rampant grade inflation either, but yet we still send kids to top schools each year (many to Ivies, tons to UC Berkeley and UCLA, and other top notch liberal arts schools like Claremont-McKenna). This entire obsession with AP classes is getting out of control. </p>
<p>Moreover, AP's were developed in the 1950's for kids who were especially motivated and intelligent, however, now everyone it seems is taking AP's. Schools need to implement stricter prerequisites and have some sort of assessment to see if a student is ready (my AP US History class had an entrance exam based on pre-summer assignments but only students who scored very poorly on the test, D- or below, were advised, NOT forced, to take regular US History). Although that exam was counted on first semester grades so at least they weren't totally off the hook.</p>
<p>I dont think High School today is the same as "our parents high school" of the past. It is pretty much because everyone wants to go to college now and it seems like there are pretty much three realms of society: office/executive jobs, government jobs, or service jobs. Naturally everyone wants the high paying prestigious job so they are pressured instantly to be more competitive in High School in order to get into the school of their dreams. I think AP classes in theory are a good idea; however I think there is a huge difference between AP classes at some schools and others and I think that needs to be fixed. I think though with the competitive society that we are in today if the oppurtunity exists to take many AP's than that oppurtunity should be taken advantage of.</p>
<p>I definitely agree, there IS a lot of pressure on kids to take AP classes just for college. It's understandable, you should challenge yourself every once in a while. However, considering that most of the kids who are admitted into Ivies are the ones with a ridiculous number of AP's, and god knows what else, it's hard to blame students for taking them, even without an interest. After all, they just want to remain competitive.</p>
<p>Yes, it's hard to blame students and I would never blame them, they are simply victims of a supply-demand imbalance. Too many students chasing after too few seats, so the "price"--show me what you've done that distinguishes you from the next applicant--keeps going up. </p>
<p>But remember, colleges look at whether or not you have taken advantage of what <em>your</em> high school offers, whether you have taken "the most challenging curriculum." So the more your school provides, the more you <em>have</em> to take. </p>
<p>As soon as our public high school opened up AP classes to everyone instead of requiring an entrance exam and A's in earlier courses in the subject, and added more AP sections to accommodate all of them, the stress level at the school shot up--and it was already quite high to begin with. Where once you could be very competitive--in the context of this high school--with 5 or 6 AP classes and a smattering of honors, now people were taking 2 or 3 AP's before junior year and 4 each junior and senior year, moving the high end from 5 or 6 to something closer to 10 and moving the average up closer to what had previously been the high end. That's a significant difference, but if you want your GC to mark down that you took the "most challenging" curriculum, then 10 AP's is what you need to shoot for at this particular high school. </p>
<p>Remember, the kids themselves didn't get any smarter and the hours in the day didn't get longer just because more "opportunities" were opened up. </p>
<p>So, no, we definitely don't blame the kids and in fact, I am an advocate for the kids. I think they already have way too much stress and pressure in their lives, I think "getting into college" has become a religion in this country, and I think there is no villian here, it is what it is. Colleges need to find a way to separate one 4.2 student from the other 4.2 students. So, to me, the place to start is with the middle and high schools. They need to resist the pressure from over-anxious parents screaming for geometry classes in the 7th grade. They need to limit the number of AP classes--not severely limit, but limit them--so that 10th graders can be high school students instead of college students.</p>
<p>I had only taken 1 AP when I applied to colleges. My school doesn't have official AP classes, but we can take any of the tests.
You will be evaluated in the context of your school, so I don't think it'll hurt you.</p>
<p>At our high school, an unlimited number of AP's is offered. As long as there are enough kids (around 15 to 20) who sign up for a particular AP, it will generally be offered. </p>
<p>There is a kid in my grade who took AP Calc as a freshman. He's a math prodigy, and he had been skipped ahead in math since middle school. He was taking precalc in 8th grade, algebra II in 7th, etc etc. </p>
<p>A girl at another high school in the county took AP Chemistry as a freshman. How? She took biology and chemistry over the summer at CTY. The schools here accept credit for those courses, so it is feasible for us to rack up a stunning amount of AP's.</p>
<p>Our schedule is six periods daily. Every period lasts 50 minutes. The fourth period lasts two hours to accomodate four lunch shifts of 30 minutes each. Now, the fourth period alternates between A days and B days. So, I had history on A days, and algebra II on B days. No other classes alternate besides fourth period. I hope that makes sense.</p>
<p>We don't have a lot of required courses either: just PE/Health in freshman year. As long as we graduate with four English credits, three science, three social studies, three math, and som electives, we're good to go. </p>
<p>I would estimate that I personally can take 13 AP's by the end of senior year, if I fill up every viable slot with an AP. Theoretically, I would have one AP for sophomore year, five for junior year, and seven for senior year. Now, I don't know if I will choose this course, but it is do-able. I've seen people take more AP's than that. There are sophomores who take three AP's, usually calc, govt, and comp sci.</p>
<p>So, yes, compared to my school, yours is quite different.</p>
<p>
[quote]
...it seems like there are pretty much three realms of society: office/executive jobs, government jobs, or service jobs.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You forgot the most overlooked: The unemployed.</p>
<p>Yanners, your school's AP policy really puts its students between a rock and a hard place, so to speak. On one hand, you could take a few AP's that you're interested in and enjoy high school, yet learn a lot, which is the disreable route, but maybe not get into that "top tier" college. Or you could take those 10-13 AP's, stress your schedule to the max, not really enjoy high school, and take difficult classes for the sake of taking difficult classes, not because you're interested in them, but you have a better chance of getting into that "top" college.
College admissions reps look at your schedule in the context of your high school, they don't necessarily compare it to the applicant's schedule who went to high school on the opposite side of the country. So, I think a high school should limit the amount of AP's its students can take, however, if a student shows strong aptitude then they should be allowed to take an extra AP. Moreover, I know that many public high schools which offer AP's don't teach them at their intended difficult level and those AP classes end up being on the same level as a regular class at another, better taught high school.</p>