Wow 71/2 hours is lot. Hope she gets to relax rest of the weekend. We only have mock AP exams some time in April I think during the school day not weekend. This also is dependant on the teachers and the way the teachers do it is different.
We must got back from our February Break trip. Went down to Marathon Key for the first part of the week and then Miami Beach for the rest. Took S24 to visit U Miami and of course he loved it. D26 did as well. The presentation was great, as was the tour guide. S24 loved that the campus felt cozy/compact but not âsmallâ if that makes sense. All the students looked extremely happy, we saw many walking in small groups, and those who were alone were often stopped by an approaching student who said hello- seems like they really do get to know each other. He loved how they donât box you in in terms of required core classes/major classes. Rather than make students take several core classes across the board, you take classes called âcognatesâ which can be in any of their 9 undergrad programs to experience true diversity in courses. For example he is a sophomore majoring in business and theater and taking a course in the school of nursing that is open to non nursing students. Very interesting concept which S24 really liked. So so far he has Miami, UofSC and NC State on his list and we are touring Alabama, Auburn and Clemson in April. Depending what he thinks of those, he will add those and the rest of the schools he will apply and ig he is accepted we will get him there to tour- they are just too far (ASU, UofA, etc.). He is going to have to work really hard for some of these schools and he knows that and is being realistic about it thankfully. I guess we will see what happens.
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I have a HS junior who barely starts looking for colleges. This is a great start point for both of us.
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Is anyone else anxious about figuring out classes for kidâs senior year?
Our situation is a little different because S24 is homeschooled. On one hand, we have tons of flexibility about what classes to take and how to take them. On the other, we donât have a typical plan to follow and weâre trying to balance a few goals that kids in traditional schools donât have to worry about (getting âin the classroomâ experience; proving sufficient rigor/academic standards are met).
S24 is also pretty intimidated by the whole college application process, so I donât want to overload him for the fall. I feel like my kids are a bit young for their age (which may in part be due to being homeschooled). We actually had S23 (summer birthday, mild ASD) repeat 8th grade just for maturity and feel like it was a very good decision, as he is in a good position to start college this fall. Now Iâm wishing we had done the same for S24 because he seems so young emotionally, but he is a winter birthday so it felt less acceptable.
AnywayâŠtrying to figure out classes & instructional methods for next year.
Junior year he is currently doing
online:
American Lit (not officially honors, but at that level)
Honors American History
AP Physics 1
AP Calculus AB
AP Comp Science A
taught by me or local instructor:
Music Theory & Practice (1/2 unit)
Health & Wellness (1/2 unit)
And he just decided he wanted to pick French back up (dropped it after sophomore year) so weâre going to try to find a way to work that in. Maybe a 1/2 unit French 2.5 class?
And he wants to do an Electricity & Magnetism physics course since that isnât covered in Physics 1, so maybe I can find him something for this summer, for another 1/4 or 1/2 unit class.
And he has also just started trying to learn Python so he can do some projects of interest, so maybe something with that but maybe nothing formal.
So clearly we donât even have junior year completely sorted. Iâm not sure how weâre going to make a plan for senior year!
Currently weâre thinking for fall:
AP Literature (online, full-year)
DE Calc 2 (unfortunately only available online)
DE Bio 1 for majors w/lab (in-person)
French 3 (?, would like to do DE but not sure where)
Probably should have another class?? But donât want to overload with applications due in the fall
Spring:
AP Literature (online, full-year)
DE Calc 3
Another lab Science?
French 4?
Maybe a social studies DE?
What are your kids doing for senior year classes?Are you planning a lighter fall (or year) because of college applications?
Does he have at least 2 years of HS French? That is a typical requirement for many schools and more selective schools like 4 years of language. I think your plan looks pretty solid although you may want to add something in the social studies/history area. Youâll want 5 core classes his senior year, not 4.
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Oh, and to answer your question my son is planning on the following for senior year (though subject to change):
AP Lit
AP Bio (alternative would be AP Physics C)
AP Psychology
Honors Spanish conversation & culture - he is taking AP Spanish now and this is all that is left
AP Calc AB
Honors Sr. Capstone
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For senior year classes, our school does things a little differently than other places. Seniors have only 5 classes from Aug-early Feb:
- 1 Humanities capstone class
- 1 science capstone
- 1 math capstone
- 1 foreign language capstone
- 1 college counseling class
Then from early Feb-early May, they do a senior project/internship. In 1st 2 weeks of May, they then do presentations on the senior project. Then graduation is mid-May.
The senior college counselor at school said that the capstone classes cover topics in more depth than the other classes and are run more like a college seminar class.
Re: French, you could have your kiddo take the French class on Modern States, then at the end of that, they give you a free voucher to take the French CLEP exam for free.
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Depending on the schools he is targeting he should also take a social studies class. For us it would be AP Euro/Gov/Art History.
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What about a history course? It was typical for seniors in our area to take US gov and/or Econ.
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Forgot about Econ! People donât realize the importance of taking all the core subjects every year.
We know a tippy top committed recruit who was hoping to have a slightly more relaxed Sr year only to be told by the college he had to change his schedule to include a social studies class.
We donât have AP Gov or Art History, unfortunately, and the AP Euro teacher is notoriously bad. At our school AP Psych is in the social studies department. I forgot to add that in addition to what I have listed he will be taking a Honors Capstone course that comes along with a senior research project.
Good catch. I will have to talk to him and see what to fit in. I was thinking he could do a dual enrollment social studies class in the spring. Do you think that would work, or do you think it needs to be in the fall?
He did world history freshman year, and then a semester each of economics and US government sophomore year. And he is doing American history this year.
Would psychology count as a social science? He would like to take a psychology class. Or possibly a law class? He really would rather not take a history class, although if it needs to be history, he could do it.
But unfortunately you canât say that to the college. I would look through the requirements of schools of interest before making a final decision. Our college counselors would say itâs non negotiable.
Straight up Science I believe.
Fall because in the Spring you will already have submitted everything and even heard back from many schools. My understanding is that the expectation is for a full year anyway.
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I do think that he needs some sort of history or economics class in the fall. Donât put it off until spring because since heâs a home school applicant, some colleges he applies to might want to see his 1st semester senior year grades after you submit the applications.
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Perhaps itâs different because of home schooling, but most of the high schools in our district follow a 4x4 block, meaning they take four 1-credit courses in the fall and four 1-credit courses in the spring. Thus, if @MAmomto4âs son is taking AP lit, DE calc 2, DE bio with lab, and French, that would be a full load. Of course, if heâs been taking 5 classes/semester all through high school, then it might be a different matter.
If your kidâs not interested in history, then what about an AP class like Comparative Government and Politics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Psychology, or for something different than his previous classes, AP African American History? Or what about a DE enrollment class like Cultural Anthropology, Psychology of Self, Political Thought in America, Human Growth and Development, Cultural Awareness, etc.? (The DE enrollment classes are from the Masstransfer Gen Ed Foundation classes, and I randomly chose Mount Wachusett Community CollegeâŠobviously youâd pick your own.)
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S24 taking
AP Physics c
AP Calc BC
AP lit
American history honors class that follows apush
AP stats
Honors Italian 4
Orchestra
Agree about taking history and Foreign language if possible. S21 was admitted to some t50 colleges with only 2 years of foreign language but he had an âspikeâ for those schools. Are the DE classes at a college?
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S24 will be taking:
Physics (he took engineering this year so needs to take physics)
Spanish 5
AP Government
Pre Calc
Honors English 12
They also get three electives and one of them is senior planning block.
They also have Senior Project
The calculus, science, and possible social studies classes are most likely going to be through the closest community college. Honestly they arenât super high quality, which is why he is going to mix in a few other classes. That CC doesnât offer French, though, so Iâm still exploring other options. If I can find another college/CC that has everything he wants and is a manageable drive we might switch locations. Youâd think in MA, land of colleges, weâd have a dual enrollment possibility that was better, but our particular location in MA seems to be a higher education desert. 
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This looks great! I think I will have him use this (plus Iâm going to try to get him a tutor who will meet with him a couple times a week to practice conversation) for his âFrench 2.5â class for this year. Hopefully that will allow him to place into French 3 at wherever I can find a good DE class for him for the fall.
Thanks!
D24 attends a small private with no AP offerings, all classes are honors level. She hasnât registered for classes yet but most likely will take:
Calculus
Advanced Chemistry
3 trimesters of Literature (seniors choose these as electives - eg Modern Novel, Post-Modern Theory and Literature, and Literature and the Natural Environment)
3 trimesters of Social Science (seniors choose these as electives - eg International Relations, Public Policy, Economics)
Spanish 4
Some arts elective to complete her requirements
Maybe Data Science or Geoscience? both are one trimester only or Environmental Science which is whole year.
An Independent Study (self chosen topic is in Chemistry) for one trimester