My D20 is not taking history next year. She took AP Gov and APUSH this year.
My S20 is not taking a 4th year of language. He just doesnât want AP level of language with all of this other classes being AP. Not sure if it is the right decision but it is his to make.
@bamamom2021 - no AP language for my kids as they could not start until HS. Not really asking them to do 4 years for admission purposes, I just want them to maintain language skills in case college level is needed. I will say that as a healthcare professional, I would have made 50% more in my initial job had I been fluent in Spanish. I had been close to fluency but stopped because I had courses to take.
My kids took French and Latin so not the best for applicable/functional language. I wish our school had offered Russian or Chinese. I suggested Spanish but they all made different decisions. They began in the 7/8th grade and everyone knows that they âknow everythingâ at that age. I think it is a missed opportunity but it was not my decision to make.
@bamamom2021 - if they started in middle school they have already met or surpassed my kids. I would have probably had the same mindset as you if we had the same situation.
Mine took Japanese 1 in 9th, then 2 and 3 on 9 and 10 and is done. Japanese 4 would have been AP but she was not doing great in 3.
@bamamom2021 LOL at the Russian and Chinese comment. Very unlikely to happen. Do you know how few public Us in this country offer Russian as a major? Where we lived when Dd was a sr in high school, there was not a single U in the entire state that did. Minor, yes, but major, no. In addition, many Us only have intermediate-high as a college graduation goal for majors.
@suzyQ7 Great to hear that! My D20 actually loves history and I think his letter of rec from his AP US History teacher will show that. He just wants to get deeper into stem. I have reached out to the guidance counselor about this and am waiting to hear back. For those dropping a final year of foreign language, most schools I believe talk about recommending three years for that, so it may be ok.
Our school offers Japanese, Chinese, Spanish and French.
Most of the kids in Chinese AP have been going to Chinese school on Saturdays since they were 4.
If I let my D17 and D20 make every decision for themselves, they would probably be in a world of hurt. Sometimes they donât have the maturity or experience to make the best decision, and I will step in. I think itâs crazy not to, just as itâs crazy to do so all the time. We are all in this together, but when it might affect my pocketbook or my kidâs opportunitiesâŠI tend to overrule.
Our school system offers some foreign languages starting in 7th grade. My first took advantage of it because he didnât care about other junior high electives. It turned out great as he completed AP in 10th grade making room in his HS schedule for other classes. I didnât give my second child an option and told her that she would appreciate it in HS. She was upset at the time but is now very happy.
Our MS and HS are next door to each other and with permission eighth graders can take up to 2 classes at the high school. Usually math if needed at that level, foreign language or Bio. Mine took Japanese 1 and Algebra 2.
Same here. D20 should have an interesting year as sheâs taking AP Chinese. But, we have several Chinese immigrant friends who have offered help. Our school has a similar thing with AP Spanish classes being overwhelmingly native speakers. Our school offers Spanish beginning in 7th grade, French beginning in 8th grade, and Chinese, German, Latin and Japanese beginning in 9th grade. D20 took Spanish for two years before switching to Chinese. I wish our school offered Russian! That would be a hook on a job application for sure.
@Octagon I asked about why so much history. The answer D20 and I got (from both her counselor in high school and an advisor in the college D plans to attend during a college visit) was that there are so many social science courses that are part of the minimum âcore requirementsâ in college, regardless of major. However, we were also told to take what you want in high school unless you plan to either finish college early or have a minor because they already plans of study in place and recommend specific classes for various majors. That being said, D20 is also looking for a âtop 150â school as opposed to a âtop 15.â If your child wants to study CS and has a couple of colleges on his radar, it might not hurt to see what those preferences are.
My D17 went to Chinese school every Saturday since she was 5 until 17, and took Mandarin in HS. She did not take the AP test because of the (perhaps perceived) unforgiving curve to non-native speakers. That, and she knew her language requirement at her college of choice early enough to make an educated decision. No regrets, and while she has no language requirement in college, she has recently started studying again, just a bit, on her own in order not to totally lose what she had.
@bigmacbeth That is interesting about the Saturday Chinese School. What got you guys interested in that so early? My d20 also took some Chinese classes when she was young but got discouraged and later changed to Spanish.
On tours we often hear that suggestion/recommendation of four years of math, English, science, social studies and a language. My son opted for AP Micro instead of euro and is about to graduate from Yale. I think itâs important to still show rigor senior year, but for a kid not interested in science or history or the foreign language, maybe itâs ok to swap one of those for an upper level class in their area of interest. My son was a stem kid and my DD 20 is not. She doesnât really want a fourth year of science but sheâs going to take one because she feels like she âshouldâ. Thatâs a bit sad but probably true for the schools sheâs considering. But for history/SS she will take Gov/Pol or Micro rather than Euro. Hope it wonât matter to colleges!
All of this is good info! I believe that AP Micro counts as a social science - it does at my D20âs school. It is listed as such under the âProgram of Studies.â
@janiemiranda Adoption. 
At our school Micro is part of the business department rather than social studies, but we figured it was close enough!
AP Micro and Macro are taught in Social Studies department. D20 plans to take both.
Next yearâs schedule currently
Fall/Spring
AP Micro/AP Macro
AP Lit
AP Bio
cross country/AP Calc BC
a fine arts class that fits in her schedule- maybe photography maybe AP Art History
So 5 or 6 AP tests in total but 3 are only 1 semester classes.