As @compmom said, I would specifically ask the GC if the LOR or rigor evaluation will be affected by whether or not you pay out of pocket for online APs. That would not sit well with me if it has any affect whatsoever. The GC should only evaluate based on what your school offers.
Perhaps the GC could mention your love of learning and that you requested the school provide additional APs (online or in person), but that the school could not accommodate. That gets the message across without your family paying out of pocket for classes with questionable ROI.
I do not know the answer about how the online APs will affect merit so will leave that to others. I will say it is beyond disappointing if families are in any way “expected” to pay for classes not offered by the LPS. So many public schools offer additional courses through DE (paid by the school system) or by joining programs like VHS… a student should not be penalized in college admissions or financially if his/her school does not offer those options.
None of that is helpful for you, @Marmozets … just frustrated on your behalf.
ETA: Just saw your last post. I agree with taking AP classes you are interested in for the sake of learning if your family can justify the cost. Good luck!
Yes the whole system is frustrating and I don’t have faith in it at all. There are so many unfair things going on. Every which way this system is unfair.
Also, although I would be valedictorian regardless, I hate that there is now a way to buy yourself rank at my school.
The fact that many schools have access to online APs doesn’t help schools like mine but only makes it worse, I think, because it just makes the expectations more prevalent.
It’s good (I think) that many AOs claim this disadvantage is not a disadvantage, but it’s really hard to believe. My GC seems to think more like me than I originally thought, and this is coming from experience with placing students from my school particularly.
No dual enrollment. That was the sticking point we had to get over as the registrar was claiming it would be dual enrollment to take online AP Classes, but eventually she gave in as the only alternative they can offer me is periods of captivity in the office. I’m not taking anything away from their enrollments.
(schools are funded on a per head basis in my district)
If you end up with a “period of captivity in the office” and feel so inclined, spend it researching a plan for your school to offer additional AP courses for future classes and submit to the school and board with options and a plan of action. You would be providing a service to your community and it could make a great essay!
Are you sure there is no option for free AP classes through the state? Here in NC we have a NCVPS (North Carolina Virtual Public School) and any student can take a class there if it is not offered at their in-person school. At least that’s my understanding. I’ve certainly not been asked to pay anything for D22’s online AP class. It is funded and run by the NC department of public instruction.
Just making sure that you know that the guidance counselor/college counselor has to fill out a form for the Common App that says whether your curriculum (in the context of the school offering) was “most demanding”, “very demanding”, “demanding”, “average”, or “below average”.
The teachers have to fill out a form that says that, compared to others in your class year, you are “Below average”, “average”, “good”, “very good”, “excellent (top 10%)”, “outstanding (top 5%”), or “one of the top few I’ve encountered (top 1%)”. At least in the past, these were assessed for the following categories: “Academic Achievement”, “Extra Curriculars”, “Personal Qualities and Character”, and “Overall”. This is from an old form – I have had trouble finding one for recent years, but it might be worth googling to see if you can find a more recent form to see if that is still what they ask of the teachers.
I believe it is reasonable to ask the guidance counselor if they will check off the “most demanding” curriculum box, regardless of your taking external APs. My thoughts are that it is probably not okay to ask the teachers which boxes they will check for you, but sometimes it helps to know what metrics they have to fill out.
Have you looked into a local community college to see if they offer classes that the school district will pay for… Ours does that… But otherwise I would think you could stick to what you are taking.
Have you taken the standardized tests and how have you done at those? I say this because a 35 or a 36 on an ACT where the equivalent scores on an SAT will do more for you than those AP online courses. On the other hand if you have a low ACT… 30 or under… Then the extra AP courses certainly couldn’t hurt.
Let me make a comment on foreign language if I can… A lot of the quality of schools you are looking at will require four semesters which is the equivalent of 4 years of the high school level. If you can get more of your foreign language done either at the high school or at a community college during the summer before you get to college it will really help you timewise in college. Look at each school to see what they’re going to require you to do to graduate because the students I work with get so mad when they only took two years and they forgotten most of it and then they get to college and have to start over and take four more semesters.
Our CA school districts are among the worst funded in the nation, and they don’t pay for extras like community college, or mine doesn’t. However, our CA cc’s are not expensive and for the very poor, I think they actually give money away! The democrats’ push for free community college is a big fat ‘meh’ over here. It hardly addresses the injustice in this state.
At this point I’m focused on getting merits not what actually happens when I get there, but yeah I am about the least equipped possible for language when I get to college. There’s a (small) chance I might go to a college with access to FL in my obscure ethnicity, where I have a little background and a lot of motivation. I also could possibly become a japanese nerd due to my interests in anime and japanese culture, so there’s a chance I’ll be all-in for language.
In the case where I’m just trying to get my requirement out of the way, yeah I’m screwed!
My second and final year of zoom class spanish we watched Dora videos sometimes, I kid you not!
Thanks so much. These are all things I didn’t know about and I never thought about but seem really important to know.
I’m sure I’ll get most demanding rating no matter what I choose to do, however further communication with the GC indicates that she really does believe that admissions is looking for me to go outside the school curriculum and show I’m determined and rigorous. While the official policy may state something different at many schools, putting myself in the shoes of the human reading the record it just makes sense that the GC is right. Who wouldn’t be influenced by what’s believed to be “rigorous” classes that I don’t have access to normally. I know the AOs are often do-gooders, but they’re human.
Kind of like racial bias. Many people have it although they do not consciously believe in it or hold racist values to be true. (note I’m making an analogy)
If there’s any question about whether there are huge amounts of merit money at stake, consider the email I just got from Southwestern promising merits for rank and gpa. There are 9-12k in gaps between the different automatic levels between small increments of gpa or rank.
One person at my school could spend $800 on an online AP class and get a $40,000 ROI or more by advancing rank from top 10% to top 5%
This doesn’t apply to me personally since obviously I can’t go any higher in rank.
I do wonder about UC’s admissions though (just theoretically, since I can’t afford UCs). Since they use capped GPA (can only weight so many courses and no more) and no one in my school can reach the cap, are we all disadvantaged at my school because our capped GPAs are practically the same as our unweighted GPAs?
(not that people at my school typically go to UCs anyway)
Again, $800 or $1600 or $2400 could buy someone a spot in the UCs, or put better, allow people from my school to compete with the general population.
If I’m not understanding UC admissions, then focus on the automated merits, in which case my point is plainly true!
Be sure none of your schools will ding you for only 2 years foreign language. I would take that online even if not an AP first. Also be sure you have bio, chem and physics. To me that would be priority over random APs
UC’s look at all 3 GPA’s: Unweighted UC GPA, Capped Weighted UC GPA and Fully Weighted UC GPA although the statistical data found on the UC websites is the Capped Weighted.
UC’s also review applicants in the context of their HS offerings so you will not be disadvantaged due to your HS curriculum restrictions. I know that UC’s are probably off the table for you, but hopefully you will apply to a couple since you never know.
Yes! I AM worried about being dinged for the limited FL. That was my top concern and the subject of my very first post on CC.
I’m in no position to start a Year 3 FL online however, since my 2 years was so badly taught. I will fail a Year 3 of Spanish. So I have to rely on the “stick with the course availability story” for that. This is something I don’t feel great about at all, but there is nothing I can do so I just have to let it go and take my chances. A LOT of the schools I’m applying to ask for 3 or 4 years of FL! When I asked AO at, I think, Brynn Mawr or Mt. Holyoke, I got the standard “we look at what was available to you” line. It’s not like they’re going to say “you don’t have as much of a chance, but please apply anyway because we need to keep our application numbers up.”
I do have regular bio, chem, and physics-- my school would not be allowed to exist without these-- but I have AP nothing in the sciences. My school has AB Calculus and Art only, which I have on my transcript.
I was not thinking of doing “random” APs, but APs that would fit an application story, such as the true story of wanting to go Premed or perhaps another story.
However, random APs would work to achieve the $40,000+ ROI I mentioned above.
I am thinking of adding this as an EC, due to your or someone else’s idea here!
I wonder if I can still do this EC and claim this EC even if I fail, which is almost certain since there is no extra money floating around my district or school.
I’m not sure permission to take self-funded APs, which I’ve already “achieved,” is a service to my community though for the reasons I discussed earlier. It’s a mixed bag, at best.
Re the foreign language, sounds like you have a lot on your plate, but Duolingo is a better resource than watching Dora videos so maybe over next summer you could brush up that way before college (wherever that may be). I think that you have a decent chance to get a full ride (Hollins?) somewhere with the stats you have so just keep it up!
I’m not sure Hollins has that kind of money but I’m hoping it can compete with some of the others so that it’s a real option for me. That’s of course assuming some others will come through. I’ve sized up the girls in pre-med and pre-vet Hollins videos and don’t feel I’m of any greater calibre than them, or lesser, which makes me feel good because I do get a sense of if they can do it, I can do it.
Just have to pay for it somehow! I wish I could be as hopeful as you but I’m not quite there. I do feel comforted when you write to me though!
Hollins has the Batten Scholarship which pays for your tuition for all 4 years, although it doesn’t cover room and board, but it would get you down to $14 or $15k, which if I recall your dad said was doable?
Agnes Scott has the Presidential scholarship which is pretty much a full ride (tuition, room & board for 4 years).
I think you will do well and go far wherever you end up!
