My D25 left for two weeks on Sunday. She is in the US, but it was her first time flying solo.
I can’t wait until tomorrow to get actual updates. Today is just all travel. She’s going to Pompei, Rome, Capri and a lot more. I hope her suitcase gets there as they made them all check them even though they were the correct size. She didn’t to grab a change of clothes out of the suitcase before they checked it. EEK
flying solo would be nerve wracking for a 16 year old. At least my D is with a bunch of people.
1 Like
How did she feel about it - sometimes the kids are quite chill (especially if they had done this before with family), and the anxiety lies mostly with us parents.
One summer my 15 YO daughter had gone with her best friend and that friend’s Mom to a non-English country in Europe – and the joke was that both the Mom and friend were comforted by having my “worldly” daughter along. 
1 Like
She wasn’t thrilled about having connecting flights, but there weren’t any direct flights between the locations on any airline. We did get her TSA Pre before the trip. Luckily her flights went as smoothly as possible. Her brother kept telling her she was going to get stranded in Baltimore. 
Very helpful.
Emphasis added, and added pointedly.
Why base educational practice on a “might”?
Does your school ask students to complete a regular STEM class before enrolling in the AP version?
My kids go to a very small private prep school with a near 100% pass rate with their AP courses. They do not assign summer homework in any classes other than English. AP classes are only offered in math and science departments. They have their own advanced curriculum in the humanities and social sciences which they claim is more rigorous than the college board curriculum, I don’t know. I assume the reason why students score so well on the AP tests is that they have a full year of the material before taking the AP version, and they’re only accepted into the AP course if they did very well in the first class. D25 will take AP Biology next year, but she needed to earn an A in both Biology and Chemistry to gain acceptance. The math classes do not have a regular equivalent, but there is no skipping anything. D25 took Honors precalc last year and will take Calc AB in the fall, doing well in AB is a prerec if you want to be allowed to take BC, nobody just opts into the tougher level. I’m not really against some summer work in theory, but I do think there are other ways to ensure a high pass rate in challenging STEM classes.
1 Like
Yes, for AP Chem APbio and APphysics C they are taken after the “High school” course. The summer work is only required for two of them and is not labor intensive. Some students take the AP level after more than a year has lapsed between the original prereq course, so summer work is also a review of sorts so no wasting time ramping up once the school year starts. Plus it allows kids to get a preview of the pace and the teacher, leading some to drop AP chem before the school year even starts(it is the hardest rigor course especially when taken as a first-ever AP in 10th by some kids). The “high school”honors physics is now called APphysics1, so there is no preliminary for that one, other than not everyone is allowed to take it(rest take regular). I think each school works out their own way to run APs, and many dont do summer work—but I don’t have a problem with the ones that do. It is a choice like many other things.
Do the kids lose a lot of non-STEM electives when they do two years total? I like the idea of Chem before AP Chem etc. but that would mean even fewer electives to take with my kid’s school schedule.
1 Like
Depends on the school schedule. My D’s HS also required an honor version of the science class before the AP but my D still had time for o chem, comp sci, two engineering classes and stats (in addition to AP chem, AP Physics C, AP calc, and AP humanities courses). She did stop Spanish after DE Spanish III and stopped music at school (continued on the outside and with ECs) so there were some trade offs.
1 Like
They are allowed to do 6 core courses per year(about 1/4 or more do that, one or both semesters, for 10-12th). The 7th course can be study hall or Arts . Kids who don’t want to have the 6th be a science can still take the 3 yrs Chem/bio/phys then one AP science senior year as the only science that year. Since some of the Stems are typically seen as among hardest ones at ours, the top group takes 2-3 APsciences in addition to chem/bio/APphys1. There is still room for a second math or a second history in 10/11 or 12th, or potentially more as only 3.5 History/social sciences are required and there are options for at least one of the semester ones over the summer.
D21 is not a stem kid but still wanted max rigor so took APchem in 10th as a second science(6th core), took a second AP history in 11th(in addition to Apush), and took APphysC as the only science in 12th, then was able to fit an extra honors history in as the 6th core. D23 did a second math in 9th and 10th, and a second science 10,11,&12 plus an extra math in 12 too. Some were semester courses. She only took one “extra” history/soc sci (AP) above the 3.5 required. It is flexible enough for the majority of students.
The only AP science we have is AP Chem. The kids have to take Chemistry sophomore year in order to be eligible to take AP senior year. I’m not sure if they are required to take honors chem or just regular chem. I don’t think it’s typical for a kid who took regular chem to take AP though.
Instead of AP bio we have a class called Biomed. It’s a dual enrollment class and there are 4 levels. 1st and 4th years get weighted as honors and 2nd and 3rd years are weighted as AP.
1 Like
At our school (for these situations) either work but you need a higher grade in the regular class.
Interestingly H Bio and AP Bio require a good grade in science but also a A in English due to the high reading load.
D25 is still in Italy. They went to Pompeii today. She said it was amazing. She’s wanted to go to Pompeii since elementary school when we read about it in history class (she was homeschooled until high school). I think it will be the highlight of her trip for sure. She still has Capri and Rome before coming home later this week. I can’t wait for her to get home. It’s been weird with her not being here.
4 Likes
D25 has toured Baldwin Wallace, Gustavus Adolphus, Jacksonville U (FL), Stetson, ASU, and Loyola New Orleans with big bro thus far.
Shes coming along to move him into his Syracuse dorm next month so she will see that campus. I am having her sneak in a tour of Le Moyne while we are there.
We are getting down her “vibe” and wish list wants.
5 Likes
@2plustrio, that’s fantastic that you are getting down with her vibe!
I am trying to find a balance of starting this process and not overwhelming my D25. She got sick while in DC on vacation with the family, so we aborted our attempts to visit W&M and/or URich/UVA. She’s finishing up her 5th(!) week of ballet summer intensive and, God willing, I get to see her on Saturday! (t-5!) We then head to NYC for a different 1 week dance intensive. I’ve scheduled her/us to see Fordham while there, and may try to squeeze in Barnard, but I have a question:
D25 will be in her dance intensive until 2pm every day, so none of the info sessions work for the above schools. I could go, as I’m still figuring out how to occupy myself every day, as we’re taking the train in from NJ and I’d rather enjoy NYC than traverse back/forth multiple times/day. Is it a) weird, b) worthwhile, c) both, d) none for me to go to the info sessions without her? This is her gig, but if we’re going to tour, I could give her a summary/record parts (if allowed) as needed. I know Fordham has a virtual info session she could do instead. I haven’t looked into Barnard except to note that I’m not sure we can make it from her intensive to the tour without arriving ~5-10 min late, and I don’t want us to make a bad impression by being tardy.
Am I overthinking this? Quite possibly, which is why I’m asking you thoughtful people to help get me back on track.
ETA: I’m up for suggestions for me, too! I’ve been to NYC twice and did some of the touristy things (Chelsea Market, Times Square, Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, a show), but this trip I have the NYC Public Library, WTC, and…haven’t had time to research more. We hit many Smithsonian museums in DC, so I’m up for museums, but perhaps not 5 hours/day this trip.
Also Im so mad. They just added on 29 hours of dance practice starting Sunday. We are heading up north to the cabin and now lose a day. The kids havent gotten up there in 2 years. Im so mad.
45 hours of dance practice (Sun-Thursday) is insanity!!
I like the High Line and the Tenement Museum. Both are in areas with really good food.
As a family, we did the Top of the Rock VIP tour and it is really cool.
Otherwise, I’d wander through Greenwich Village or Brooklyn and find a bookstore.
1 Like
You guys make me so glad my D gave up ballet.
6 Likes
I want to laugh at this statement, but there are moments… But she loves it, so here we go!
1 Like