<p>My daughter just got into high school this month, she already took classes offered during the summer and is taking 0 hour classes (extra class early in the morning). I met one parent who was telling me her daughter (junior) never took any 0 hour or summer classes, because you can only get a maximum of 4.0 in grade from these classes, while you can get 5.0 from AP classes. Too many of these extra classes will pull down the GPA and affect college choice. Does this make sense ?</p>
<p>I think colleges take into account of all the varities of GPA's in the country. For example in your daughter's school they offer before school classes and more while my school doesn't. Also some schools only offer a few A.P.'s so colleges will see that the a student wasn't able to take a lot of A.P. classes. </p>
<p>So basically what I'm saying is that colleges will be able to see that your friend's daughter didn't take extra classes and got a higher GPA while your daughter got a lower GPA, but she took more classes. </p>
<p>Also shouldn't she be able to take A.P.'s later on and still improve her GPA?</p>
<p>Do you live in California? I kind of suspect that you do, and are talking about the "UC GPA." If so, what you were told is sort of true, but functionally false. (Confusing enough?) The UC GPA formula measures GPA in 10th and 11th grades only, and only "weights" 8 semesters of AP, approved honors, and community college classes - no matter how many you take. So if you take more than 4 academic classes per year in grades 10 and 11, it "dilutes" the maximum "UC gpa" you can achieve. </p>
<p>But UC admissions expect applicants to take over 5 academic courses per semester, so taking only the minimum necessary to satisfy UC requirements is a negative, which probably outweighs any benefit to the gpa. (If I recall correctly, UCSD has a formula under which taking a lot of classes can add as much weight to their admissions formula as a .5 point increase in gpa.)</p>
<p>UC is the only college which uses this system, as far as I know. (And at my kids' school some AP classes are offered in 0 period, and Community College courses taken in the summer are also weighted.) I don't think many colleges will be impressed by a "mimalist" approach to course enrollment. (On the other hand, I'm opposed to 0 period on the principle that teenagers shouldn't be staggering into classroms at 7:30 am - but that's a different issue.)</p>
<p>If your D is able to juggle a heavier workload, that is fine. The key, though, is for her to take the most challenging courses available to her at her level (e.g. honors instead of college prep), rather than just take more courses. Also, she should leave herself time to participate in some ECs and have a social life.</p>
<p>I am not living in CA. My D is 4.0 straight in middle school, so assume she gets all highest grades possible in high school, for example</p>
<p>10 regular classes 4.0
10 AP classes 5.0</p>
<h2>average will be GPA 4.5</h2>
<p>If she takes extra classes</p>
<p>15 regular classes 4.0
10 AP classes 5.0</p>
<p>average will be GPA 4.4</p>
<p>Does this make sense ?
If extra classes do not help her, I would rather her skipping the classes and do something else.</p>
<p>You're right. It doesn't make sense. Blair Hornstine's parents manipulated this type system so that she could become valedictorian of the class, and one would think that schools would become wiser. Instead of using a point to the class, My D's school gives students an extra .2 points for each weighted class each semester and then divides the total points by the number of semesters. For example,
Points
Weighted Course 1 A 4
Weighted Course 2 B 3
Weighted Course 3 A 4
Non-weighted Course 1 A 4
Non-weighted Course 2 A 4
19 (Divided by) 5 = 3.8 Earned GPA
.2 (weighting factor) x 3 (# of weighted courses) = .6
.6 (added weight) divided by 1 (semester)) = .6
3.8 (Earned GPA) + .6 (added weight) =
4.4 Adjusted GPA</p>
<p>Its about as fair of a system as I've seen.</p>
<p>Well, a couple of things... It's not uncommon for a 4.0 middle school student not to get a 4.0 in high school. Around here, anyway, there are a lot more A's in middle school than in high school. But if your daughter gets straight A's in high school, including 10 AP classes, I seriously doubt that the difference between a nominal 4.4 and 4.5 caused by extra, non-weighted classes would make any difference to an adcom at all. That is - taking or not taking the "extra" classes probably would neither help nor hurt.
Maybe the better question is whether the extra classes help her education, rather than just her gpa?</p>
<p>The same thing happened to my D. She knew that if she took a zero hour service learning class, the 4.0 would, and did, lower her gpa. IB and AP classes get an extra point (5.0 = A). She insisted on taking it last year and is continuing to take it this year (she's a senior). Yes, it probably took her down a couple of % points (she's in the top 9%), but she enjoys all of the volunteering oportunities that it gives her. She would have a 4.5 rather than a 4.4. I only hope that this is taken into consideration when she sends in her apps.</p>
<p>My school has a funky 6.0 weighting system and there are people who drop 5.0 classes like orchestra and band to bring up their GPAs, but I don't see it as worth it. Is it possible for your daughter to take non-academic classes in summer school? My school offered no summer school AP classes, so many people took PE, health, and speech (required stupid class) during the summer so they could take more APs during the year or have off periods. Since they were required, it didn't affect their GPA; if anything, it helped, because they could take more APs during the school year. Gotta love the GPA games... with a 4.0/4.0 I was ranked behind people who got Bs... because I took orchestra. Meh.</p>
<p>My D also took zero hour - every year, plus summer driver's ed as well, and it diluted her honors/AP credit. Although the impact to GPA seems minimal, your class rank could take a hit, since top rankings are often separated by 0.01's of a point! </p>
<p>It does gripe me somewhat that the impact to her class rank could possibly be the straw that makes or breaks her chances for a merit scholarship, but who's to say that would happen? I respect and admire the priority she places on learning and challenging herself, as opposed to the 'Blair' approach. It will serve her better in the future.</p>
<p>I think it is sad that some kids avoid taking classes which may interest them because they don't have the letters H (honors) or AP (advanced placement) behind them. My D who has a ~4.2 g.p.a. is 13/400 because she has chosen to take Criminal Justice for three years. Because it's not an honors or AP course, the maximum credit she gets is 4.0. She's very interested in law and plans to eventually attend law school. She's learned some wonderful things in that class and doesn't regret taking it. They use college materials, but have not been able to obtain an honors or AP status. A very competitive boy who is in many of her classes told her she's screwing herself out of a better g.p.a. because that class is pulling her down. I was very proud of her for telling him she thinks it is ridiculous to take classes for the sake of a g.p.a.; she chooses classes based on what appeals to her. She has had several honors classes throughout high school, took two AP classes last year and has five AP classes this year. I can only suggest that students stay true to themselves, study what interests them, and let the rest take care of itself.</p>
<p>SplashMom - my older D took 1 class each year which spoke to her passion (and horrors it wasn't even an honors class) and guess what?
She was accepted to Yale. Class rank? 29/800 or so. The Yale admissions officer even commented on this academic passion, unweighted as it was!</p>
<p>Wishingandhoping, kudos to your D! That is fabulous. Is she currently at Yale? I know she must be doing great. I agree that passion is much more important than boosting g.p.a.</p>
<p>Yes, she's entering her senior year. She'll be applying to law schools this year and younger D to colleges. Watta year.</p>
<p>Splashmom said:
[quote]
some kids avoid taking classes which may interest them because they don't have the letters H (honors) or AP (advanced placement) behind them.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Exactly. One of the main mantras on this board is "take the most difficult cirriculum available." That means honors/AP. My d will not be able to say that because she also picks what appeals to her. She chose Project Lead the Way (engineering) and Art which are her passions, over AP spanish & history, subjects she dislikes and which you can fulfill the requirement for before even getting to the AP level at our school. (In addition, two of the AP classes she <em>did</em> want to take were cancelled this year (studio art and computer science)).</p>