My daughter is a freshman in HS right now with a 4.4W gpa. I have her signed up for the following next year:
AICE Business
Honors Algebra 2
AP computer science
AP world
Spanish 2
Honors Chemistry
Honors English
Her guidance counselor suggested having her take Spanish on line at FLVS and add another AICE or AP. That is 8 academic classes! Does anyone else think that sounds like too much for a Sophmore? since we have bright futures and Prepay, UF will be her reach school. Is this really necessary for UF?
Sounds very tough schedule, 8 classes seems like a lot. My son knocked out 2 Spanish classes online over the summer, 1 and 3. I’d consider the online over the summer if that helps take some stress off school year. He thought online FLVS was easier than in person class. I don’t think every class has to be AP or AICE to get in as long as grades very good and test scores good.
What was the GC’s reasoning for such a thing? It’s certainly not necessary to get into UF and it will limit her ability to participate in ECs or get a job - things that are very important for holistic admissions. Are you considering having her do DE full time in her junior and senior years? It may be that the GC is trying to game her GPA in order to give her a shot at Valedictorian.
UF will want at least 2 years of a foreign language (as will most other schools), and I believe that 2 years is also the minimum required in FL to graduate HS for her class. I’d be very reluctant to move her Spanish class to FLVS unless you know she has the discipline to do an online class. I certainly wouldn’t do it in order to pull in an elective designed solely to pad her GPA and create an illusion of course rigor. Sorry, but AP Psychology and AP Environmental Science [bold]ARE NOT[/bold] challenging courses (and I’m sure UF AO’s recognize this).
D was accepted into UF this year, and her sophomore year only had 1 AP (World History). The rest were honors courses (Pre-calc, Chemistry, English) and regular courses (Choir, Theater, and American Sign Language).
D hated the two FLVS classes that she took (HOPE freshman year and Honors Physics senior year). The only reason she took Physics through FLVS was that the AP classes conflicted with other classes she really wanted to take (Comp Theater and Honors Choir). She wasn’t going to take Physics at all but I felt that it would adversely affect her applications to some colleges since she was listing engineering as her major. She was accepted into all six schools that she applied to including GaTech (the most selective school that she applied to).
@shortnuke I’m guessing it’s all about gpa and class rank. She’s in the top 7% right now. She will never get close to the very top because she only took 1Ap for Freshman year. Some kids took 3. The GC doesn’t really know her, so maybe she is thinking that she will apply out of state and to higher level schools? I’m not going to do it. I think 8 academic classes is too much. These kids don’t get to be kids anymore. It’s sad. I think 3 AP/AICE classes is more than enough.
UF does look at the total number of academic units including high school level classes taken in middle school and the senior year schedule. That being said, I think it is important to make sure your kid can handle such a schedule. On our admissions tour, we met with an AO who explained that they want to see as many academic units as possible but he also counseled my daughter not to overreach with APs. For her senior year, he recommended she drop a non-academic class and add another science class, but not necessarily another AP. He said: “don’t kill yourself with APs.” She took honors marine biology and she is sailing through it while her other APs are very tough. They want to see more academic classes vs. art/photography/yearbook but my fear in your scenario is that it will be very difficult for your daughter to excel at all 8 classes which could then hinder the overall academic (UF) GPA.
This level of rigor vs. UF GPA equation is really the trickiest part. In my opinion, you want your kid to take the most challenging classes that they are CAPABLE of getting an A in. The rest is up to them…
For what it’s worth, my daughter never took more than 5 academic classes (junior year she had 4 by UF standards) and she took 1 AP as a freshman, 2 as a sophomore, 2 junior and 3 as a senior – the rest honors. Her rigor was fine but she would have been better served had she studied harder as a freshman, but that’s a different tale.
Also, holistic admissions is a real thing. My daughter was accepted this fall for UF’s Gator Engineering at Santa Fe program with grades outside the middle 50% and SAT just inside it. Her extracurriculars were incredibly strong and that’s what got her in. UF wants its students to be balanced individuals. With 8 academic classes and a goal of having a high GPA, is it possible to have a life that has more going on than studying? You know the answer. (If you ask parents of seniors at your high school, you will hear tales of heartache about kids with great grades and great scores who were rejected by UF because they didn’t have significant ECs, leadership and volunteer work.)
Lastly, you know your kid and the guidance counselor really doesn’t – not to knock them as the college counselor at our school is great but he’s managing hundreds of situations. After a year in high school, you can tell the classes they like and the classes they are good at – which are not necessarily the same classes. Make the schedule rigorous but one where she can be successful.
^^^Everything Shortnuke and GatorDad305 say plus…
Do you think having BF and Florida Prepay hurts admissions? I know a few folks posted this theory, but UF really doesn’t consider these in admissions. Most of the kids at UF have BF, and many have Prepay (like both of my current students). Of course, many of the competitive in-state students that applied to UF have BF and Florida Prepay, so it’s to be expected that students that are denied would have it.
@Gator88NE I wasn’t assuming anything about admissions with bright futures. I just meant that she will be staying in state because it’s such a great deal. And in state, UF would be her top choice. And honesty she would do just fine at FSU also. I don’t see a reason to put her in 8 academic classes.
Based on her major, FSU (cough, cough) may even be a better option.
We also didn’t use FLVS to “game” our children’s GPA. The AICE program was more than rigorous enough, and we wanted them to get involved in other activities (EC’s), while not burning out.
If your daughter stays in the top 10% of her class, she’s doing fine (for UF/FSU).
Good Luck!
Looks like a good schedule. I wouldn’t switch Spanish to FLVS - I’ve heard it is not good/ not fun on there. I also would not add another AP. 3 as a sophmore is overkill.
I have 2AP and 1 AICE. I was told that is the same as AP? Is that too much?