@SoccaMomma @Waiting2exhale Yes - to be more clear, GPA is calculated up to 11th grade and is not recalculated based on senior year courses. However, keeping up grades is important because of the mid-year grade report sent to colleges. I thought senior year would be a bit easier but apparently the breather only comes by March (or earlier if you get in EA/ED).
Again it depends. My daughter had all private college decisions back before end of first semester, and California state schools do not.look at senior grades except for recision.
I think it is easy to have a narrow focus on what colleges want based on College Confidential experience. The vast majority of families are NOT focusing on highly selective/elite schools. For families chasing merit (like ours) the schools are looking at tests scores, GPA for 9-11. Again, my son is planning on a rigorous course load for personal reasons not to impress an AO. While he has great stats - ACT 35/4.0 uw GPA, his has only pursued opportunities based solely on interest. That works for him and for his college application goals. For those shooting for the stars, definitely a different story.
Only in a WL scenario can I see colleges actually looking at senior grades, and even then it seems unlikely to me. They have already made a âlistâ, which is why it is called a âwait listâ. They arenât going to re-order their list base on senior course rigor, they donât have time for that. They may have 10K GREAT kids on that list, and the ONLY triage I can imagine them performing (no Iâm not an AO 
) is to see if they should âpassâ due to poor grades (i.e., midyears).
I could be just as wrong, but I feel people strategize far too much about this process, in general, and senior year specifically. Just get good grades. And, that doesnât have to mean all Aâs, either. But then, it could be that those who disagree have kids who are looking at mostly elites, which represent <2% of schools, and a special case.
I have no problem with a kid wanting to take a rigorous load senior year, though. As long as they arenât told itâs necessary. Yes, APs are great for college credit, but the colleges that care about senior year course rigor are not going to accept AP credit, anyway. Peace! Go Green!
@VickiSoCal I checked with my ds - he has 7 APs this year since 2 are semester long and fit together (Micro and Macro Economics) to fill one class period. I knew it was 2 separate classes with 2 different AP exams so I thought he might have 8 total but it is only 7. His final class (7th period) is his foreign language year 4 (began in 8th). He is not taking AP foreign language next year.
Agree to a large degree, @bigmacbeth, especially with the over-strategizing. And peace.
Realistically, though, there are a lot of schools that ask for first-semester/term grades.
And
actually isnât the case. Many schools that care about senior year rigor and fall semester/term senior grades DO award AP credit, just not as generously as some other schools (e.g., maybe only for 5s), and/or it may take the form of getting out of entry-level classes rather than actual credit.
@HarrietMWelsch Regarding accepting AP credits in different forms (taking the place of prerequisites etc). In my daughterâs case, this made the difference in allowing her to study abroad junior year while still staying on track for pre med.
Yep, @2manycollegequestions4me, my older two found similar benefits - AP âbonusesâ (if weâre acknowledging that theyâre not always 1-1 credits) can be a really valuable cushion for experiences like study abroad, unexpected internships, changes in a studentâs major, and more.
My DS is choosing between Physics C for the entire year (which would be 2 APs) or Micro/Physio unweighted. As Biological Sciences is his major area of interest, the latter appeals more. Iâm advising he follow his passion and not the ranking push that the APs may give him. He also enjoys Physics so heâs still considering it as an option. Iâve looked up the AP credit policy for all of the colleges on his list and he could, at some schools, potentially get credit for 10-11 classes with his planned 8 APs and DE and college classes transfers would be another 4. By no means an insignificant bonus. Would be extremely helpful in pursuing dual degree, double major, and/or study abroad. Iâve found that all colleges on his list do take some credits but the number varies widely with the publics mostly being very generous.
Agreed, my D17 was awarded 34 credits towards her Gen Eds and major(s). It also allowed us to pay they higher upper division tuition rate much sooner. 
She will finish in four years with a double major and a minor, mostly due to APs. She was not one to âslow downâ her senior year, although that wasnât 7 APs.
@bigmacbeth When you say awarded 34 credits, approximately how many credits is one AP awarded?
@bigmacbeth : " I find it hard to believe that an admission decision can swing one way or the other based solely on the rigor of your first semester senior year course selection. "
I donât think weâre in disagreement about a student maintaining the course so much as we are working from different sources of information about how an outgoing
transcript is designated for rigor, and how the colleges incorporate that designation into their decision making.
A student well-received on the whole for the work they have done, and, yes, for the studentâs upward trend at mastery and difficulty of coursework, should continue to be so received.
The tricky part - the unknown, the nebulous " but will this keep me in the running" type of information - is only understood by making use of the information we are handed: If the colleges say they look for âthe most rigorous curriculum,â and an AP- level kid has decided to âdowngradeâ with all Honors-level work, it makes sense that a few eyebrows will raise in committee.
Do I think it is fair? Doesnât matter. Do I think it reasonable? Sure, if a kid is seeking to broaden and challenge him/herself while also exploring new ideas and content.
It is maddening and sad, though, that there is a strategy and tactic to being a competitive applicant. Maddening that nearly none of us knows if showing balance and presenting as a kid who has an organic love of learning can even truly be gleaned, or valued, by the adcoms.
Much like momofsmartdancer, I can say that I âthinkâ such can be gleaned and received positively, as our respective kidsâ outcomes seem to bear witness to, butâŠ
@bamamom2021 : âOur guidance counselor was explicit with us and our child about rigor. dS20 wanted to take all APs this year -7 or 8 classes as Iâm not exactly sure of his schedule-âŠâ
I love that you donât know his exact schedule.
I remarked about two years ago that there was no way for me to do what many parents were doing in threads and speak to all that my then-current kid heading out was taking, and absolutely no way to recall what those already out had done with specificity.
@Octagon It depends, her school is on semesters, and requires ~125 credits. Most of the classes she was given credit for were 4-credit classes: 2 Eng, 2 Chem, 2 Physics, 2 Math, and 1 Psych. Some had labs as well. Skipping those classes also gave her time for research, which she has been doing since the start of freshman year in a MicroBio lab.
@Octagon there is no simple answer. IIRC, ASU would have given my D18 15 credit hours for a 5 on AP German. So much of it depends on the college and the AP course. Each collegeâs website should have a chart or explanation of their AP credit policy.
Edit: I looked at ASUâs current chart. 5 on AP German gets you 14 credits. 5 on AP Chinese gets you 20 credits. Yet, some colleges offer no AP credit at all. âDependsâ is definitely the correct answer.
@bigmacbeth @ShrimpBurrito Thanks to both of you. It is more than I thought actually, but I know many schools donât accept it at all.
Mine is at UC Davis where the AP units go on the transcript but cannot be used for GE credit. It is almost two quarters worth of credit so, if he can get the rest of his major classes completed in 3 1/4 years then we will save some money. Iâm not sure that will happen.
We also got the Harvard letter. FWIW, their financial (need) aid offer for DS16 was not as good as P, where he now attends.
"I know daughterâs letters were triggered by the PSAT because college board had her middle initial wrong and the letters are coming with the incorrect middle initial She has since made sure they have the correct middle initial. "
@janiemiranda - maybe she should leave the wrong initial to keep tracing it; that is cool.
@fretfulmother ha ha! Should have done that!