My son recently suffered a medical condition and was out of school for 2 whole weeks and then started for half days. After 5 weeks he is completely recovered. Now he has a ton of work to catch up with as he is a junior, in a very demanding program. Some of his teachers are accommodating his recovery while some not so much.
One teacher is strongly recommending him to drop one of his courses. Does having a lighter course load reflect negatively when applying for colleges?
He does not want to go against the wishes of his teachers as they are the ones who will finally grade him and write his recommendations. If he drops a course he will have 1 free period for the rest of the year. Are there any suggestions of how he can use that period so it is meaningful and also looks good for college admissions?
Well, the rigor of the class itself is the greatest factor, is it some sort of AP/honors class? If so, then it will obviously not look the greatest when colleges are looking at your son; colleges always want to see their applicants taking rigorous courses. However if it is some casual elective, then can either be disregarded or have little impact the college’s opinion on your son.
I dropped one of my electives, tennis, at the beginning of the year and became a counselors’ aide, this probably won’t look bad on my college resume because I’m assisting my school and I have a relatively rigorous schedule: 4 APs, 1 Pre-AP, 2 Honors vocational classes, and then counselors’ aide. If your son doesn’t want to increase if workload but he does drop that class, then he should consider an aide position, at my school, I’m able to do my homework the entire time and run the occasional pass to various classes.
Yes, he is being asked to drop a AP class. He will be left with 4-AP, 1- Post AP, 1 Pre-AP classes. The pre-AP class is required hence he cannot drop it.
Is the class in the area of his intended major? Is he a tippy top student aiming for an elite college? Is the medical thing completely done? Is it even possible for him to catch up? Still seems like 6 courses, five clearly AP or higher and one required would still be a pretty rigorous schedule. What does he want to do?
No good to have him in a class that requires way too much work to catch up. No point if he has to spend so much time on that class that his grades in all the other classes suffer. What does the guidance counselor say? Sorry your son is going through this and hope he is well.
Dropping a class because of a medical issue would not hurt him, IMO, particularly if he still would have 4 AP classes. As Erin’s Dad noted, his GC can speak to that in his or her recommendation.
First, I am glad to hear he has completely recovered. Second, I am glad that several of his teachers are being accommodating and are allowing him to catch up.
I agree with the others that he is taking a rigorous schedule, even if he drops a course. Some courses might be too difficult to catch up, much depends on the individual teacher.
You asked about suggestions to fill his now free period. It might be too late for an independent study in another course, but it might be worth looking into. I am guessing that given what you have told us about his schedule, he is a bright student who wants to be challenged, so it is likely he is doing well in his studies.
Perhaps he could use the time to take an extra PE course - given he had a fairly long illness, it might not be an option, but if he able to, and if he has interest, it might help him increase his fitness level. If he is able to take a course as pass/fail, or one that will not affect his GPA and/or class rank, it can show he is dedicated to being well-rounded.
Another suggestion that might look good to colleges is if he takes the time to assist another teacher in a class he has taken before. During that block, does his school have a tutoring center where kids can get extra help if they had study hall? As a junior, taking high level classes, he might be well-suited to help freshmen who are struggling with classes he has taken before.
Even if he does nothing but take a study hall for this free period, that might be in his best interest.
One free period is hardly a red flag. Personally I’d do what will make this a productive and enjoyable year that doesn’t involve being overwhelmed by work and not worry about the implications for college.
My S suffered a severe concussion and spent the rest of the school year working to catch up on his assignments. The stress of being behind, but needing to get good grades on all the makeup work to keep his GPA up, was overwhelming to us all.
Give this kid a break, and let him take a study hall. He should be allowed to do his own work during study hall in order to get caught up more quickly. Please do no invent more work for this student!!
This will not be seen as slacking off, and as others have said, the GC can mention this in their recommendation letter.
I think the GC can address this and his schedule sounds plenty rigorous. I don’t think he has to do something in the free period, but there are lots of things he could do. Read everything by an author. Teach himself programming. See if he could do half a year of something like art next semester. He doesn’t have to do any of that now, but next year if he’s tired of just having a study hall, he might want to see if there’s something productive he could work on.
I agree that the guidance counselor should be able to discuss this in his/her letter. You or your S can check with the guidance counselor before dropping the class. Some courses are just very hard to catch up with. My S had to take a W from a college course for a similar reason and it was never an issue when he applied to grad schools or jobs.
One free period seems like no issue. He can get a head start on some homework or find something to do (maybe help a teacher etc.)
Most important thing is that your S is healthy. Kind of puts taking 4 or 5 APs into perspective.
I’ll be blunt. Your child’s health trumps all. If he is not doing well with the current load and you know he would be in a better place with a (very) slightly reduced courseload, do it. If he suffered a concussion really do it. How this looks to colleges doesn’t matter. His guidance counselor can explain the change in schedule. Quite frankly it’s better to have to explain a slight change in the schedule than a lower GPA.
Having a free period to catch up on any remaining school work is great.