Is there a reason your son can’t take an AP history or AP English junior year (may not be available junior year?)? When the kids are applying to college, a chunk of their course rigor is captured 9-11th grade since colleges won’t see senior year results til the mid-year report in Jan. If possible and if your son can handle it, I would sprinkle in some core AP subject classes.
I’m not sure if you’re targeting T20 business schools or a different ranking group. I think those schools want to see course rigor (even in non science areas).
I agree. I don’t know your student or what level of school they are interested in but, in general, taking all three core sciences (Bio, Chem and Physics) is more important than Env Sci. Calc AB/BC is more important than Stats. APUSH is more important than Econ.
AP English is offered only senior year. AP History is a no-go for us because son does not have an A- (the minimum grade) to apply. Our school is very stingy on the AP classes. (Also stingy with the grades). We’re trying to make the best of it by emphasizing the strengths.
Son may include a few reaches (U Michigan sports management program) and mostly schools in the USN 30-70 range (Syracuse, Miami, Indiana, maybe SMU or BU - we have to visit). And some good safeties (not sure what those will be till next year).
Wait, that is just cruel! The next two weeks D24’s AP Chem class has FRQs and tests almost everyday. The teacher said be prepared to see their grades deflate . I told D24 to use AP Classroom to study and review I got her. S21 got a 3 on this test so we are going to switch it up and depend less on what was “taught” by the teacher and leverage other resources to see if this makes an impact.
Well, also random news, I had helped my friend’s son transfer to the UCs. He told me he got into UCI biz program just now. He was at Cal Poly Pomona but with COVID, my friend had him withdraw to attend local CC. This was such a smart decision because he would’ve been virtual from Fall 2020 til this last Fall. They saved a ton of money. He had the reassurance that he tagged at UC Davis. Now just waiting for Cal and UCLA this Friday. His sister applied to the UCs as a first year this year (she relied on her English teacher for essay help). Waitlisted or rejected at every one. I’m hoping her brother’s route will give her perspective.
I think the CC and then transfer is a very viable option if the kids want to stay in CA and don’t get in the first time. Based on what I have seen transfer seems easier than getting in as a first year.
Learned today what the final exam schedule is for D24…
Mon 5/2 - Honors Chem 12-2:45 pm
Fri 5/6 - AP Euro History 7:30 am-12 pm
Mon 5/9 - Honors Calculus 8:25-11 am
Tues 5/10 - AP English Language 7:30-12
Wed 5/11 - AP Bio 12-3:40 pm
Thurs 5/12 - French 8:25-11 am
So it’s crunch time and it’ll all be over on May 12! With coasting the rest of the school year.
I’m taking my daughter and her friends to lunch and boba this Friday afterschool to get them hyped up for the final stretch. This week was all FRQ and testing.
We have a trip to the ocean the weekend after AP World to celebrate. The girls already have their outfits picked out for that
DS and I just got home from our first round of college tours. We took advantage of the fact that he isn’t currently doing a Spring sport so he was able to travel this week during Spring break.
We flew down to Raleigh (we are in MA) and spent two nights there. Visited UNC Chapel Hill and Elon the first day. It POURED rain, like the kind of rain that makes visibility nearly impossible when driving. It was a tough day. UNC was our first stop and we really saw very little of the campus. We were unable to pre schedule a tour so had planned to do a self guided tour. The rain made it nearly impossible to enjoy much. It was disappointing because I am sure the campus is just gorgeous but DS was really turned off by the whole, experience. We then drove to Elon which took about an hour. Just as we parked, the rain stopped. We both loved the campus and the presentation and tour were very well done. DS just felt like it would be too small a school for him.
The following day we toured NC State and he LOVED it! By a crazy coincidence, one of the freshman who was there training to lead tours happened to be from our little town in MA, so it was great to be able to chat with her during the tour about her transition to NC State from the Northeast. DS loved everything about the school- the campus, the amazing new rec center, the students all looked happy, etc., etc. So that got put as a definite on his list.
We made our way South to Myrtle Beach to look at Coastal Carolina which I think mostly made the initial list because a friend of a friend had mentioned it when he knew we were heading to NC/SC. We both immediately knew it was not staying on the list. We left the tour early after the first hour had yet to mention anything about academics or admissions. And not a single student we saw walking around campus was walking with a friend and no one looked happy to be there.
Our final stop was USC Columbia. Both of us loved it! DS loved the friendly vibe he got from the students. He was also really impressed by their business school which he was able to tour with a current junior there. The dorms are beautiful (one has a pool and looks like a hotel), the rec center is absolutely stunning as well, and overall he just really liked everything he saw and heard.
So all in all it was an exhausting but very successful weekend. He was able to find two schools he is really excited about, and cross off some he thought he might consider. He now knows he really wants a large campus in a city but that still has a “campus feel”. He is still saying NO Northeast, NO Midwest, and NO Pacific Northwest, so we will start to do some more research to find matches similar to NC Stay and USC campuses and settings.
Anyway, figured I would post here in case anyone was interested in hearing about the schools we looked at.
Did you call the college ahead of time to be connected with a tour guide? This sounds like it was a productive tour. Sorry about UNC. The campus seems really pretty
Sounds like he might want to check out Clemson and UGA. Both have strong business programs with good job placement, beautiful campuses, and a fun college town vibe. A lot of UGA is new, but there is also a small part that is really old and classic. Clemson is on a lake and that adds something special to its feel.
We weren’t able to get a tour since they were already booked so we went anyway just to walk around. I am sure he would have had a very different experience had it not been pouring rain outside.
We finally did scheduling for 11th grade. She’s going to do the IB diploma program, which limits her choices overall. But, I think she’ll enjoy it.
I’d like to start college tours with her right in the fall. It was so hard not having any tours in 11th grade for my son. Just made things more difficult in general. But, I have no idea what she might end up studying, so am not sure where we should look. We’ll pick something close probably.
Our school year ends on 5/26, but the last 5 days of school are “project week,” aka “do fun stuff after working your butt off all year.” So the finals are scattered around from next Monday, 5/2 to 5/19.
For the students who are taking AP classes, you end up with a choice - either take the AP exam as your final OR you take a school-issued cumulative test on the AP exam day. The grading is tough but also has potentially great rewards with their grading policy on AP classes…if you get a 3, 4, or 5 on the AP exam, then, for example, if you go in with a B or C in the class, then the 3-5 score boosts your grade in the class for the entire year to an A.
On the flip side, if you’re getting a B in the AP class going into the exam and you score a 2, then your grade for the class for the year ends up to be a C.
All of the AP teachers are required to issue a practice AP exam on a Saturday at some point before the actual AP exam. The teacher grades the practice tests & sits down with each student to give their recommendations on whether or not to take the exam and how to prepare for the test & how to improve your score.
So it’s definitely crunch time at our house! D24 will be done with all of her final exams by 5/10.
D24 is doing the IB diploma as well. She is planning on taking English HL, Chemistry HL, Maths AA HL, Art SL, Spanish SL, and Psychology SL. S22 will be starting his exams for the IB diploma on Thursday. Tomorrow is his last class day. Did your son commit on a university?
Mine will take English, Physics, HIstory, and Math AI as HL and Spanish and Chinese as SL. S22 is also doing the diploma, but they are not taking actual exams again this year. Just the IA and predicted grades. He’s nearly done with them, finally. Good luck to your son on his exams!
. I told D24 to use AP Classroom to study and review I got her. S21 got a 3 on this test so we are going to switch it up and depend less on what was “taught” by the teacher and leverage other resources to see if this makes an impact.