Should my son take AP Lit?

<p>This question has to do with the assessment of my son's schedule as "most rigorous." As a senior he plans to take:</p>

<p>Multivariable Calc
AP Latin
Religion
Spanish V (considered above AP at his school)
AP Comparative Government
Ap Lit or a regular English</p>

<p>(He took Bio at a community college this summer to ease his schedule for next year which is why there is no science.)</p>

<p>He is leaning away from AP Lit just because he doesn't really want to take it. He could take a regular English and perhaps an independent study with his Classics teacher which he really likes. At all the college presentations, we hear that course rigor is the number one thing assessed. Do you think it would matter if he took a regular English? Or should he continue with the "most rigor." Prior to this he has taken the most rigorous course load.</p>

<p>Thanks for any insights.</p>

<p>To me, this is not just about “most rigor” but what he could learn from this course. My son’s AP English course with a great teacher taught him to read and write critically. I’m sure it was helpful in writing college essays (he took it Jr year) and I am sure it prepared him well for college writing.</p>

<p>I vote “most rigorous.”</p>

<p>It depends on the quality of the other English classes at your HS. My S (who’s also taking MV Calc next year and leaning towards a college major in some applied science) was at one time also leaning in the direction your S is.</p>

<p>I told him to talk it over with his AP English Language teacher, who not only teacher AP English Lit but also taught him for part of the year in English Honors 10. She’s very nice, adores him, is an institution at the school, been an AP grader many times, etc. She guided him right back into AP Lit, noting how much he likes being with the best students and that even though some of the other courses looked interesting, the teachers just couldn’t cover as much ground with the broader mixture of abilities in the class.</p>

<p>He took the hint. So, his senior year will be:</p>

<p>MV Calculus
AP Chemistry (took AP Physics last year)
AP Macroeconomics/US Govt
AP English Lit
Team Aquatics</p>

<p>This leaves an open period, yes. We figured he might continue with the work he’s doing in his summer internship on global warming/climate change (analyzing various data using MatLab) and doing those college applications.</p>

<p>Do “most rigorous.” AP Lit should combine very well with the other courses that he is taking. If he is doing Spanish V, for example, he will be reading lit in Spanish that’s at least on a par with what he reads in AP (English) Lit. Likewise AP Comparative Government is on an intellectual level similar to what he’d be reading in AP English Lit.</p>

<p>Not clear why he wouldn’t want to take AP English Lit, if he’s handling these other classes. I should think he’d be bored silly in a non-AP or non-Honors-type English lit class. What’s he got to lose? </p>

<p>Just sayin’</p>

<p>The best English teacher at my D’s HS offered a special non-AP English course for seniors this year, as he is tired of “teaching to the test.” The course integrated art, history, and literature. I really wanted my daughter to take it, but she was so geared towards the “AP” and “most rigorous” course load, that she stuck with AP. Her teacher was okay, and she did very well on the AP exam, but I think she would have learned more in the other class, and it would have been every bit as rigorous. </p>

<p>So, I guess I’d say, “it depends.”</p>

<p>My son did get into Harvard without taking AP (or even honors) English as a senior. He did have the advantage of being a legacy and the rest of his schedule was rigorous.</p>

<p>I vote for regular English and independent study w/Classics teacher.
Kids taking “most rigorous” are a dime a dozen. Too many take classes only for their GPA, and adcoms are wise to this.
He obviously can do the work, but he’s breaking out from the pack and showing he wants to learn for learning’s sake, which is a short commodity these days. He should make it part of a short answer or an essay re: this decision. All power to him!</p>

<p>Just playing devil’s advocate: do you really think the adcoms will say: “wow, more power to you!”? or will they think he just didn’t want to take AP Lit (which is what the OP said - he just doesn’t want to take it.)</p>

<p>OP - does he have a compelling reason to not take it? </p>

<p>I’m just wondering if the schools are going to want to see that he can do college level English.</p>

<p>There seems to be a leaning towards taking the AP Lit. To answer one question, there is no strong reason to not take it. He just likes the teacher and material better in the non-AP course (it’s a specific topic). I guess I was hoping it wouldn’t matter too much either way, but I don’t want it to look like he is slacking off. He did take the AP Language course last year, did well and learned a great deal.</p>

<p>I think his schedule is plenty rigorous as it is, and MV-Calc is already beyond “most rigorous.” The independent Classic course would be more impressive and a regular English class can be far better than the AP-Lit class. My S enjoyed taking his two senior English classes a great deal more than he did AP-Lit (which he took together with APUSH). Each of the classes had a specific theme, more like college classes, though they did not carry the AP label. I vote that he follows his bliss.</p>

<p>^I agree. Let him choose.</p>

<p>S1 did not take AP Lit. The most beloved English teacher in the sch. taught Honors Senior Eng. He really wanted to take her class. He took AP Lang. as a jr. He did well but didn’t like the class at all. I let him make the decision.</p>

<p>Let him choose. It sounds like he has good reasons for his choice.</p>

<p>He has a rigorous courseload, and along with applications, this could make for a stressful year.</p>

<p>It is just not psychologically healthy to do things to “get in” and is much better for your son to do what he is truly interested in doing. I agree with Bonnie about the independent study being more interesting to admissions anyway. But geez, your son already has enough on his plate, so I would discourage him from even doing that!</p>

<p>My son got into an Ivy and did not take AP English (he started it, but then switched). My daughter got into an Ivy and not only did not take AP math but dropped back a year and a level in order to take a music class.</p>

<p>Good colleges and universities are more holistic in admissions than you might think, and I would think more about your son enjoying learning and not burning out, at this stage of the game.</p>

<p>Does he have things that he enjoys doing outside of academics and school? Having at least some free time for those activities is also important.</p>