ART HIST AP
SPANISH 4 AP
ENG 3 AP LANG
US HIST AP
CHEM AP
CALC BC AP
Open critique welcome. Pros? Cons?
All APs? Will,the student be able to handle that? If so…it’s fine.
That’s what I thought. Even for a top student, it’s an overkill. Isn’t it? You have to add sleep, SAT/PSAT prep and ECs.
How many AP’s did you have in 10th grade? How did you do in those classes? All A’s?
This kid had 1 in 9th, 2 in 10th and got 5’s and 95-99 in all three. Their district doesn’t allow 9-10 students any more APs.
Then if they think they can handle 6 AP’s, go for it.
I think he is doing it for rank and to be National AP Scholar by application time.
It shouldn’t matter what their motivation is for taking that many AP’s as long as they are successful.
Is this your child @WorryHurry411 ? If not, I’m not sure why you are concerned . Are you concerned that it will affect your child’s rank?
I think it’s too heavy even for a top student.
Both AP Spanish and AP US History involve huge amounts of work. And I’m concerned that your school apparently teaches AP Spanish as level 4. Many teach it as level 5, so the students go into it with an extra year of preparation. If kids are taking AP Spanish with only three previous years of Spanish, they’re going to have a massive amount of ground to cover.
I would suggest letting the AP Art History wait until senior year. This program is very demanding even without it. The student might also want to consider whether there are less demanding options instead of either AP US History or AP Chemistry. There are only so many hours in a week, after all.
Full disclosure: One of my kids was an IB diploma graduate and National Merit Finalist who entered college with 30 AP credits. She took heavy course loads throughout high school, but this schedule is more demanding than anything she ever inflicted on herself.
Life is not a race. Your screenname notwithstanding.
Is this what kid WANTS to do? Not for brownie points, but for intellectual interest. That’s the first question.
I’m the one who is questioning it. He is the one who picked this load. He is doing it because these are the courses that interest him, other than chemistry. He is doing it as it as he needs science courses to satisfy top colleges and keeping engineering as a future option. He did alright in Honors Chemistry with 96 average. Art History isn’t what he perticulary loves but he took art and history courses so this is just natural progression. I suggested a period of study hall or a lite course but he wants to stay in race for valedictorian and his competitors dropped all non AP courses so he doesn’t want to settle. I just think that it’s too much work and stress.
And keep engineering in his future? Once again…I’m going to say…there ARE engineering majors who never take calculus on HS…at all. Period. The first time they take calculus is in college.
Maybe it’s an advantage to take this heavy course load this year…maybe. But the bigger advantage in terms of being a direct admit to too engineering programs is a HIGH GPA in addition to an aggressive course load.
So can he do both?
“These are the courses that interest me and for which I’m willing / eager to put in the work” is a great reason. “I want to best my competitors” is a bad reason.
Personally, my kids “un-APed” in one area that was their area of least interest, with my blessing. But of course everyone’s mileage varies.
What’s the worst that happens if you “force” him to un-AP? How will that affect your relationship?
What’s the worst that happens if he doesn’t nail all of these classes? He won’t be in the running for Val, that’s all.
I have no doubt that he can’t but he’ll be stressed and sleepless as many of these classes require time consuming assignments. He likes math courses and scores well so AP Calculus isn’t an issue.
But we can’t know as well as you do how “too much work and stress” might impact your son. Anxiety? Mood? Depression? Is he a high self-imposed pressure kid?
I think more than everything else it’s about ranking and having competitive friends. He’ll have mood and anxiety issues with lack of sleep but he is mentally strong, I’m concerned about effect of stress and sleep on physical health.
It’s less about a rigor issue with him but more about amount of work to get grades he wants. Our district is known for heavy load of busy work and continuous testing and then he has PSAT/SAT. Fortunately, he is a natural test taker so stand raised testing wouldn’t require any extra prep.
Nothing in our house trumped sleep and and an actual dinner, i.e. consumed at the kitchen table with a knife and fork. If this schedule means your kid is eating dinner in the backseat of the car, on the run, more than once a week this seems like a very bad idea. If this means bedtime is at 1 am- not just during midterms, for one night, but regularly, this is a bad idea.
A teenager without adequate sleep is impossible to live with. A teenager who might still be in a growth spurt eating haphazard meals or slurping most of their calories through a straw is impossible to live with.
But I don’t know your kid and I don’t know the school. I explained to my kids that they had the rest of their lives to pull all-nighters and eat trash. But while they were minors and living under my roof, their health came first.
None were Vals. All went to so-called “elite” colleges. All are pursuing gratifying professional careers. One of them travels constantly- at least twice a month to Europe, frequent red-eyes, etc. The discipline of knowing that sleep and nutrition are important have been key to maintaining this schedule and being a high performer at work. And if it means getting a promotion three months later than a co-worker who does not need sleep- small price to pay. Another child has peaks and valleys at work, but the peaks can mean a two week period of getting home at 2 am and turning around to head back to work at 8. This kid uses the lightly scheduled weeks for early to bed/daily gym and all the stuff that has to go by the wayside during the peaks. Again- if a colleague gets that promotion ahead of schedule or gets an additional 5K in the bonus check- it’s all good.
Teach your kid to work with the physical limitations they’ve got.
Well put. Family dinner was a non-negotiable for us - no “I’ll have a sandwich and granola bar in my room while studying” and a reasonable regular bedtime was a priority too.
It’s just not necessary to run yourself ragged for an elite school. Work hard, sure; ragged, no.
I think your job now is to help to get him off the train that Val means everything and that it’s important to “beat” competitors.
@blossom @Pizzagirl This is good advice. I totally get that but his point of view is that this is an exceptional year and being a Val or getting in his preferred college depends upon it. Both are very important to him. I don’t want him to regret my intervention if things don’t work out.
My concern is that he may have a crappy year and not end up being Val/Sal or getting into colleges he is aiming for. There is only a very very small percentage who gets that, specially if they are attending a cometitive highschool and are Asian with no hook. Not that these are must haves for a good life but these are as he puts it, “his olympics” so yeah it’s confusing for me as a parent to support unconditional or interven.