This is his only AP. He has two honors courses. He has tried so hard, and it isn’t the teacher. My daughter had the same one, she is excellent. I think the counselor might actually let him withdraw from the class, but then there will be a gaping hole in his sophomore year. AP Stats is a useful class, there is no point retaking it next year. He is dyslexic and dysgraphic. All his other grades are in the 90s. He will probably be looking at colleges such as U Vermont, Boulder, Quinnipiac, with perhaps Binghamton as a reach. I know I should know the best thing to do, but he also has a C from Spanish as a Freshman. Thoughts?
Can he drop down to regular stats? Is that offered?
At D’s HS you cannot drop an AP class - don’t know if there are any exceptions made. He may just have to gut it out and hope for the best. Tutoring, perhaps?
Reg Stats is offered as a half year course for seniors. Maybe?
@Itzabouttyme , can you believe I just can’t seem to find a tutor? Been looking for a month! I live in an area with many tutors too.
I found a stats tutor that works on facetime.
Varsity tutors offered the online service as well- FYI
You are right, stats is a useful and valuable class. So with that being said, it could be a good idea to finish the class and learn what he can. He is probably learning more than his C suggests. A C in an AP class is not the end of the world, and will be ok for the schools you mention.
I am hoping you are right @wisteria100 , but here is something else I am not 100% clear on (I know, shocking!) Will colleges such as I have mentioned just look at his overall GPA, or will they take a closer look at his transcript and see all the grades in the 90s and his honors-level classes? Do the less selective universities practice holistic admissions in the same way more selective colleges do?
It depends more on size than selectivity, I believe. Large universities focus more on test scores and GPA because they have so many students to sort through and are able to admit a lot. Smaller universities take more holistic admissions into account. However, selectivity most likely does play a roll, and in the cases of more selective universities, holistic admissions would likely be a bigger factor.
Ask the teacher and the guidance counselor if he’s be allowed in regular statistics THIS semester. He should be able to catch up if he’s missed a week or two.
Remove AP stats from his schedule, add that class together his feet wet and 'reconnect ’ with stats. It’ll go slower and he’ll e able to master advice concepts. If he wished to retake AP stats after taking regular stats, he’ll have a strong foundation (some high schools actually teach stats as a two semester course : regular stats, then if you are up to it, ap stats. You register for the former, or both. So, it wouldn’t look 'weird’on his transcript.)
I took AP Stats my sophomore year as well, and I found an excellent website that I thought was super beneficial. It’s called albert.io, formerly learnerator.com. If memory serves, it’s $25 dollars for a full year subscription. It has hundreds of problems, both multiple choice and FRQs. Also, something I really liked was that for multiple choice questions, after you answer it, they’ll give you explanations for each answer choice and why it’s either right or wrong. I only got my subscription in either late March or early April, but using the website not only just to review but for explanations was truly beneficial to me. And a got a 4 on the exam, so I think it helped 
I know you’re asking this in the context of college admissions (and that you probably already have s good plan but are checking it against CC), but what would you recommend if you weren’t thinking about college and were focused on what would be best for his personal growth? Would you feel it was a good experience for him to have what is for him the unusual experience of having to really work to figure something out and even then, not do particularly well? Might he learn something about learning (including the value of seeking additional help)? If he drops the class, what’s the lesson he’s learned? How spooked will he be about math if he feels he couldn’t finish this class?
Personally, given his strong transcript, I would probably ask him to tough it out if he’s game. I worry that trying to avoid failure (which is not a C, btw) because of college admissions is the start of a slippery slope that tells our kids to only take on what they know they’ll succeed at. Of course, I realize that taking on too much risk can have bad consequences and that’s what you’re trying to avoid. What does he want to do (if college isn’t part of the equation )?
Is he miserable or is this more of a transcript concern?
Tough call!
Thanks for the responses all.
@MYOS1634 , I have emailed his counselor and teacher to ask for their input and if he can take the regular stats class. He would prefer that, I know.
@gardenstategal , I do think this class is very useful. For almost anything he is potentially interested in,he will need stats. He would prefer not to do it at all. I would prefer that he can somehow get his grade up to a B:-) I didn’t let him drop the class before because I was so sure he would be able to raise the grade to a B, but it isn’t happening. You are right about the slippery slope. I do think if he just withdraws and has a gaping hole in his transcript, that is worse.
He is very good with math. He says AP stats isn’t a math course, it’s English. I do believe the dyslexia and dysgraphia make it hard for him. He struggles with doing the work the way it needs to be to get a good score on the AP stat test. The teacher really is very good. My D had her and got a 5 on the test, as well as a very high grade in the class.
And now I am worrying about next year. He will take H physics, H pre calc, H US history, IB Psych, and maybe IB Theory of knowledge or AP Euro. He will also take regular English and gym. I believe he needs five AP/IB courses on his transcript to have a good shot at some decent schools.
I’m sure you have this covered but this is something to make sure the counselor covers in the counselor rec. My son has a medical condition which sometimes results in his inability to do basic math in his head. Because, as your son says, AP Stats is more like an English course than a math course, my son is cruising through AP stats but I lived through my son’s misery of AP Calc. Good luck getting this figured out with the school and getting it noted that this is a struggle, not just a kid who isn’t getting it. My son got his only B in AP Calc. That B sticks out on his transcript but it’s the one that brings him much pride. He struggled for that B but it improved his self confidence in math.
IB TOK or AP Euro are reading-heavy. Can you show him the basic course outline to see if he’s especially interested in one or the other? TOK is a bit like philosophy (epistemology).
It’s one class. And a hard one. Schools know this. It’s a C, not a D or F. A C doesn’t mean he totally stinks at it, it’s just “average”. I don’t think a lot of schools like UVM will look down on it. It’s an AP class, and he is passing it.
I say don’t worry about it. Maybe he can get a couple of B’s the next 2 quarters and pull the grade up to a B- ?
He has no problem with reading, these days @MYOS1634 . It’s the writing that kills him. But he has got to improve his writing skills. I think he will really enjoy TOK and the teacher is IMO the best in the whole school. He loves thinking, and I think he will get a lot out of the class. The IB program will be new to our school next year and the teacher who implemented the program is the one teaching the course. She is an AP English test grader too.
My son enjoys history a lot. I think he should definitely do one of those courses, but TOK is a two year course, right?
@RightCoaster , good point of view:-)
My senior is not having a great time right now with AP stats. He says its hard, and the teacher is hard. He’s not flunking or anything, but has gotten a D on a test, some Cs on quizzes, highly unlike him. But he’s really studying and trying to master the skills needed to pass the course. It’s his worse grade on his mid year report over to colleges.
If he ends up studying some form of biz in college he is going to have to take stats at some point anyways. I’ve told him what he learns now, he can use to master the course in college.
It seems that very few kids get B’s or C’s on CollegeConfidential,ha. But kids everywhere get them, still get into college and end up fine in life. Your kids transcript will not show a repeated history of C’s, he is just not up to his normal greatness in one class. I say no biggie. Good luck to him.
BTW, my son has been making an effort to go to the teachers extra help session every week to try to improve his grade and learn the material better. Maybe your son’s teacher can help a little?
@Lindagaf if he has those learning challenges, will the regular stats class really do the trick? Or still be an extra effort that distracts? If you’re worried about there being a math gap, would it better to drop this class, then take it locally in summer? That gives you time to find a tutor and maybe have them work together a bit now, so he gets some jump.
If this is viable, you can see how the transcript is done. Most show the semester classes, then under that, the cc or summer school. That would mean an adcom would see it, right there.
You could also look for a tutor for APUSH, for summer, before he takes the class. Maybe a hs history teacher, familiar with the DBQ business, wanting some summer work?
Adding: yes, stats can be about logic, not just the purer math. It can be a new way of thinking the problem sets.