Isn't this a too hard junior Schedule?

Applying to College
61

<p>I just don't understand the point in taking so many AP classes. I took six exams in my high school career (which amounted to four classes - USH, US Gov, Lit/Comp - for which we also took the Lang/Comp exam, and Calc; I "self-studied" psychology) and I got into good schools. I think it's more important to do fun extracurricular activities - in my case, I did a lot of theatre and dance, my two passions - and not worry so much about STUDYING and maybe focus a little more on having an active social and creative life. Creates a balance. </p>

<p>However, I did graduate from a school in Nevada, which is not exactly the pinnacle of... intelligence. Maybe I'm not the best example. I just don't like to see people get so stressed that they don't enjoy high school.</p>

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<p>i agree dc89 that some people really stress out too much, to the point that they don't enjoy high school.....I've had the time of my life in HS and I wouldn't have it any other way</p>

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<p>
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no, 6 aps are no problem.

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[quote]
haha, i never do homework.

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</p>

<p>J. Shi, these are the quotes that made me consider your responses arrogant. (Sorry I'm late in responding - I was away for a while.) Your initial posts made it sound like these came easily for you.</p>

<p>You ask how someone could work harder than you and not have your rank. Do you not consider that maybe the kid who's ranked 10 or 20 or 100 has to work equally hard just to stay there? </p>

<p>In your response to me you now state that you studied 12 hours per day and had to have amazing focus and dedication. And yet you say this is "no problem"??? You can't have it both ways.</p>

<p>If POIH's child had to work that hard to keep the 6 AP's, I'd sure call it a problem! And that was the gist of the OP's post.</p>

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<p>what is considered Homework anyway? gee as alluded to by chedva, studying IS homework....and if you don't have homework for an AP class, isn't that defeating the whole purpose</p>

<p>that is why many colleges are giving as much credit for AP classes because they are not as they appear</p>

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<p>Thanks Chedva:
J.Shi: it is true that if my D has to spend 12 hours a day studying to keep these 6 APs then it is not worth.</p>

<p>Thanks ricegal: yes, the point of the thread was to make my D aware that it might be more important to get to > 750 on all SATs and have good EC's than to just do 6 APs.</p>

<p>FredFredBurger: My D is an A/A- student but she got her first B+ in the AP Euro Hist during the 1st sem last year. She was able to bring it to A for the 2nd sem but she has lost her perfect UW GPA. What I’m worried about is getting more B+ with such a course load?</p>

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<p>I actually took a similar courseload. I opted for AP Psychology over AP Environmental Science and took AP Physics B, but I also took PreCalculus (My toughest class.) and Spanish IV (My second toughest class). Honestly, she's aiming high, and most likely burdened with a ton of homework. </p>

<p>I think it would be better to do well on the SATs. Make sure she takes the SATs once without practice. And then practice for the second sitting. Taking that courseload will not be difficult judging by how well your daughter did in her sophomore year. The schedule isn't as difficult as being able to organize. Make sure your daughter can create a schedule and follow it. If she organizes herself, she'll handle everything with no problem. </p>

<p>However, I do advise that if all those classes are costing her sleep, she should not overburden herself. I sacrificed sleep this year and although I productively finished my junior year, I feel that I could of done so much better. But apparently I don't learn since I'm taking a tougher courseload next year! Haha.</p>

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<p>Another thing if AP Env. Sci or Statistics are so easy why more % of student actually score 5 on Calculus BC.</p>

<p>AP Subject / % Recieveing 5 / Total Students that took the AP Exam.
English Language / 5.4 / 256722
Environ. Sciences / 9.3 / 44698
US History / 11.0 / 311000
Euro. History / 12.0 / 91040
Statistics / 12.6 / 88237
Chemistry / 17.0 / 87465
Biology / 19.6 / 131783
Physics (Mech) / 24.2 / 24480
Comp. Sci. AB / 33.7 / 4939
Physics (E&M) / 34.6 / 10481
Calculus BC / 42 / 58602</p>

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<p>You should know the answer to this one POIH. Generally, the people who take Calc BC are really smart. Those that take Env Sci or Stat are not necessarily as smart. They are generally seen as AP classes for kids who could not qualify for AP Bio or AP Calc respectively and thus cannot be taught at a really high level.</p>

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<p>^^^: Make sense; but since evey one said that AP Env. Sc. and Stat. are so easy, I thought more should have seen 5 on those two tests.</p>

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<p>smart in a calc class is not necessarilly really smart everywhere</p>

<p>math smart and other smart are not always in correlation</p>

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<p>physics from what i hear is hard
us history is easy</p>

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<p>POIH, the AP scoring is partly related to the curve, & to the difficulty of the test. </p>

<p>As to the notion of those <em>taking</em> Calc BC being smarter, to some degree that can be true, but it doesn't eliminate the entire population of highly smart but choosing different options for a number of reasons. Some are eligible to take BC, but choose to take an easier math or science that year, in order to take a more challenging course in a different area, or an additional course in a different area. Schedules (& available teachers & sections!) affect choices to more of a degree than people realize.</p>

<p>I wonder why quantitative analysis is supposedly the yardstick for intelligence, but the prejudice toward that is apparent on CC, and i.m.o. at the collegeboard in general. I have taught in high school, & studied with (in college & grad school), a number of students who can ace quantitative analysis but are abysmal at conceptual analysis. They are hardly "smarter" than brilliant humanities students, judging by the performance of those students in non-quantitative classes.</p>

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<p>^^^: I understand that AP score relates to curve but if a course is easy to begin with as people mentioned then more should be able to score 5 on these even if the curve is harder. </p>

<p>I'm sure that it is not correct to say that a calc smart is smart everywhere. But it is true that the yardstick for intelligence is thru quantitative analysis.
Logic is part of daily life and a student who comprehend logic well actually perform better at most task. Quantitative analysis is involved in every decision people made some time it is obvious some time not. Since intelligence is based on the person decisions hence it is measured using the quantitative analysis.
When you say brilliant humanities students; you want to say students who pursue humanities but not necessarily failing math. I will say it is difficult to say that some is intelligent if fails to comprehend math.</p>

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<p>The understanding of logic, and the application of it, is not limited to quantitative problems. You perhaps have never met people with high levels of quantitative logic but much lower conceptual logic, but I've met plenty of them. They are not all-around "smart" just because their math quotient is high. But as I say, it's a prejudice to believe that, as well as a misunderstanding of intelligence: how it functions, what its measurements are.</p>

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<p>I had a nice reply and CC lost it!</p>

<p>POIH, I am glad to see you asking the question.</p>

<p>I would have big concerns if my DS (a rising senior) took six APs, and he is an excellent student. I can feel your pain about your D having excellent grades, SATs and APs, yet unsure if she'll be in the top 10%. DS also atteneds a highly competitive school, and the AP exams to him are easy compared with what the school expects. As others have mentioned, there is a big difference between schools as far as the quality of AP coursework.</p>

<p>That said, DS knows a number of kids who took 5-6 APs junior year and did fine. Most only took one AP soph year. DS has chosen to spread his APs evenly over 10th-12th grade, and will also have 11 semesters of post-AP courses.</p>

<p>Junior year is a time of transitions. Kids start to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and there are a lot more things vying for their attention. Internships, LOTS of testing, looking at/thinking about colleges, research projects/mentors, etc. all come into play. I think colleges are spot-on in looking at junior year trends, because I think the multifaceted nature of the demands on a HS junior will reflect on a student's ability to handle the inevitable distractions of real life, academics, etc. in college.</p>

<p>DS spent the first part of junior year engrossed in a fascinating independent study project, for which he's written a paper and hopes to get published. While it was absolutely a worthy endeavor, his absent-minded professor habits showed up in his first semester grades, which took a surpirse hit. </p>

<p>Another thing that happened junior year was that the ECs my son has invested much time and love in over the past several years began to reap wonderful, well-deserved rewards. With those accolades have come opportunities for travel, leadership and creativity -- but those things take time away from academics. I wouldn't have it any other way, and neither would my son -- he would argue that the ECs are what have shaped him far more than the corresponding academic classes he's taken. I mention this because these are excellent, worthy endeavors and absolutely deserve his attention. But -- they do take time.</p>

<p>I would ask your D a few questions:
1) Why is she taking three AP sciences junior year? Colleges will be FINE with taking one senior year. I would push Bio to senior year.
2) Your D will remember more of the calculus if she takes MV/DiffEq junior year than waiting til senior year to take it -- even if she plans to continue calc in college. For a kid who got a 5 in BC Calc as a soph, AP Stat will just not be that difficult. (DS took BC as a soph, MV/DiffEq as a junior. He also took AP Stat as a junior, but his school teaches it as a one-semester compressed course, so it didn't represent a big chunk of time in his overall schedule.)
3) MV/DiffEq will be of use in Physics C; though it is not a pre- or co-requisite by any means, it will make the math part of AP Phys a LOT easier.
4) What is she planning to take senior year? If your D's HS offers interesting post-AP electives, getting the APs in this year that are pre-requisites MAY make sense.<br>
5) Most importantly -- is your D a marathon runner in terms of academics? Is she exhausted at the end of the finish line and does she need to be coaxed through to the bitter end? Does the challenge energize her? Absent parental involvement, how would she do? How much time DOES she spend studying? Will she need to devote lots of time to SAT prep? Even if she is an excellent test-taker and will only need to familiarize herself with the tests' formats, that, too is a distraction from her regular studies. How much of a distraction it will be is something only she can answer.</p>

<p>I have one kid who lives for the major, intense, adenaline-spurting challenge, and another who likes his challenge spread out in manageable increments so he can maximize all the other aspects of his life and minimize the stress. Both ways are fine -- both kids are in extremely challenging programs, but their needs are different. Different management strategies apply.</p>

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<p>Epiphany:
Amen. I have one quant kid and one conceptual kid. DH is quant, I am conceptual. Our collective test scores all fall into in the same tight range. My conceptual kid can out-logic his quant dad any day of the week.</p>

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<p>Hi CountingDown,
Open New Window if you think you've been online long formulating text. (The reply & PM features are time-limited.)
Copy & paste from old reply (or PM) window, into new.
voila! :)</p>

<p>You can do the same thing if you mistakenly hit submit after being online "too long." Just hit Back on your browser window if you get a dialog box that says you're not logged in. Then do the above (new window, copy, paste)</p>

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<p>CountingDown : Comments inline.
1) Why is she taking three AP sciences junior year? Colleges will be FINE with taking one senior year. I would push Bio to senior year.
** AP BIO: as it is pre - requisties to post AP courses she wants to take in her senior year
AP Physics: She wants to do UG in Comp Science and colleges will like to see it.
AP Env. Sci.: Just to have a shot at Siemens AP award.</p>

<p>2) Your D will remember more of the calculus if she takes MV/DiffEq junior year than waiting til senior year to take it -- even if she plans to continue calc in college. For a kid who got a 5 in BC Calc as a soph, AP Stat will just not be that difficult. (DS took BC as a soph, MV/DiffEq as a junior. He also took AP Stat as a junior, but his school teaches it as a one-semester compressed course, so it didn't represent a big chunk of time in his overall schedule.)
** She thinks she will do some calc along with AP Physics and that will keep her in touch with it. If she takes MV/DiffEq senior year than it certainly will benefit her in college.</p>

<p>3) MV/DiffEq will be of use in Physics C; though it is not a pre- or co-requisite by any means, it will make the math part of AP Phys a LOT easier.
** She is planning to keep doing calc in her Junior year.</p>

<p>4) What is she planning to take senior year? If your D's HS offers interesting post-AP electives, getting the APs in this year that are pre-requisites MAY make sense.
** 4 semester of post AP Electives in Bio/Chem and also AP Psychology, AP Economics, AP Eng. Lit.</p>

<p>5) Most importantly -- is your D a marathon runner in terms of academics? Is she exhausted at the end of the finish line and does she need to be coaxed through to the bitter end? Does the challenge energize her? Absent parental involvement, how would she do? How much time DOES she spend studying? Will she need to devote lots of time to SAT prep? Even if she is an excellent test-taker and will only need to familiarize herself with the tests' formats, that, too is a distraction from her regular studies. How much of a distraction it will be is something only she can answer.
*** I think she needs prep time for SAT and also is not a marathon runner. </p>

<p>It seems the following may make more sense for her as a course schedule replacing AP Environment Science with Music Theory to complete the art requirement and independent research.</p>

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<p>epiphany: "The understanding of logic, and the application of it, is not limited to quantitative problems."</p>

<p>True; that is what I said that if you are good at quantitative logic there are good chances that you will be good at conceptual logic.</p>

<p>In the IQ tests more of conceptual logic than quantitative logic is used.
You may have to provide an example of conceptual logic where a person with good quantitative logic has failed on your scale of competitiveness.</p>

<p>There is simple reason for this as human mind doesn't understand the notion of number. We only came up with a number system. human mind is only capable of evaluating logic. So whether it is conceptual or quantitative a capable human mind should do an equal job.</p>

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<p>There are "chances" that you will be good at conceptual logic, but there is no guarantee of that, and I have seen it with great frequency, perhaps more than you have.</p>

<p>Not true about IQ tests. Most of them are overwhelmingly quantitative in content. The more accurate ones are more balanced. People who evaluate for giftedness often have their own ways to measure which go beyond the limitations of these tests but which are quite accurate.</p>

<p>Plenty of people who understand the logic of a math problem do not understand the logic of intertextual analysis (for example, a primary document); cannot understand & draw conclusions from analysis of legal principles. By the way, I see plenty of this on this board, on other threads, by people failing to understand constitutional legal principles. Yet these same students are "math wizards."</p>