<p>Yes, it's time to pick the Senior year Schedule. My son will have had 7 AP courses by the end of his junior year and is taking 4 more next year:
Stats
English Lit
Government (one semester)
Microeconomcs (one semseter)</p>
<p>He'll be taking two choirs, and his last semester of PE and one semester of Teacher's Aide for the choir director. That would leave him with 6 classes-with two hours off (we're on an A/B block schedule.) He's not a math/science kid-AP Bio is killing him this year; due to taking a HS science in 8th grade, he has 4 years of science.</p>
<p>Isn't that enough? My husband is trying to talk him into taking a full load, but I don't see the need. He's not going to add any more AP classes, so whatever he takes would mostly likely not help his class rank.</p>
<p>He's not applying at super-selective schools.</p>
<p>"due to taking a HS science in 8th grade, he has 4 years of science."
Colleges don't care what classes were taken in 8th grade. So all that will show on his HS transcript is 3 years of science, correct? If that is the case, then he should look at the college websites of schools he is considering to see how many years of HS science they "recommend" [ which in college admissions lingo means "required"].</p>
<p>menloparkmom – some school systems count HS classes taken in middle school as just that, HS classes. In my school system, they appear on the transcript unless steps are taken in I think sophomore year to remove them. Any credits from middle school that are from HS-level courses (for example, Algebra 1 and foreign language classes) count towards graduation requirements.</p>
<p>If you are certain that he will have taken the recommended* number of units of the core classes (*recommended by the colleges he is interested in), then I see nothing wrong with having a free period or two. Especially first semester when he'll be so busy with college applications.</p>
<p>missy, assuming it's still on the List (from another thread), Rice will definitely notice an applicant who is only taking 4 academic solids during senior year, despite the 7 APs he's already completed.</p>
<p>The middle school classes show up on the transcript.</p>
<p>Duly noted about Rice. But he wouldn't take anything like Calculus or AP Physics if he took more classes; they would be classes like Music History or Sociology or Sign Language. </p>
<p>My son is highly verbal and has limited skills in Science and Math. He will have had 4 Science classes and 5 math classes (plus AP Computer Science which apparently counts as a math class.) I'm not going to make him take something else he's not good at on the off chance Rice should otherwise want him. If they want only the kids who take Calculus and AP Physics, he's not the kid for them.</p>
<p>Sorry if I sound hostile to math and science, but have you ever had detailed intelligence testing done on yourself or your child? It is fascinating. When we took my son in (and got the Asperger's diagnosis) they tested him in something like 18 areas. He was in the second semester of 4th grade at the time. In one skill (some kind of puzzle solving) he tested at 3rd grade level. In reading comprehension he tested at 12+ grade level. I imagine that most of us have widely varied mental abilities. It drives me crazy when schools of any kind expect everyone to fit into the same box. Rant over.</p>
<p>Sorry for the rant last night. As you all know, there's usually more to any story. My son has Asperger's and is very ADD. He takes Concerta and it lasts about 12 hours. Once it wears off, he has no focus....he's an amazing sight to behold....can't sit still to do more than two math problems at a time, talks NON-STOP. This is what we've had to deal with homework-wise his entire way through school. If he takes senior release, he would actually skip the first period of every day, meaning he can sleep later, meaning he can take his Concerta later, meaning-HOPEFULLY-that he will have a bit more time to get his homework done while he can still focus. I'll be very interested to see if his grades improve because his is better able to study at night.</p>