So I am thinking ahead for D18 and whether reporting AP scores is really necessary.
D16 has taken many AP classes and her scores range anywhere from a 2 to 4 (no 5s yet) She did not self report any of her scores on the Common Application (AP or SAT/ACT) Our high school does not require you take the AP test if you take the course, I suspect because we have to selfpay for the exam and some students can not afford to pay and because the school district does not pay/reimburse they cannot force a student to pay for the AP exam.
At any rate, her not reporting has not seemed to effect her admissions (she is 11 for 12 so far). We choose not to report because of 2s on Human Geo and Physics exams and thought it would look like she was trying to cover something up if she only reported for the exams she scored well. I guess we decided it would be better to not report any score, as low scores were likely to hurt more than a good score was to help. We didnât report the SAT/ACT scores because I figured they would be receiving the official score report anyway.
Right now D18 has taken 1 AP exam (Human Geo) and earned a 4, she will be taking AP World History this year I am guessing she will come out of it with a 4 as well. So do you think it is better to not report at all if you have some low scores or is it ok to report only the score you did well on or should we report all scores regardless?
I think for ivy league schools you need to report everything, but D18 is not aiming for an ivy, most likely state flagships and a reach or two.
Good question @labegg. Seems like a catch 22 to me. I imagine the more competitive schools might expect to receive AP scores if your transcript shows that you have taken AP classes, but a low score or two is also more likely to hurt your chances at these schools (they need some way to thin the herd). State flagships and other schools might seem less interested in seeing the list, but scores are less likely to hurt. Just thinking out loud really, because I really donât know if there is a ârightâ answer to this. I think I would probably recommend the same approach you have taken with Dâ16 and it seemed to work out for her. Congrats on all the acceptances and good luck selecting a school to attend.
I have a D who is currently a college freshman. In regard to APs, she listed all of her scores because they were good. However, she didnât take the exam for APGov because we mistakenly thought that no school would give credit for that exam. So she did have a âgapâ on her application but it did not hurt her - she had very good results. Just a data point to consider.
Is reporting AP scores a new requirement? DS14 took 7 or 8 exams (I canât remember now) but didnât report any scores on his applications, and I donât think any schools required the scores at time of application. He applied to a range of schools, from âtop 10â to âas close as you can get to a sure thingâ schools so it wasnât a matter of selectivity. He only reported once he was enrolled and seeking credit.
@2014novamom, reporting is optional but I think that the conventional wisdom is that, particularly for very selective schools, if the scores are high then reporting them will be helpful.
Thanks, @jennie11 , I was wondering about that. My S took AP Comp Sci and realized the teacher never actually prepared them for the test (the teacher was then transferred to a middle school), so although my S is getting straight Aâs in his dual-enrollment Comp Sci classes, he got a 1 on that test. He plans to take 3 more APs this May, and I have a feeling heâll do much better on them even though the courses are much more difficult for him. Since heâs going to major in Comp Sci, we certainly donât want to report the score of 1!
Our DDâ18 just had to turn in her requested courses for junior year today. There is no requirement to submit you AP test scores on your common application, but you can if you would like to. The best thing about APs is that your students are generally in classes with other interested students and will benefit from lively discussions and insights, and that many colleges will give credit for APs that will help your child navigate the class requirements of those schools. Our older two kids had many APs. Neither wanted to graduate early, but used the APs to get out of freshman requirements and start taking upper level courses a little earlier.
I know that AP credits are useful post-enrollment. DS14 was a sophomore academic standing-wise when he matriculated, which helped a lot when it came time to register for classes and also very helpful for his double major. But I just hadnât heard of anyone submitting scores during the application process.
DD18 is in an IB school so this issue wonât come up for her since she wonât take the IB exams until senior year. But DS went to an AP school where taking 4 APs in one semester is the norm for juniors and seniors, and 6 is not unheard of. I just checked the numbers and the year DS graduated, 875 AP exams were administered and there were 871 scores of 3 or above so itâs not as if kids are getting poor scores. I guess a good score is not a differentiator for his high school which is why the counselors donât suggest submitting.
Well, my DDâ18 1st semester report card is out. She got Bs on both AP World History and Chemistry Honor weighted courses. She is demotivated by those courses and told me that she doesnât want to go into Medical/Science field or History major. But she wants to continue taking AP US history and AP Physics and AP Environmental Science. She doesnât know the importance of taking the AP exams although her History teacher told them that he will prepare them for the exam, Iâm just know sure how well can she do. My DDâ18 enjoys design club posters or spending her free time on drawing tablet, Iâm leaning for her to consider Graphics Design and she is looking into media advertising now. Canât believe 10th grade is halfway done and now we are planning for summer activities already.
@jjkmom, those are hard courses and she should not feel bad about the Bs. It seems like she feels as though she needs to know very soon what field she wants to major/work in. IMO, itâs WAY too early to be worrying about this. If she were my daughter, Iâd suggest she simply take the courses that sheâs interested in and that challenge her, without concern at this point whether they will ultimately line up with her major or career.
Thank you @suzy100 & @dadotwoboys, appreciate your opinion regarding her grades and major. Like I mentioned before (long time ago since she was 9th grade), we were suggested by a private counselor to decide on college major as soon as we can, so itâs easier to align high school courses and extracurricular activities to help with the major and college applications. But my DD doesnât know and doesnât take time to research what she likes or dislikes. She got a B for Biology Honor last year and she thinks she did poorly in that subject so she doesnât want to take AP Bio anymore. Same for AP Chem, she said she has hard time keeping up with Chem Honor and getting a B really tells her that she shouldnât take AP Chem next year. She wants to learn and enjoy what she is doing, not feeling struggled. but I think almost every subject is challenging for her (she is on the Honor and AP track). Sometimes I just wanted to tell her not to work so hard, or worry too much if she is going to design or local community colleges, but she wants to go to top schools or UC schools. We just need to find a balance. I donât want her to take those AP courses (AP English literature, AP Environmental Science, AP Cal AB, AP US History, plus Chines Honor 3, and Athletes-Golf) but she insists taking 4 AP next year.
@jjkmom I feel the private counselor was right only I wouldâve said to pick a concentration, or a subject area, for example the arts, humanities, or sciences, to start out with and then start to go deeper into that concentration until you find a specific subject sheâs enjoy the end of this year. But, thatâs just my opinion. Based off of her grades, I would say that she might be ready for AP Chemistry, if she wanted to take it, but would have to maybe decrease the rigour of some of her other classes. But, in my opinion, it seems that the sciences might not be her thing. Based off of her like of drawing and design it sounds like sheâs very much into the arts and that seems perfectly fine. I would see if the school would allow her to take AP Art Studio or AP Art History if possible. Also, if she likes the social sciences, maybe AP Econ might suit her. These are only suggestions. I had a B+ in Honors Chemistry this quarter and had a B average for the semester and I can say that the course is pretty challenging at times. If I could give her some advice, I would say to definitely start looking AP classes that she might like and not APâs that she is taking just for an added AP, unless you really need it. Taking APâs just for the sake of taking them would make you competitive, but not liking the class could potentially discourage the student and they might do as well versus a student that loved the class because he was interested. But again just my opinion.
Also, just something to add, if you, or you child, would like to receive information from a certain university, the request info tool is a really great. All you would need to do is Google "Request Info (Name of College) and you, or your child, can sign up to receive mail from said university as well as create a profile based on their planned major. I signed up myself and got a letter from both Virginia Tech and VCU containing a letter, information packet, and a custom high school to college planner. I posted the letter to Instagram and one of the representatives of Virginia Tech saw it and hoped I would attend a college tour in the future. Even the Virginia Tech newspaper reposted it on on their Instagram page. Itâs really neat if anyone wants to give it a try.
The struggle is real at our house this week! Course selection sheets for junior year came home on Tuesday.
I filled in the core courses on the form, leaving the alternative electives blank as I have done for the past 4 years for her senior sister and the past 2 for D18. I filled in AP English Comp, Latin III Honors, Pre Calc Honors, Cheer and 1 elective that she said she wanted to take, AP Psychology. I actually left the social studies and science blank for her to decide what she wanted to take and if she wanted to take them as an AP course, then I signed it and this morning handed it back to her. D18 blew a gasket complaining that she fills out the form and that I was choosing her coursesâŠnot sure how âIâ am choosing her courses when the school mandates that she take English, Science, Math and Social Studies and the order in which they must be taken, she has to get in one more year of a foreign language, she has to take cheer as a class. We have discussed multiple times AP classes that are available to her and which courses need to be taken as Honors level (there is not choice with Latin III and Pre-Calc they are only offered as Honors courses). D18 threw a fit in the car last week when I suggested that she might want to consider taking AP Art History as her elective and she said no way she was definitely taking AP Psychology. Apparently she had not decided that AP Psych was going to happen her Jr or Sr year. I guess the world has not invented the eraser yet?
Then I remembered that this was the aroundt the time that D16 became unbearable for about 18 months before she emerged on the other side of the reasonable and rational wall and took her first real steps in the world of adulthood.
Our son will only have two IB scores at the time of applications as he is only allowed to take two of the tests prior to senior year.
Met with our college counselor last night to make sure everything is looking good in terms of the basics (first test results from PSAT, grades, course selection, etc). Something interesting she said that we hadnât thought of is that our son doesnât âlook like the typical engineering studentâ based on his transcript and outside activities. He has a lot related to automotive work both with hobbies and service and he has been to engineering camps, but she said it doesnât âprove outâ his interest and the schools he is looking at might wonder if he really knows what he is getting into. The only options aside from Physics (which she said is not deep enough) would be a computer science class. He doesnât have enough room in his schedule so she suggested he take a more in-depth engineering course over the summer or do a coding camp or something. He did the High School Engineering Institute at Michigan State University last summer, but she said because it wasnât focused on just one area of engineering, it still wasnât âproof enoughâ.
He doesnât want to do a camp just to do a camp, so heâs thinking of meshing his Eagle Scout project into something that can prove his engineering interest and perhaps designing and building a gazebo or pagoda at a local park. Weâll see. If he doesnât get to it this summer, weâll make sure he does something next summer.
The good news from the meeting is she said based on his PSAT scores, he looks like he has a very good chance of becoming a NMS semifinalist when he takes the test next year for real. She suggested he improve his math score a bit, but because he did very well on the writing and critical reading portions, it gave a big boost to his
Well, for some reason I canât edit anything, even within the 15 minutes, so that post just cut off!
DS18 is thinking about the following courses for next year (and beyond as he is doing the IB diploma and what you choose for junior year greatly affects your choices for senior year):
IB English HL (two year course)
IB Physics HL (two year course)
IB Chem SL (will be replaced with Theory of Knowledge senior year)
IB Math SL (two year course)
IB Spanish HL (two year course)
IB American Studies SL (will be replaced with IB World Religions SL senior year)
Of course, he could change his mind again! They donât make course selections until March so he has some time yet.
