Apparently S19 has decided to start a club at school. He tried to do one last year and it was just too complicated (and costly) as it was a Radio club…wanted to get a school radio station going. This time he’s starting a Philosophy club (which we both find odd didn’t already exist). He’s already got 13 kids signed up, a class advisor and now just needs to find a classroom to hold it in and have it approved by SC next week. Cracking up that I find out after it’s basically already done.
He also told me yesterday he was having a hard time deciding about AP French. For next year. Which he doesn’t need to think about until Jan. But ok, my kid is like a dog wiht a bone when he gets fixated on it so why not talk about it now. We did a pro list for taking AP french and all he came up with was it might look good to certain schools and the possible AP credit. I said, “and you really like French” to which he responded “it’s ok”. I asked him what he would take instead. AP CS. The pro’s were the same with the added benefit of being something he is far more interested in (and frankly, in my opinion, a bigger pro on his app than AP french would be). I kept that part to myself. It was funny, in the course of tell me why you think you should take it…he talked himself into AP CS.
@eandesmom so does that mean he will only have two years of high school French? I’ve started looking into foreign language requirements at certain schools and many of the schools we are considering expect four years and you have to either take a test to pass a certain threshold of understanding or get a 4 or a 5 on the AP to fulfill their requirement. If you can’t do that, you need to take some semesters of foreign language at the college.
@homerdog yes and no. He will have 2 years in MS and they will show up as a “S” I believe on his transcript although I am not positive about that. He will have taken a total of 4 years. I have been told repeatedly that colleges will look at the level taken, more than the year, knowing that many take FL in MS and that he will be seen as having taken 4. That said, it is why we all thought French 4 was a good idea so that at least 2 were during the HS years. I personally see zero benefit to AP French over CS from a learning perspective and if that’s the game he needs to play to get into a certain school, I don’t see it as being worth it. Admission wise I think it’s irrelevant. He has considered self studying for the AP test, currently French 4 and AP french are actually a shared class period with the same teacher. We know one kid who attempted it and it didn’t go well…but he didn’t study for the test either.
S19 will be our 3rd going through this and the requirements vary a ton by school and there is really no solid way to predict what you’ll need. I’ve seen schools that you aren’t allowed to test out of the FL requirement, no matter what. Schools that have their own test and will not take the AP credit. Schools that could really care less as long as you meet their entrance requirements. If S had to take a language in college it really wouldn’t bother him, he would just take something other than French. Generally speaking, if a college does have a FL requirement, it is likely an LAC or private university, most of the state schools could care less and are very track focus versus the more holistic approach of the LAC or private university.
Our SS11 solved this with a Spanish “immersion” study abroad. Worked out perfectly all around (in his mind at least, maybe not for our wallet lol).
@2019hope what do you want to know? It was a month long summer program at a Spanish university, basically cramming a semester or 2 (I can’t recall the credits to be honest) into that month. He had zero experience with the language (took French in HS) and it was a full immersion program, no English spoken at all. He loved it.
It was all arranged though his college but was definitely not part of the standard tuition and considered extra although for what he got/did it seemed pretty reasonable at the time. Admittedly we kind of felt we “owed” him, his sister had a class trip to French in HS, the younger boys a band trip to Ireland and while he has been abroad before, that was on his own dime. Of course now his sister wants to do study abroad next summer…we will see how that plays out!
I found something that irritates me more than group projects, evacuating DS16 from CofC. 11 total hrs in a car, and up 21 hrs straight is no fun . Of course DH is out of town, so DS19 and I were left to manage. DS19 was quite a trooper and is so glad to have his brother home for an extended period of time.
@carolinamom2boys so glad you got in and out and all are safe! I hope all can get some sleep and try to relax. Not fun at all and thinking of all in SC and Florida this week.
@2019hope for the program my SS did, no. Parental oversight was not really an option. He really was out there on his own for about 6 weeks, 4 at the program and 4 traveling on his own. Most study abroad programs are for matriculated students, to do it in HS I think you’d have to try to find one that allowed it as DE option and marketed it as a summer enrichment type of course. They are probably out there but I’ve not seen any. We had considered a summer FL course at the CC for our S17 to free up his schedule but elected not to go that route.
That gives us some hope, @eandesmom. D19 is not too happy taking 4 years of Spanish. If it works out, she would be happy to stop after 2 years. I guess, its more about trying new things like Psychology, Environmental Science etc than dislike towards Spanish.
Had a 1 hour ‘adulting’ session with D16 today. How to print your insurance card, find an in-network doctor and make a dr’s appointment. She’s not sick but needs a physical for be cleared for sports (walked-on). I had her research urgent care options in her area too, so she’d know where to go if she needed. Bleah. I’ve gotten lazy living in a big city with an all-service HMO with 2 big clinics nearby.
@collegeandi my personal opinion is that 3 years is enough, 4 is gravy. 2 of those 2 should be while in HS if possible, so if the student started in 7th grade, they’ll need a total of 4. That’s just my opinion though, some folks think that’s not enough. It really depends on what your end game strategy is.
Thank you for the exact details about Hs/MS split, @eandesmom!
She has taken Spanish 9th grade onward. It was a relief to have an option to enroll in CC or some immersion program over the summer for credit to free up her time for some other courses.
D19 has changed her mind twice lately. She had always been very stable with her choices until that time. We both wish her to explore what she wants to do. After reading threads from many experienced parents, I have realized that many kids change their mind, majors all the time. D19 is no exception to this and I need to accommodate to her changing targets. Urghh, it is easier said than done!
I don’t know if it is a good strategy to wait for her stats - GPA, SAT, ACT- to build up and then start targeting a particular college/ University. She wanted to be an Engineer ever since I can recall. Those admissions are hard to get.
We are not targeting selective schools. We are considering state schools primarily.
State schools will generally be far less of an issue. Privates often have their own requirements.
For me it comes down to ensuring your child has a HS curriculum that 1) challenges them without killing their gpa. 2) meets requirements at the general category of schools your child might consider 3)let them take what interests them the most when at all possible regardless of the first 2 points…within reason.
That has meant a totally different HS path for each of our 4 kids!
Our school had the curriculum/back to school night for parents. Something mentioned by the APWH teacher made me wish I could log on to share with you all while he was talking. He mentioned the dreaded summer work. Paraphrasing, he said he knows it’s a drag and he wishes he didn’t have to assign it. He said he does not use it as a weed out exercise. He said he has no choice because everyone everywhere takes the AP exam the same day, in early May. However, not all schools everywhere start at the same time. Many (likely ones that don’t assign much/any summer work) start weeks or a month earlier so they have more time to get through material for the exam than kids in our state.
I found it very interesting since I remember many of us discussing/venting about summer work and questioning the need for it.
The other thing I found out tonight is that my d19 will have her first ever 2 AP exams on the same day in May. That kind of stinks.
Two AP exams on the same day for a new student is not going to be easy; to say the least. Preparing for the AP exams is one thing and preparing for 2 consecutive AP exams is another. Wish her the very best, @mom2twogirls!
^:)^ hope it passes without much damage. 