@bgbg4us it really depends on how your school figures rank and how important rank is in your situation. Tell us more about your “strange situation” with your state flagship with AP vs DE credits. I’d love to know more.
We ran into a situation with DD18 that OU’s Meteorology program capped the number of AP credits that can be applied to her degree at 32 even though she had 34 credits that should apply to her degree but they will take up to 64 DE credits so we hit the breaks senior year on AP’s and switched over to DE class as much as possible.
My kids need both weighted for rank (TX is big on rank!) and unweighted because that’s what colleges really look at!
Cautionary tale that may not apply to you at all, I have a friend in Canada that told her kid not to take any AP classes because colleges only look at unweighted grades. He got in but really had a hard time because he was not used to the rigor of the classes and had to change majors because he could not handled to demands of university level math. This kid is EXTREMELY gifted and I believe that he could had done much better if he had taken more challenging classes in high school. Again - not saying this applies to you.
@3scoutsmom and @bgbg4us thanks for the welcome! I love that this thread is calm. I’ve been on CC for a while now (helping my niece with college a few years back) and now know to only stick to “calm” threads…some other threads can get downright fiesty and I am conflict-averse;)
I realized that I made an error in my previous statement. My D20’s high school has six periods total, but there are only 3 classes each day on alternate days (the A/B block schedule). Zero period is offered every day.
We are going through the same back-and-forth here regarding weighted vs. unweighted. My D20 had a tough time with Honors Algebra 2 this semester (worked so hard for a 85.7 fall semester grade). Honors Algebra 2 isn’t weighted, but the next class for 10th grade, Trigonometry/Math Analysis Honors IS weighted. Since she had a tough time with Hon Alg 2 this year, I’m tempted to push for her to take regular Trigonometry/Math Analysis, which is unweighted. My daughter really wants to stick with the Honors math track, though, and get the GPA boost. I worry a bit that getting B’s in honors math might look “worse” to colleges than getting A’s in general math courses. Any feedback you guys have is appreciated. We meet with her guidance counselor tomorrow to select next year’s classes, and I’d love suggestions.
@vineyardview just to add that all three of my kiddo’s found Algebra 2 (pre-ap here) very difficult but the two oldest did very well in Pre AP Pre Cal and AP CAL BC.
The most import things they learned in Algebra 2 was SHOW ALL YOUR WORK and DON’T SKIP STEPS!
I’m torn between AP classes (which seem to heavily effect class rank) and less rigorous (but still college prep) advanced or honors classes where my D would likely get As. Class rank seemed to factor into many college merit scholarships but the unweighted GPA is what most colleges want to see.
My D16 only took 3 APs and got anywhere from 85 to 95 as final grades. Her unweighted GPA was 3.5. Her rank put her in the top 25%. She had friends who took almost every AP and had similar grades overall and were in the top 10%. It didn’t make sense to me. Do APs really affect class rank when they use the weighted system?
As you can see I’m very confused and conflicted. :((
@veehee it really depends on the individual schools since they have such different ways they rank. In our school
even if I thought my kid could only get a B in an AP class I would go for that over an A in an unweighted class not just for rank but because they would have better teachers and be with more motivated peers which would give them a better overall experience.
My kids go to a very competitive high school DS18 has currently has an unweighted GPA of 98.89 and a weighted GPA of 110.19 but is only ranked 27 out 624 because our school only uses weighted GPA for rank and a grade of 100 in an unweighted class will pull your GPA DOWN. He opted for an unweighted intro to engineering class and was not able to get credit for foreign language class in middle school because he was homeschool and had to take regular English not pre ap as a freshmen. His peers that took all the weighted class that they could caused him to have a much lower rank also 4 point scales are so much more forgiving than 100 point scale!
For example a grade of 100 in an unweighted class is 100 x 1.0 =100
a grade of 100 in a pre ap class is 100 x 1.1 = 110
a grade of a 100 in an AP class is 100 x 1.2 = 120
Here 90-100 is an A
so if a student got a 89 B grade that would be 89 x 1.0 = 89 for a regular class
for a pre ap class 89 x 1.1 = 97.9
for an AP class 89 x 1.2 = 106.8
If your concern is A in unweighted vs. B in weighted I go with weighted classes. If you concern is a C in weighted classes vs. a B in unweighted I’d be more inclined to go with unweighted classes.
So glad they didn’t rank for my S16. They do a “Gold Robe” for all non weighted 4.0s. There were 23 out of about 850 students who wore a gold robe at graduation. The interesting thing is that the kids with the gold robes were all the AP class takers. In the end, the kids who took easier classes didn’t get an advantage over those who took the harder classes. The top kids were the top kids.
As for APs. My son got college credit for any AP that did not need to be taken again. For example he took the school’s intro physics class which is more advanced so he gave up his physics AP credit. His world history AP counts for credit.
I am doing APHG with my homeschooler right now. His comment - Wow something that you can actually see in real life! (We are working on economics and trade and let’s just say he has been watching the news lately…
Comment on dual enrollment. Many schools will not count DE classes that were taken in place of high school classes but might count classes taken at an advanced level. So an advanced math class would count but not a biology class taken for the required life science course. Also even advanced classes may not count for credit. One example is DE statistics - my son’s adviser asked for a description and did a face palm. He was given .75 credits and not the full 1 credit that would count as a class at his college. (All classes are 1 unit at Reed.)
I don’t think anyone in D17’s class has an unweighted 4.0
The STEM kids got killed in humanities senior year, and vice versa. (IB HL History of the America’s alone is responsible for sinking three previously 4.0 kids)
@VickiSoCal - We watched the kids in S16’s class get picked off each year. They do an end of year awards and there is a full page of freshman names and smiling proud kids on the stage getting their certificates, the next year they are cut in half, the following year, cut in half again. I think after that the kids realize that they are getting close to the robe and choose to push over the finish line. Most of these kids end up in study groups for AP tests in Jr year and continue through senior year with the same study groups. The majority of students who get robes are in a program that requires a minimum of 5 APs to earn the program medallion.
Some of the kids who got gold robes were extraordinary. They did everything that would put them in selective school territory and with many being low income, in line for great aid, but almost all went to the local directional or nearby UC. This is what happens in public schools with class sizes that are between 800-1000 kids and two counselors. The kids have no idea what is out there and little guidance. The staff does their best.
Hi all, looking for some advice about EC’s and self-studying for AP’s.
A bit of a background: I didn’t do much to encourage D20 during the first semester to explore/take on new things, figuring she’d be stressed enough just trying to settle in. She only tried debate club and Mock Trial. Her debate club/team is not participating in any competitions this year, so I am not sure they are doing much other than debate some topics during lunch once a week. Mock Trial essentially took two nights out of her schedule (5:30 to 7:30), Monday night for math classes, Friday night art class, Saturday - 2 hours for guitar lesson (including travel time). No sports due to some non-serious health issues and lack of enthusiasm on her end. I got a sense that she settled in nicely academically and had enough free time after homework to socialize, watch some videos, play music for fun, etc. This semester her load looks significantly lighter - Mock Trial competitions are soon to end and it doesn’t look like her team will progress further, we are dropping group math lessons in favor of private tutor (long story), so essentially she’ll have 4 out 5 school nights completely free and only a quarter of a weekend filled with lessons.
I suggested she devoted a bit of all that free time to something new, like volunteering, she said she’d consider it, but hasn’t made any steps towards it. At one point I asked whether she’d be interested in self-studying for APHUG, and since she is a humanities buff, she said sure, no problems. Hasn’t started studying for it though. At the library a few weeks back, we saw some guides for AP World History and SAT II World History, at that time she said she’d like to try all three exams, especially since she’s currently taking regular (non-AP) World History at school and history has always been her favorite subject. At the time I thought it was too much, but now having second thoughts.
Question: Should I actively push her to take on more EC’s, i.e. volunteering, sports, etc? She refused to try out for swim team at school because “she’d be so much worse than everyone else” - same argument for tennis team last year, etc. Or should I just let her be in hopes that this free time will help her find her passion? If I insist she does something productive with this “extra” time and she chooses academics (i.e. those 3 AP/SATII tests), should I let her do it? My goal is to get her out of her comfort zone, doing something fun and interesting instead of just studying. I don’t see much value in taking all 3 tests (IMHO, 1 would be just as good, or am i wrong?) But then it beats watching Netflix 3-4 hours a day like she did during winter break (we don’t subscribe, but one of her friends have her access to his account). What do you all think?
Oh how I hate the word passion. My S16 had no extra interests until near the end of his high school time. Did it hurt his chance for some schools on his list, yes. He was rejected from two that he really wanted, but it became clear to him that he probably wouldn’t have been as happy at a school where everyone was into ECs. The schools that chose him were better matches because they appreciated what he brought to the table, and that was more based on his essay topics and letters of rec.
My son did 4 SAT 2 tests but he waiting until 10th grade for his first, math 2. In fact, after the 10th grade PSAT the Math 2 was his first test.
It is only freshman year. You are really going to have a lot of time to stress down to road. If she wants to do something encourage her, if she is interested in an SAT 2 then encourage her, but I wouldn’t start college stressing yet. School is going to get very hard. I would give her time to be a kid just a little bit longer and let her relax.
I don’t believe self studying APs will help with college admission at all, they will help with getting college credit in some colleges though. Also know that AP tests are much more difficult than SAT subject tests.
What are you motives for adding EC’s or self studying AP’s? If it’s for college admission I’d suggest doing something unique that she enjoys and hopefully can fill a leadership role and studying for ACT and regular SAT. If you motive is future scholarships I say start studying for the PSAT and get involved with regular volunteer work. If your goal is to graduate college in less than four years or to have room for a double major than go for the AP’s exams.
@3scoutsmom, I am not thinking of college admissions - or credits, I too believe they are somewhat meaningless as there is a limit to what most colleges accept. Her school has APUSH and APEURO, not to mention English/Lit and government. I am more worried about all that excess of free time spent on Netflix. Her friends are not high achievers, or at least not the closest ones, and are not involved in the community from what I hear. If I was to guess, my daughter thinks doing community service would open her up for ridicule among her friends and make her stand out even more than she does now.
Studying subjects she loves is within her comfort zone so she is open to that. Again, considering this only as an easiest alternative to watching tv shows 3 hours a day. Thanks!
@typicCAmom no advice but i hear you about the netflix (and youtube) watching. I thought class of '20 child had not inherited the tv obsessive gene from my side, but sadly…there’s another fanatic in the family.
the good news is that when several activities were dropped by my kid this year a teacher randomly stepped in to offer something that I didn’t know about, the school pays for, and child actually really likes! But I did not plan on that luck and still am concerned about free time, alone, in our town especially over summer. while parents are at work. A job would be fantastic but child will only be 14 this summer and our state has pretty restrictive laws. studying isn’t the worst thing that could happen IMO
D17 is a swim instructor and lifeguard at a local club, you have to be 16 to be a lifeguard, but only 15 to be an instructor. D20 will take the instructor class and probably not get any regular shifts but can sub
D20 wants to take algebra 2 and geometry next year, I am just afraid she won’t be able to handle it. Has anyone’s kid take 2 math classes at the same time?
@chitchat1234, D21 is taking geometry in school right now, but “afterschools” Algebra 2 and has had no difficulty at all. Some # of kids take both Alg 2 and geometry in 9th grade.