You never know! I have a friend from high school who is tiny, she got a degree in criminal justice and worked undercover for a few years because she looked so young, they sent her back to high school! Eventually she became a detective, then became the spokesperson for the police department of a large city. Then she went back to law school and became a DA 
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Obligatory promo poster:
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Totally!!
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Knox College sent a postcard to my C23 about a scholarship they’re offering that matches in-state public tuition for many domestic applicants (including those from Alaska, where we have the lowest in-state tuition in the country), minimum 3.5 unweighted HS GPA. Doesn’t affect my C23 any, but my C25 is a LAC kind of kid, and in case any of your kids are too: Prairie Fire Flagship Match.
No idea if the offer will still exist in two years (Seton Hall had a similar thing up until a couple years ago and if they still had it my C23 would probably have applied there, but they’ve discontinued it), but I’m definitely keeping an eye on this.
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I believe Hendrix does something similar.
We believe in making Hendrix College affordable and accessible to deserving students. | Hendrix College.
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So we’re in the middle of ensemble season and my daughters instrument started malfunctioning at her performance over the weekend. None of the instructors could figure out how to fix it. It played well enough to go on but she’s really disappointed from it. Her lessons instructor knows what is wrong and how to fix it but it’s time consuming so he put a rubber band around it and had her show him she could do the same wrap since she has rehearsals for 2 other ensembles this week and an audition. He made her promise to carry extra rubber bands with her. Let’s just say I’m really glad this happened sophomore year and not her senior year, she would’ve been so upset. Lesson I learned is in December get her instrument tuned up!
Popping over from the class of 2024 thread. A change to the CBRP (for African American, Hispanic, Indigenous, Rural/Small town) allows sophomores (class of 2025) to qualify based on their PSAT.
Current sophomores in the class of 2025 and current juniors in the class of 2024 may be eligible for recognition. To qualify, students must meet the eligibility requirements below.
… *Must have taken the PSAT/NMSQT in fall 2022 OR at least 2 distinct AP Exams in 8th or 9th grade.
Also notice that juniors (class of 2024) can qualify based on results from last spring’s PSAT10, so it is reasonable to guess that PSAT10 scores from this spring could be used for eligibility for class of 2025 next year.
See the FAQ for more National Recognition Programs FAQ – BigFuture | College Board
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Check out Fairleigh Dickinson for criminology. It’s near NYC but it’s suburban NJ. I believe it has a few different degrees. My mom has a friend who’s daughter is there for criminology all the way from Oregon. I don’t know her but work with someone who went to the same school for nursing and loved the school (but not nursing).
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Schedule for next year question-
Will it look bad if my kiddo takes regular physics instead of AP?
He has had Bio(all freshmen take- no honors available) and Advanced Chem.
The AP Physics teacher is awful. We have heard this for 3 years from various high stats kids and parents, and the teacher herself said she got a C in physics in HS. I have heard avoid her class at all costs.
He will be taking:
AP Calc
AP Euro
AP Comp Sci
Spanish 2
Maybe AP Lang or Adv. Eng 11
Band
JROTC
he hasn’t taken an AP class yet, just all advanced offered. He also took two sciences freshman year and none this year
If they are aiming for tippy-top schools, take the AP one. Rumors abound at our school that certain AP teachers/classes are not taught well or are too hard, etc, yet the kids who take the courses do better in admissions than those who don’t, all else being essentially equal, even with lower GPAs(due to a lower grade in a super challenging class or two compared to an A in easier APs). However–in the “hard” classes, the vast majority if not all get 4s and 5s so clearly the teaching is actually good. The kids are not hand-held though, a typical kid in one of these classes does 10 hrs a week outside of class just to stay near the mean, a super bright one who grasps the material quickly might do as little as 5. See if you can get info from the school on AP pass rates , as well as from kids who have gotten into the school range your kid is targeting: if most got in with regular physics then it will probably be fine.
I agree that if your child is pursuing elite admissions, APs are required. But is he good at science? If he took two sciences in 9th, probably. I tell my D25 to take AP classes for those classes she is strong in and be selective with the rest because she is not pursuing Stanford et al. She hates to read so she is not taking APUSH.
Also, bad teachers can be everywhere. Your child might have to deal with one (or two) in college, too. Or a bad manager in their career. They might learn how to deal with that now or maybe the teacher won’t be that terrible for your child. And “bad” teacher is vague–do the kids all get Bs? Do they not pass the AP tests? Does the teacher denigrate people? What’s “bad” and could your kid find strategies to deal with it–like tutors? For instance, my kid is very insecure. If a teacher was rude or dismissive, she would not learn well and I would encourage her to avoid. So, depends on what the bad is.
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Is there an honors version available, or is it just AP or college prep/regular? One option might be to take the regular physics and then study for the AP test on the side and take it. That would still show your child’s ability to challenge himself, etc.
Do you think that him not taking AP physics will make the counselor not rate him as “most rigorous”? None of the schools around here (CA) will even fill that box out on the counselor report. Is he planning on taking an AP science his senior year? That would also make me think he could potentially take a regular physics here and then an AP senior year.
I know your D23 is aiming high for schools. If S25 weren’t taking any other APs, I’d be concerned. But if he ends up with ~8 APs (ish!!!) my sense is that one more isn’t what makes or breaks you.
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That is what I am trying to find put. He wants to go to the Naval Academy. They are selective, but also truly holistic in that they need kids to be fit and athletic to make it as well. And no AP credit is given. If he doesn’t get in he is also applying to ROTC scholarships and is not otherwise picky on schools, he may just stay local, we have 3 schools in our city that he can get in that have ROTC.
He is good at science and has dealt with challenging teachers, she is the ONLY teacher at his school that I repeatedly hear from others that her class is bad.
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I didn’t know there was a box to check about rigor by the counselor. His counselor knows him well, and I don’t think it would matter.
There is no honors just regular physics. He could take AP Bio senior year or Advanced Anatomy. But Naval Academy doesn’t really care about those, he could also take AP Chem, but is there a point if he already took Advanced Chem? Or, I just noticed you can take AP Physics 2 after Physics and skip the AP Physics 1. Just would need to find out if it is a different teacher.
Apparently, according to two moms (of kids in the gifted program), as well as kid gossip… the AP Physics teacher does not teach anything, you fill out packets and half the class gets terrible grades.
That’s a tough conundrum. We generally tell our kids to “sign up for the professor, not the course”, with the thinking that a truly incredible teacher can make a bland topic fascinating, and a dismal teacher can make you hate your favorite subject. In that vein, I’d avoid the AP class and go with the regular physics class, as long as that instructor’s got a great reputation (do they?). It would be especially tragic if the AP Physics work — being so demanding and poorly taught — ended up having knock-on effects on the other AP courses, bringing grades down across the board.
At the same time, I sympathize with the desire to show “rigor”, especially after no sciences in the current year, so I feel for you. Is there anyone at the school — administrator, college advisor, etc. — you could speak with, confidentially, to get their sense of a good strategy?
Would it be possible to take a physics course over the summer (maybe at a local community college?) and then test out in the fall, to take some other advanced science?
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Funny but I have students who used to trade out of my class section (in college) because I am not an “easy A.” Yet students who end up in my class are thankful after as they actually felt supported and that they learned something.
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Hi everyone. I’ve not been on here for a long time due to changes in S25’s high school journey. I’ll share some before I sign off from CC. Unfortunately his mental health rapidly deteriorated, to the point of it being every parent’s worst nightmare. It’s been all hands on deck with various doctors, therapists and other interventions. It’s been the most stressful horrific thing I have dealt with as a parent, and as a person. Thankfully my S25 has made a lot of progress and the absolute worst of days are behind him. The school administration failed him miserably. We will be tackling that soon, as prior to now we did not have any extra energy to fight them. He’s failed most of first semester, a devastating side effect to his mental health not being taken seriously by powers that be.
I’ve been grieving all of the things and learning how to trust that there is path for my son that will allow him to continue to be happy and one day fully independent . I don’t know what that looks like, but I know now not to borrow trouble. He is here, he is happier, he is finding his voice, and he sees light again.
Through our own journey we are learning that so many others are in the exact same boat. I don’t really see it here one CC which is part of the reason I wanted to document it. Debating between an AP, honors, or college prep class seems so trivial now. Something I absolutely lost sleep over in the past. My how things can change in the blink of an eye.
I wish all of your children the best as you move through high school and beyond.
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Oh @Picklenut6. Ive been there getting the call from the emergency department asking me if I can convince my son to go inpatient mental health. Ive been there with the collect call bailing my kid out of jail. Ive been there with my kid being found with drugs.
We are all doing our best. I wish your son well.
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I’m so sorry to hear about the struggles your son has endured. I can only imagine the stress that has put on you and your family. Thank you for being vulnerable and sharing. We need to do more to normalize mental health issues. Wishing you and your son recovery and peace.
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