Hello Parents
I am looking for some suggestion on what we can do in following scenario
My son is entering Junior year this fall, he did not get the AP Computer science course as the school gave priority to seniors.
Q1 : Will this not affect his GPA when compared to other students.
Q2 Any recommendation on we can do the course outside the school and get it counted on his GPA ?
Poonam
He takes it as a senior. I don’t see a problem. Depends on the types of colleges he is applying to, but if he is applying to top colleges, and he wants a rigorous course load, he can do a different AP, or Honors course. A class he isn’t taking isn’t going to affect his GPA.
He can of course self study or do it online and take the test in May. I suggest you have a look at the Test Prep forum and do a search on how difficult self study is for that test. However, he shouldn’t just randomly self study any AP course. He should have a good reason for it. I personally don’t think not being able to take the class as a junior is a good reason. Be aware also that colleges want to see grades for AP classes, so it might not be impressive to self study a class that he can take at school, and miss the chance to get a good grade in a class. Grades are usually more important than test scores.
It isnt uncommon for schools to limit prep classes to upper classman. Its unfortunate you son didnt get in, but that shouldnt be a problem if he can follow up on that Sr. year.
If you are in a state that has college now, concurrent enrollment or PSEO those are good alternatives. Your school counselor should know about these.
Does the school not offer the same courses every year? It occurs to me that that might be the issue.
Otherwise, I agree with the first reply on all accounts.
The issue might be that he is not taking an AP course while others are. Some schools weight the AP courses more heavily, in which case it would affect his gpa as well as his class rank.
It seems perfectly reasonable that courses with limited space have a priority given to seniors.
He can AP Computer Science next year. If you are concerned, I suggest you talk to his guidance counselor and be sure your S is enrolled in the most rigorous curriculum available. Perhaps ask if there is another AP course he can substitute. IMO one course worth of a GPA difference will not make or break any college application. And it is likely classes taken outside of the school (unless it is in a school approved program which again you should talk to the guidance counselor about) will not impact his GPA.
Relax.
@sylvan8798 I also said he can do a different AP course. How much course rigor this student needs depends on the colleges he is thinking of applying to.
Without context (e.g. what academic interests and previous academic studies, what alternate course, does it affect the “most demanding” designation on the counselor recommendation), it is difficult to give a general comment.
Not sure how GPA would be impacted taking it senior year instead of junior year…so agree, if he wants to take it, take it senior year. I don’t see the point in self-study as it might not be worth any credit at whatever college he attends, unless he wants/needs it for another class senior year. If it’s because of self-interest, perhaps he can take a computer science class at a nearby junior college or on-line?
I agree with @ucbalumnus. Not encough context given. I don’t think it’s clear what the OP’s main objective is. Her question focuses on GPA, but for what purpose? Is her concern class rank, or appearance of course rigor? If it’s either of those two items, then I would assume that he’s in the same situation as the other juniors at his high school and it shouldn’t make a significant difference. Also presumably his GC knows that he couldn’t get the AP class this year and so it won’t affect the GC’s reporting of how rigorous a curriculum he took. Is her primary focus on maximizing chances of admission, or on actually getting AP credit? Or on actually learning introductory computer science? Knowing these things would help people give a more focused answer.
Son had a schedule conflict with AP comp sci sophomore year so he substituted a semester of music theory. No big deal- he eventually took CS courses to add the second major (first was math) in college and works in the field.
Many colleges (and son’s HS) do not use weighted grades. I also doubt that one class would make a difference- if the son is marginal for getting accepted to any college because of a difference in class rank et al it would be a mater of chances anyhow.
Why bother with the course at all? A good college will offer much more in its versions.
A student who may (but is not certain) to major in CS may want to take an AP CS principles (not AP CS A) course in order to get an overview of the subject and help decide whether s/he is interested in it.
This can affect college application decisions, due to CS being an oversubscribed major at some colleges, where students may want to apply to the major as frosh (since getting into the major later after enrolling can be difficult).
However, for this purpose, going through a course like http://cs10.org on one’s own can gain similar knowledge and help the student decide whether s/he is interested in CS to consider doing a CS major. The actual high school or AP credit is not as important (many colleges do not give advanced placement for AP CS anyway).
A single AP class is not going to make a difference in a college’s decision to admit your child.
However if you are that concerned have him take the class online (Johns Hopkins CTY) or self study
I really wish people would stop giving this as a suggestion. Colleges always prefer an actual class, and few, if any, are impressed by a student who self-studies. Now if the kid were a rising senior it may be a valid suggestion, but in this case he’s a rising junior and can certainly take Senior year.
Back to the OP, I just need to point out that the effect of not taking one AP class on a 4 year GPA is small. So small that I can’t see any valid reason to worry about it, other than if he were on the borderline of not making an auto-admit GPA, or something similar.
I’m not sure why you are concerned. Is this because you think OTHERS will surpass your son in terms of class rank if he doesn’t have this AP course now?
What will he be taking instead of this AP course he wanted?
To be honest…I think this is much ado about nothing.
What did he put as an alternate? I could see the concern if the alternate is a study hall or a non-honors, non-AP class and the kid is aiming for super elites. In our district, that could be a disadvantage.
If that is concern, see what classes are open that he could take instead that would weigh favorably on his GPA.
As to outside classes, it really is HS dependent. Ours does not really have dual enrollment or a well known mechanism for using an online class a substitute. You need to talk to the guidance counselor, as we CCers don’t know how your HS works.
Why should it “affect” his GPA comparatively if it’s seniors who are taking the course?
His alternate was PE and Photography - He is got both as PE is only 1 for part of the year.
My kid took culinary arts…fully supported this for her as a number one choice. And remarkably she still got accepted in college…oh and she was top 5% of her class too.
Life isn’t all about AP classes.