First, can anyone tell me what they think of the program? Interesting, stupid, a way to compete with IB? If you are taking or have taken it, do you think it’ll help in college or is it helping? Is the workload harsh, how much time do you spend on it? What are the general topic areas covered (I’ve heard it’s mainly social studies/writing oriented) and how do you choose (I heard it’s picked by teachers)? How do/did you prep for the written exam/oral critique, etc.?
I am applying to a regional STEM magnet school, and if I get in, I’ll have to do an individual research project relating to a science/math field I am interested in. I know that the Capstone program isn’t available at my school, but I happen to live in a Top 100 college town, and two students have partnered up to do a student research project on bone growth with an early dismissal. Unfortunately, I don’t have any connections to any professors, or staff there. Do you think I could make arrangements to write the paper, take the written exam for Seminar, the oral critique for Research (possibly with professors), and maybe even the midterm exam, along with fulfilling the requirements for the school?
I haven’t taken it. The only thing I would suggest is to see if your college offers credit for it if that is a reason why you are taking it. I know my college, Indiana University, doesn’t, and they literally give credit for every other AP exam.
Actually, the reason I want to take the Capstone program is because I want to help both my weighted GPA, and balance out the two B’s in my unweighted GPA freshman year… And I want to the experience of doing my own research and writing a paper on it, which I think will help more in college.
Can anyone other than @iubaccounting give me some feedback on if it’s feasible, and just the program in general?
Can anyone answer? Is my idea too ridiculously difficult to pull off?
I don’t know about whether or not its feasible-- it really depends on your school and your teachers. If they’re willing to make it work, then sure. I think it might be rather difficult. The first year of AP Capstone is AP Seminar (which is then followed by AP Research) and it includes a group project as 20% of your AP score. That part would be incredibly difficult to do outside of school, as you’d have to recruit people to join you. It’s a big time commitment. Also, without plenty of teacher guidance, you may be overwhelmed. The class is complex and since its fairly new the curriculum is very “up-in-the-air”. It’s still being developed, and even the teachers are confused. I was in the first pilot year at my school and I have to say its definitely the best class I’ve ever taken. While it’s a little bit rough still since it’s new, it’s intriguing and really really cool. You have to be willing to work hard. The AP test makes you jump through hoops. You have to do so much in such a short time. The group individual paper, the group paper, the group presentation (which requires to compose a great powerpoint and script), followed by defense questions. And then there is the individual paper, the individual presentation (script and powerpoint), and the individual defense questions. Finally, you have the AP test which has 3 essays (kind of like AP Language). These essays are all different “types” and you have to practice these throughout the year too. The class is rigorous but worth it. And the colleges love it too.