<p>My son hs Jr wants to add a yearlong online ap psych. class. In the fall he is taking Honor's chem., band, Honor's English 3, precalculus. In the spring. AP chemistry, band, AP US History, German 2, and AP language and composition.<br>
Not sure what his current Gpa and rank is. Has 16 A's and one B so far. Was in top 10% before the B . He feels he needs the extra AP to keep a high class rank. Our school weights Honor's classes so an A is 5.0 and an AP class is 6.0. I worry that he will overload and not do well. Hard for him to selfpace especially at the computer.<br>
My husband is against it. If he does pick it up we have to sign the form today. I worry it's too much also, but hate to say no when he wants to try and he feels he can do it.
He made a 5 on the AP Euro exam, his only AP so far.
Scheduling was a nightmare this year and there are no other viable choices. It 's either a free period fall semester or a yearlong online class. In the spring he will have 6 classes in a 4 period day. He takes a zero period class before regular school and then the online class.
I am not sleeping trying to decide whether to sign the form.</p>
<p>We can’t know his capabilities. It is not worth taking it if he can’t keep his grades up, though. I’m sure the 1st semester will be fine and you are just worried about a killer 2nd semester. Don’t know what to advise. Ugly to have to play that game, so glad dd’s school didn’t rank.</p>
<p>It really depends on the kid. Some kids have extremely rigorous schedules, spend 7+ hours each day working, and maintain high grades despite having multiple and time consuming ECs. Other kids can’t keep up with that pace. What was his schedule like last year? Can you start AP psych and then drop it after a few weeks if you feel that it may be too much?</p>
<p>Going from one AP course to four is quite a jump. In addition, it sounds like the AP courses are only semester long classes which means the rigor is going to be greater because you have to cover all of the information in a shorter period of time. </p>
<p>It sounds like you already know the decision, but don’t want to keep your signature away. That is a tough decision. In our house we have let the older kids have 100% control over their schedule. I always discuss their decisions before I sign the papers, but I make sure they know that it is their responsibility to let me know when/if it is too much or they need tutoring or help. </p>
<p>I hope that all works out well, but regardless of his schedule this year, it sounds like academically he is doing very well. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Your son sounds capable to handle the extra AP class but I agree going from one to four AP classes may be a shock (too bad it can’t be from four to one). </p>
<p>If the only reason he wants to take AP Psych is to preserve his class rank, that’s not a good reason and personally I would discourage the move. If he is truly interested in the subject (and willing to see his grade decline if that is a possibility), then well, make sure he understands what will happen in the spring.</p>
<p>I would sign and let him take the class. He has only 3 academic classes the first half. What I would do is encourage him to drop one of the spring classes before that semester starts if he feels it would be too much.</p>
<p>Do you have the option of signing up for the class now but dropping it in a few weeks if the work load seems too great?</p>
<p>I think AP psych is considered one of the easier ones (at least it was for my kid–only 5 he got out of 9 tests!) It sounds like your kid can handle it, considering his past record.</p>
<p>This is a weird schedule. Why is AP Chem only one semester, while AP Psych is two? Why so few academic classes? Is this block scheduling?</p>
<p>Lots of kids have schedules that include 3+ APs per year. My kid actually took 8 courses junior year, all of which were honors and AP and included an AP lab science. (The theoretical course maximum was 7, leaving him with only one study hall per week because of the lab, but one of his courses was an AP independent study and that sole study hall was used to meet with the teachers whom he was working with on it.) He was also a 3 season varsity athlete and had another time-consuming EC, and showed no strain. And he is not super-human. :). It really depends on the kid.</p>
<p>Going from 1 AP to several maybe a big jump but I think it maybe the norms.
There are very few AP classes before Junior year.
My D took 1 AP as Fresh, 1 as Soph, 5 as Jr and 6 as Sr. She handled it just fine but she had to work very hard.</p>
<p>If your son wants to do it, just make sure he understands the hard work required from the very first week of school. If he let it slip, it’s very hard to catch up.</p>
<p>Also, explore whether he can drop down to the honor or regular classes later if he needs to. What is the consequence ?</p>
<p>The schedule you outlined is doable. My kids did that, just substitute varsity sports for band. If your kid thinks he can do it, he probably can. BTW - Tell Dad that I told my kids not to do it too, because I knew I could never have done it. But those darned Kids are better than me… But as one poster suggested, find out the consequences of dropping down if necessary.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the responses. We did sign the permission slip for the online class.
Consolation it is block scheduling. The Honor’s chem 2 and AP chem are linked semester classes so kids take both… really it is a yearlong class. Online courses have different schedules. That is why AP psych will be a year.
He may have about a week to drop a fall course and in the spring semester he will have a about 10 days to drop a spring course. AP Lang. would be the one to go. It is 4th period and he would just leave early. It would make me sad because I think ap lang. will be helpful to him but he could.<br>
We are enjoying the long weekend and I am trying not to worry.</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>Having only 10 days to drop the course is a little strict . Is that the rule regarding dropping the course altogether or it applies to dropping to the same course at the lower level ?</p>
<p>In our district, D said a friend of hers had trouble maintaining a C in an AP class and even after several months they allowed her to drop to a lower level course so she wouldn’t fail. She carried the same grade with her to the other class.</p>
<p>After all she’s been studying the same materials, if anything it’s much easier to transfer to a lower level class.</p>
<p>Well, I’m not familiar with block scheduling, but his schedule without the psych class looks light to me. Many of the top students in S’s class were doubling up in one of the academic areas most years.</p>