Well taking dual credit English over the summer was a complete fail. I knew his ADHD/executive function issues would be a hindrance for online, self-directed class - especially for a subject he dislikes. So he came to me and confessed that he wasn’t doing well keeping up with the class - asked if he could drop and take during school year. Deadline to drop had already passed - we had to submit an appeal to the dean along with his 504 paperwork. We waited almost an entire month before we got the approval to drop the class. Thank goodness.
So with that said, he’s taking:
AP Physics I
AP Chemistry 1
AP Computer Science
AP Calculus
Engineering
Dual Credit English
Dual Credit US History
VERY heavy math/science course load but with right resources, I think he can do it. The AP classes along with engineering are right up his alley. He is also going to be working a part-time job so his time management skills will be challenged.
Oh and we are signed up for November SAT - he is studying with a tutor on Sundays in October. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome. This Fall is going to be so much fun note sarcasm. However, I have warned him that the next 2 years are going to be HARD HARD but that it will all be worth it.
(in reply to a post a few days ago about UW): my sister went to grad school there. it is certainly lovely! I was just in washington yesterday. SO outdoorsy and full of recreation; now I’m back to the cornfield saunas.
Argh, my D hasn’t gotten schedule yet either. What she did get, 3 weeks ago but didn’t see because she wasn’t checking her email, was a note from her GC that there was a conflict between Spanish 4 and Band in the schedule she had requested. When D replied to ask if changing from AP Physics to AP Chem might fix the conflict (she plans on taking both and which is this year vs. senior year doesn’t really matter) she got an auto responder stating that the GC was on vacation. Bleah.
Then to make things more complicated, D ran into her music teacher yesterday at the weekly Community Band she plays with (he’s a member also) and he told her that if she planned on taking AP Music Theory while in HS, she was going to have to take it next year, as it was only going to be offered in alternate years and she would not have the opportunity to take as a senior.
So now she needs to see if there is any way of getting that in next year, which pretty much precludes continuing on with Spanish. She really enjoys language, but music is a love, and given that she is headed down a CS or engineering route in all likelihood, I guess having Spanish 4 is not as big a deal as if she were leaning in a humanities direction. It’s still a bummer, but decisions need to be made. Now we just have to actually get in touch with someone at the school and see what can be ironed out. Unfortunately, AP Computer Science A is also only offered every other year, and if it comes down between that and Music Theory I am going to have one very sad D, so I’m anxious to get answers ASAP. Fingers crossed!
And heh @Momof3B I didn’t specifically mean this as a reply to your post but I feel your schedule frustration.
Love seeing all of the updates and reading the college tour reviews. Schedules were released a couple of days ago and S23 got the electives he selected. His core classes are the normal progression so no surprises there. He’s taking:
IB Physics
IB Spanish 4
AP Lang
IB/AP Comp Sci (elective)
IB World History (he took APUSH last year)
AP Calc BC
Political Science (elective)
His schedule seems tough, but Spanish is mostly class work and CS is taught in an open format where he can work on whatever he likes. He’s got friends in his classes and assigned lunch period so he’s happy. We’re both hoping for a relatively normal school year.
My D is having the same issue with Spanish. She wants to continue on into Spanish 4 but something had to give in her schedule this year in order to fit in all of the music she wants to take. Currently, she intends to take Spanish online starting this Fall, but I don’t see that happening since she is already taking her English class online in addition to a full day of classes. Plus she told me last night that she wants to try out for the student-led female A-Capella group in addition to the regular one that is in her schedule.
She isn’t planning to major in music so I tell her to take Spanish and drop a music class, but I also want her to see her high school experience as something greater than just getting ready for college, and music is her passion right now.
My S23’s schedule is
Honors Precalc
Honors Physics
Spanish 5 (AP comes after this at our school)
AP Euro
English lit
electives - Ceramics and Marine Science
He really didn’t want to take AP Lit, so he went for the history AP which is more interesting to him. Senior year he should have AP Spanish, AP Calc and maybe AP US Gov; likely will choose an AP science as well - they can only take AP after taking regular or honors Bio, Chem and Physics. So most kids at our school only get one AP science class and they are the hardest classes.
Curious what do you mean by proper support? That is an extremely challenging course-load for any kid, especially someone with ADHD/executive function issues. I’d be very concerned.
He has done well with the resources provided at school and here at home. I agree - very challenging but he is adamant about it so I will do what I can to support him. We will take it one day at a time.
My kid is the same way. If everything is challenging, it seems to hold his interest. I stole an idea from a friend and this year we are using a paper planner and we are meeting weekly to go over what is coming up, what has been missed and stuff like that. Like we sit down at the table and have an actual meeting. My kid seems to like it better than me harping on him all the time and if something is only a week over due there is still time to fix it.
Hi Everyone,
re: CDS (from a few pages back) - Can anyone recommend college search sites that display CDS data in sortable spreadsheet format? I loved the old collegedata.com layout.
Romns116 - wish i could help; but i dont have any answer. hopefully someone will know –
D23’s schedule (small private school that she switched to last year - from large urban low SES school)
DE physics
AP CS principles
AP CALC AB
English
1 semester of DE gov; one of DE psych.
world religions
weight lifting
we are not looking for top colleges for her; but for merit opportunities. Because of the switch, she doesnt have world history yet; it was a 9th grade class at this school. I will need to talk to the counselor (Just one GC for the school) about this. But otherwise, i’m pleased she got the 2 of the 3 AP classes that they offer. Sr Yr will be AP Stats.
i feel like i’m putting pressure on her to maintain her 4.0. Anyone else thinking about that?
I feel like the minority in that my kid does not have anything close to a 4.0 and is still thinking of college. We are not chasing merit in the way most others are but I do understand that finances are a major factor for most kids/parents in choosing a college.
The pandemic has further supported my decision to not force my kids to worry about academics. I feel for some kids who were stressed and miserable in high school because their main goal was to try to get into a college with a single-digit acceptance rate. I read and hear about too many stories every week about teens who feel “all their hard work was wasted because they didn’t get into XYZ College” and how they would have tried to have more fun in high school.
I do talk to my kids about trying their best and putting in effort that shows their true abilities. I guess I know too many successful, driven, hard-working people who got B’s and C’s in high school. I know that when my kids are truly passionate about a subject, they go above and beyond.
It’s such a balance between making sure my brilliant kid doesn’t have a mental health crash and getting him to even keep a 3.5. His shrink had the gall to tell me last year that his grades were his business. Sure. As long as he understands that lower grades mean fewer colleges are available to him because I can’t afford them. Which I don’t think he gets.
@Theaterforme I think this is a common misconception. You may just need to adjust your expectations of what colleges are available and affordable. My S21 graduated with a 3.4, two honors courses and no APs. His application was not that strong in terms of ECs. Yet he got more merit than his two older siblings, one of whom graduated with a 4.0+ and had a strong application, but that is because we targeted the right schools for his stats. I might have done things differently with my oldest in terms of searching for better merit but she was my first and I was new at this game.
I admit I was worried about how the process would go with S21 but was pleasantly surprised with how non-stressful it was compared to my older two. In hindsight, I’m glad I did not let the college rat race (and places like CC) make me feel like I needed to pressure S21 to do better in high school. There were plenty of respectable colleges out there who wanted him and offered him plenty of $$.
I too feel lucky my kids didn’t grow up having a dream college. All my kids were/are open to seeing what is available based on their strengths.
I work at a college and am taking classes myself right now. I might not graduate with a 4.0 and I don’t care. My GPA does not define me and I won’t let it define my kids.
I’m glad CC has shown me there’s lots of colleges out there with merit for kids with less than a 3.75.
looking for money tied to GPAs gives me a different feeling than ACT/SAT scores. ACT: you practice a bit and then you are done. GPA - is on going, and i certainly dont want to continually pressure my kid about this.
in the auto merit world, we are noticing a shift from GPA+ACT/SAT to GPA. I’m wondering if that will last. ? EG: U of AZ.
absolutely i know a GPA doesnt define a person. i know this from my college years! but i’m also being realistic with the budget and needing to go auto merit; we will have paid for 14 yrs of college/grad school for our older kids before D23 hits the scene… . . and our coffers are running empty.
anyway, those are my thoughts on why i’m trying to figure out the GPA thing/pressure this year. I guess my head and my heart are in two different spots.
and edited to add: @Theaterforme - my thoughts aren’t necessarily directed at you. not sure why I hit reply to you; maybe in that i agreed with your last thought that money is important and what I’m thinking of too.
but i’m also being realistic with the budget and needing to go auto merit; we will have paid for 14 yrs of college/grad school for our older kids before D23 hits the scene… . . and our coffers are running empty.