<p>My son's high school offers NO AP classes. They do offer 5 classes for which students can get dual hs/college credit through a local college (for $69 per credit hour).</p>
<p>My questions: Should my son just go ahead on his own and take some AP tests and try to get top scores, or not? Should he even bother to sign up for the college credit? I am thinking about what would look best to a prospective selective college.</p>
<p>Any insight appreciated. Thanks to all in advance.</p>
<p>both AP and dual enrollment classes look good to selective schools. Waht they are looking for is students who have taken the most rigorous curriculum offered and who have made the most of the opportunities available.</p>
<p>Do any of the dual credit courses line up with AP tests? if so, he could take the dual credit class and then take the AP test after doing some self-study.</p>
<p>Also, many kids self-study for the AP tests -- make sure it is a subject he likes and is familiar with. </p>
<p>There are also online AP classes that can be taken.</p>
<p>I took some classes at flvs.net, the Florida Virtual School. In state it is free, but out of state I think there are some hefty fees. It is totaly worth it in my opinion, I have had 3 good experiences (3 classes) with them.</p>
<p>Virginia offers the same thing here:
<a href="http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Technology/VAPS.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Technology/VAPS.html</a></p>
<p>Do a few Google searches and you might find something in your state.</p>
<p>My high school didn't offer AP classes but did offer college credit courses which are just fine. You can take the AP exams w/o taking the formal class and you can also take distance learning if you need to.</p>
<p>UCCP offers some great distance learning AP courses. I've really enjoyed my AP US History course this year. I think UCCP was a little on the expensive side (maybe 300 a semester?) but I've been impressed by the quality.</p>
<p>Dual-enrollment has been even better than I expected. The local college is new and the teachers are the best I have ever had. Classes are capped at ~18-20 students and my calc class only has 10! It's been a perfect solution for me so far. My calculus teacher has been outstanding and managed to turn my worst subject into a class that I wish would never end:)</p>
<p>Does your school have an "Independent Study" course? APEX offers on-line AP classes that your child could do during IS, or after school. S2 took 4 classes through them. S1 did self-study for a class he didn't have time to take (MacroEconomics) and got a 5 on the exam.</p>
<p>My daughter didn't do any of these things. Her school had no AP classes and although she thought about self-studying for the tests, she didn't. We never heard of taking college courses while still in high school so she didn't do that. And she was accepted at a selective LAC.
She did, however, take the most rigorous courses available at her high school except for the most advanced calculus class.</p>
<p>Since I'm not a fan of AP classes, my answer to this is perhaps a little different.</p>
<p>I think first you need to ask yourself (or your son) -- why do you want to take AP classes? Is it to make yourself a more attractive applicant to selective colleges? To get college credit? To challenge yourself/enrich your education?</p>
<p>If it's only reason number one, then don't worry about it. Colleges want to see that a student is taking the most challenging courseload at their high school. If there are no AP classes, then they can't penalize you for not taking them. The dual classes seem interesting -- but if the parent needs to pay for them and there's no financial assistance, then I don't know how a college would perceive that if your kid doesn't take them.</p>
<p>If the goal is to get college credit, then be careful, because there are many different ways that colleges give credit for AP classes. Some give 100% credit; others use it so kids can place out of intro classes or to satisfy distribution requirements. The same would apply for the dual college credits.</p>
<p>And if the goal is to enrich curriculum, there are other ways to do that without taking APs. Independent study or independent research with a teacher, for example. Personally, I think that is a lot more impressive and shows more personal initiative than self-studying for APs.</p>
<p>Hi MissouriGal,</p>
<p>I think I would ask myself how difficult the courses are that the high school your son attends. Is it well known by the colleges your son hopes to attend, and known to be challenging? How well does the school do in promoting kids going to schools which look especially favorably at AP's and dual enrollment? Is it possible to do the independent work that would lead to a satisfying learning experience? Are there courses at the college level with a particular interest to your son?</p>
<p>The private school my kids have all attended does not have AP classes, per se, as their school consortium does not favor AP's. However, two of the kids have taken AP tests and done very well. One went to Swarthmore and one to Brown, the third is in the process of applying. The third kid attends two college classes at the nearby college, mainly because courses he wants to take are not offered at his school. This is a curriculum issue, not something chosen to enhance the transcript per se. (In fact, he is taking a chance, as the grades are pretty hard to come by at this particular college.)</p>
<p>The colleges my first two applied to did not hold it against them that they did not have AP classes on their transcripts because, as sly_vt suggests, they took the most difficult curriculum available at their school.</p>
<p>Son's school is small (38 per class), private, and very young and also does not have AP classes. I don't know if this is because of their philosophy or because of limited resources. I had "assumed" his courses were AP, since many of the students were taking exams. However, they were merely honors or advanced. Despite this, many of the kids took the exams and did well on them (4's and 5's). My son took three at the end of junior year and will do two or three more this year. (He'll be taking them in Israel, which should be interesting!) If the course covers the basic material on the exam, it doesn't seem to matter what the label on the class is.</p>
<p>This lack of AP's apparently hasn't hurt the seniors. Last year's graduating class (the first one for the school) sent their val to Princeton and about a quarter of the kids got into "top 25" schools.</p>
<p>Sly_Vt fails to mention the best reasons to take AP classes. Maybe you have a true interest in learning something beyond the pap you are getting in non-AP classes as most high schools (or are you at, say, Andover?). Second, perhaps you are sick to death of the paper wad shooters and jocks and note passers in the back row and the teacher who thicks an art project or a group PowerPoint presentation is an appropriate substitute for learing something?</p>
<p>Rather than a community college course, where there is some danger of similar low expectations, not to mention logistical problems in many cases, try distance learning, including Stanford's EPGY. <a href="http://www-epgy.stanford.edu%5B/url%5D">http://www-epgy.stanford.edu</a>
Note that sometimes the answer might be enrichment but often the answer is acceleration.</p>
<p>MissouriGal,</p>
<p>If your son has the opportunity to take courses at the local community college I think that would good. Colleges look favorably upon community college courses. I know a number of young men and women who opted for community college courses vs. AP exams and did very well with college acceptances to good institutions. Depending on where your son attends college some of the courses may transfer or may allow him to take higher level courses when he matriculates fulltime.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Nowadays, many of the best colleges and universities are reluctant to give CREDIT toward graduation for many AP courses, especially the light-weight ones and those in which the student has not earned a very high score on the AP exam (except maybe foreign language, calculus BC and a few others). </p>
<p>But, to make a good impression on them, AP-level courses, especially when coupled with good AP scores. can't help but make a student more attractive for admission and will be relevant for course placement. It's less clear that CC courses help in the same way, but it's possible.</p>
<p>what area of missouri are you in because the quality of the community colleges definitely varies. further it may be possible to ahve your son go to another nearby school that does offer AP courses.</p>
<p>my personal recommendation is to go the self study route, but only if he is very self-motivated and can balance the outside AP's with everyday schoolwork.</p>
<p>I asked our Guidance Counselor about your problem (she's very nice and knowledgable).</p>
<p>She said that when a school sends transcripts, it should send a listing of the classes that the school offers (SHE always does this and other GCs do it, too ). That way the colleges will see what classes your school offers and doesn't offer. No child should be penalized if his school doesn't offer APs. Our school is small and only offers about 5 or 6 AP classes. Since the GC includes the school's list of classes, no child can be penalized for not taking, say AP Physics, because our school doesn't offer such.</p>
<p>Ask your GC if he/she includes such a listing for your transripts</p>
<p>I really appreciate all the thoughtful responses on this thread. This has helped me a lot and I thank you all.</p>
<p>my first response to that was, enjoy his childhood. second response is look into taking community college courses. My daughter's previous high school offered no AP classes, instead sent the kids to college for that time. The thing that bugs me about AP courses is that when my son graduated from another high school, that had extensive offerings, the kids were graduating with GPA's of 4.7 etc. on a 4.0 scale that means nothing to me. It's unfair that a 4.0 kid is considered behind. It's just out of hand to me, hence my first comment.</p>
<p><<< when my son graduated from another high school, that had extensive offerings, the kids were graduating with GPA's of 4.7 etc. on a 4.0 scale that means nothing to me. It's unfair that a 4.0 kid is considered behind. It's just out of hand to me, hence my first comment.>>></p>
<p>That is why it is very important that the GC include a "class listing" with the transcripts so that the colleges can see what (and how many) AP classes were offered. That way, a child from a smaller school (with fewer AP offerings) isn't penalized for having a lower weighted GPA.</p>