For the Math 2 subject test, is that typically taken after AP Calculus or after Pre-Calc? Wondering if S21 should take it this year – he’s taking a Dual Enrollment Pre-Calculus class – or wait until next year?
I think it is taken after PreCalc. I would have him prep for it by taking some old tests to be sure he knows all of the material. It has a pretty lenient curve so good math students can get to 800 fairly easily if they prep.
@yearstogo AoPS Physics Woot…very impressive! Your boy is going places!
@yearstogo My D17 took three subject tests in the June following her junior year with the intent of using the best two. If your child aspires to a STEM degree, he will want Math 2 and one lab-based science. For engineering, preferably chem or physics.
You are correct that only Georgetown requires three and the number of schools that require or recommend them is shrinking annually.
My D17 was able to use score choice for the subject tests taken on the same day. She sent the two highest scores as the third was just OK and not in the same category as the other two.
@JESmom Our D21 took Math 2 last June as she took Precalc last year. We were told to schedule the subject tests when the student completes the relevant coursework so it’s still fresh.
It’s nice to get those tests out of the way and move on to other things, assuming your kid is ready for them!
@mamaedefamilia Thanks for the information. DS scored 800 on Math 2 last year and wants/hopes to have an 800 on a science too. He is hoping that he can get a solid score in either Chem or Physics to go along with it. Thanks again.
Hi! New member here, D21 is our oldest so this is our first rodeo so to speak (as parents, rather). D21 goes to a small private school (will probably graduate with about 150 in the class) and they don’t do class rankings and only report unweighted GPA on transcript (hers is 3.9 currently/4.3 weighted internally), this is different than back in our day. She’s an HN/AP track student, and her guidance counselor has been underwhelming with regard to advice on how to think about courses and college and scholarships, etc. We just did courses for junior year and are now second guessing so came here looking for more perspective. I’ve read two philosophies with regard to AP, one is that how many you take is compared to what your school offers (but what percent of those offered you are expected to take I have not seen), and the other is really anything above 8 is not giving you a boost. My “mom” guidance was that why take an AP for a course that is likely going to be “in major” in college and therefore the AP won’t count and you are taking the course in major freshman year again anyway (i.e. for her that would be AP sciences, she is considering neuropathology right now). Her concern with that is it seems ill advised to apply to a STEM program and have no science AP’s (she took HN Bio, Chem, and will have Physics, just not the second level AP of them, she’ll have AP calc and stat still though). And I do see her concern there, although she’s not looking at the elite highly selective schools so I’m wondering how much that matters. We would however like her to have the best shot at highly selective scholarships wherever she goes so we keep coming back to those two philosophies on AP’s and wishing I knew more about how that is looked at. Without those AP sciences she still has 8 AP’s (plus a dual credit anatomy and physiology class) and that seems like enough, but since her school offers 20 AP’s than that is also less than half so does that make it seem like she is not challenging herself? Do the colleges (and particularly scholarship committees) understand the thought process of making the best use of her time and not taking classes whose AP credit won’t count and she will be taking in major anyway or they just want to see science APs for science students to show they can be successful in it regardless of not accepting the credit for it? Thanks for any insight!
Hello @hokiemama24 and welcome. This is my first rodeo too. D will most likely major in engineering. AP physics, AP Calc, AP chem are extremely important for D to take during high school to build a strong foundation. This has NOTHING to do with taking AP credit for these courses (although she may for math) My guess is rigor is important in competitive scholarships.
@hokiemama24 Welcome!
Regarding AP, I think a lot depends on how your school structures APs. So if you have to take regular or honors science courses as prerequisites for science APs, it’s going to be hard to fit many of those in. If the school lets the student jump right in the the AP level based on performance in other classes, then there is more flexibility. By senior year, maybe she can figure out which science most interests her and take an AP in that subject.
We are striving for the 6-8 APs based on interest. Elite schools like MIT and Stanford have published statements on line written by admissions officers that claim that it’s not a case of “whoever has the most APs, wins.”
My D21’s school also offers courses that are weighted like APs for purposes of GPA and are considered as or more rigorous. This year my kid had 2 APs and next year she’ll have 3, plus an advanced math offering. As a parent, I think that’s plenty. Most kids I know are overloaded with school and EC commitments, including my own despite our efforts to put on the brakes. It makes me a bit sad.
My D17’s HS offered no APs, but did differentiate for rigor. She had great admissions results as did other students from that school who have graduated over the past two years, including top 10 LACs and top 20 universities.
I don’t know that the % of AP courses student takes compared to school offering is an important statistic. My D21 will end up with 9 AP by graduation, only 30% of offered, but that is because our school offers many to allow students to match desired class and strength. Demonstrated rigor of schedule is the goal
Thank you @BingeWatcher and @mamaedefamilia! This is quite a ride to be on eh?! Yes, her school requires Bio and Chem for prerequisites for those two AP’s and that is the challenge. You can take AP Physics without Physics as a prereq so long as you do it after precalculus however, and that is perhaps where we should reconsider her schedule. Its hard to fit things in because I also want her taking a variety of courses to continue to broaden her horizons on interest areas (she’s already switched from engineering, to PhD research to med school and she’s still a sophomore so plenty of time for that to continue to evolve). She would have to drop AP Psych and her engineering course in order to fit in an AP Chem or Bio (with its lab) and I just felt like that variety was still important to really help decide career interest areas. Plus, as you said, with her other AP’s plus her EC’s I already think she is maxing herself out. (Her school doesn’t offer HN level courses in social studies, so all of those courses she takes at the AP level despite it not being an interest area because her counselor said the lower level courses were too far below her potential and colleges would think she was just taking them to get the easy A+).
Thank you @VikkiG5 - I’ve read a number of the posts on here referring to the number of AP’s taken compared to number offered, and her counselor (whom, again, I’ve been unimpressed with which is why I am here!) seemed to confirm that the number she took compared to how many she could have taken plays into the demonstrated rigor of her schedule (but like I said, I don’t know what is a typical number). I understand your point too though, this elusive % I’m looking for is probably not higher than what she has, considering the 20 AP’s her school offers includes classes not applicable to her. I guess that is probably the confirmation I’m looking for that my advice wasn’t totally off base, with regard to her having enough AP’s, but there is still that question of whether she needs those AP sciences or if my logic there is still sound…
@hokiemama24 Our HS counselor has told us that the colleges are aware of the possibilities offered at the schools, and most of the colleges we toured with D19 have confirmed that. I would think that taking the engineering class might be just as or more important than an AP if it helps your D figure out more about what she might want to do, and it shows that she’s seriously considering her options. Our D19 took environmental science to help her decide whether she wanted to pursue it professionally or if she just wants to be a mindful citizen. It was not honors or AP. She took AP Physics but not chemistry and was admitted into Cal Poly SLO engineering.
@hokiemama24 my S21 is also our eldest and my things have changed since my husband and I were in high school lol! We go to a large public school district. Class rank is based on weighted GPA, and only core classes, AP & foreign language count towards that. Dual Credit, which start junior year, are given the same multiplier as AP. For 9th grade, there are only two AP’s available to take: Human Geo & Bio. We don’t have “honors” classes but PreAp instead, that have a slightly lower multiplier towards GPA. My son only took AP Human Geo as a freshman and the rest of his core classes were PreAp. Currently, he’s in AP World History with the rest of his classes PreAp. He’s taking AP Psych over the summer through the district’s virtual learning academy and then 11th grade he has AP Environmental Science, PreAp Pre Calc (prerequisite for AP Calc AB) and Dual Credit History + Eng Humanities Block. Senior year he’s probably take AP Physics, AP Econ, AP Lit & AP Euro History, DC Govt. That could change if he decides to go more dual credit heavy since he’s planning on mostly applying to instate colleges. All told he’ll probably have 6-7 AP classes mixed in with DC by the time be graduates. I’m good with this. He’s in marching band as well and I don’t want him to be stressed out to the max. From what I understand, college admissions looks at wether or not a student took the most rigorous courses available…I believe my son is. He’ll graduate with the highest distinction diploma in our state’s system. I’m not going to lose sleep over the fact that he didn’t take more AP classss a sophomore.
DS was just accepted into our state’s residential boarding school and a few months ago he received one of the NSLI-Y summer language scholarships. Great news and we are so happy for him as he has worked very hard the past few years, but we are sad as our time with him is getting cut short. The other night he mentioned that he would not be living with us again full-time for 6 1/2 years 
He has not realized yet that it is quite unlikely we will be living together “full-time” again, other than breaks, etc.
The new school will be a challenge. It seems like loads of families already had one kid that went through so they know the ropes…DS has a bit of maturing to do and will need to do it quickly. It seems to be a great school but it will be competitive for sure and I hope he clues into it in time. We looked at some of the course offerings last night and while we understand it is often tough to get classes, they have amazing courses. Luckily, he has a lot of the prereqs (Calc BC, Phys 1, Chem) out of the way and if lucky will get some of the interesting and challenging courses as a junior.
ECs are uncertain for sure. The things he has done for years may need to be adjusted or completely changed. Exciting times!!!
@yearstogo that is great, exciting and upsetting all at the same time. Good luck to him and you all
@yearstogo - that is wonderful news! A huge congratulations to your son!
@yearstogo Congratulations! That’s so exciting but I’m sure also bittersweet.
S21 was accepted into the Economics For Leaders Summer Program. We chose the Rice University session since we’re in the Dallas area it will be an easy drop off/pick up. Does anyone have any knowledge or past experiences with this program? The reviews seemed pretty good, he’s excited to “build his resume”
Congratulation! What an incredible opportunity for your son, He will soar! @yearstogo. @momofB that summer leader program sounds amazing
D21 is our oldest and I feel like there is so much to process that is different than when I went to school. (Or, I feel, there is a lot I didn’t know back then and wish I had!) In our town, amongst my daughter’s peers and the parents I know, I don’t know anyone who is applying to highly competitive schools, so I’m tapping into forums such as this one to get up to speed.
DD wants to pursue a career in the foreign service and has set her college goals high. She goes to a public HS with limited AP classes that are offered–and limited ones that she’ll be able to take. Freshman year she didn’t do very much in terms of extra-curriculars, focusing just on getting excellent grades. Her 2nd language is French, but she’s just in French 2 as a sophomore and no AP is offered. (The APs she could take are: US History and Calculus)
Last summer, she spent one month volunteering abroad in SE Asia. Just recently, she received a YES Abroad scholarship to spend the entire next year studying abroad. We talked to her counselor and she will get credit (so that it won’t slow her graduation) but the study abroad classes will only be Pass/No Pass with no impact on her GPA. We’ve decided as a family that she should go, and the opportunity is amazing, but will present some challenges to her college application process, such as:
- Less continuity of participation in any clubs/extra-curriculars,
- Needed to prep for SATs and take them next summer (2020) after she returns
- Possibly one year less French (don’t know yet if she’ll be able to take it while abroad)
- No AP classes completed before she starts her senior year
At any rate, I’m hoping that she will be able to make her application stand out for having chosen to study abroad rather than the ‘safe’ option of staying home. One thing I have learned out the foreign service is that they give extra application points for speaking certain languages. One of those 14 languages is spoken/taught in the country where she will be living. I’m also hoping that she can make the most of any community service activities that she can engage in there.
P.S. I’m very nervous about having her abroad next year, but I’m going to have to trust this highly-reputable program to take care of her.