<p>My daughter will take two science electives next year rather than an AP science class. She plans to pursue a science major in college and feels that hs is a good time to explore different science fields.</p>
<p>Talked to gc at school who completely supported the idea. "Most rigorous curriculum" requirements at d's hs are met with 3 honors/AP courses per year. My daughter will take AP English, H math, H economics/AP government, so she meets the requirements without adding an AP science. It could possible affect her weighted GPA, but ...</p>
<p>as she is my youngest, I find that I no longer base each decision - or try to base each decision - with college apps in mind. College acceptances can be capricious things, no matter what classes/ecs/etc. the student is able to list. The hs years should be a time to pursue different interests; classes/ecs should reflect interests, even if those interests are fleeting. MO only, of course.</p>
<p>Wohhhhhh there 5 AP's for one high school carreer is a lot. Yes there's a wide range. Some people take none, some take 5 AP's in only 1 year. But that's not necessarily for everyone, and you don't need to do that to get into "top tier" schools.</p>
<p>I personally did it to challenge myself. Normal classes were too slow, easy, and had those kids who ask dumb questions.
I took 11AP. 2 as a soph, 3 as a junior, 6 as a senior.</p>
<p>"Wohhhhhh there 5 AP's for one high school carreer is a lot."</p>
<p>Actually, it's not that many, if the top students in your school take that many, or more. At some schools, AP is the only "honors" choice, and the top kids take a bunch of AP. If you don't, you're not taking the most rigorous curriculum, and that will hurt you in college admissions. The point to emphasize is that "rigorous curriculum" is relative, and depends on what your school offers.</p>
<p>Or if your school offers all/most of College Board's 37 AP courses...my school offers I believe 27-30 of these...and the top kids will have taken 8-11 AP courses by graduation. Obviously many of the 27-30 offered are in different languages or both calcs (AB and BC) so you couldn't take ALL of them, but if you're a top 10% at my school, usually you take 1 AP Sophomore year, 3 Junior year, and 5 Senior year - that's 9. Add an extra one anywhere in there - that's 10-11.</p>
<p>I think she'd be fine with the electives, and that's what she should do if it is more interesting to her. (BTW, our HS doesn't have an "AP English" class, instead they have an AP thread of electives.) In my experience, the definition of "most rigorous" is wider than you might think. My S took 8 APs--out of interest, not to "load up"-- and everything else honors where available. His classmates who were admitted to HYP took "only" :) 5 APs, and also everything else honors where available. My S also took one more academic subject--a second foreign language--than they did all four years, plus independent study (they had none). I'm sure that their recommendation forms had the "most rigorous" courseload box checked, as I assume his did. I think that "rigorous enough" is what they are really looking for.</p>
<p>Ask your student's school's GC what it takes to be considered "most rigorous", and find out what your student's courseload would be rated. Many highschools don't even bother to answer the question or any questions on the app. The GC just attaches a paragraph about the student that is supposed to address most of the questions. None of my kids' schools ever rated anything on that checklist or even bothered to fill it out beyond name, etc.</p>
<p>Can we please clarify a bit? Are people using "AP" as a short hand for all classes above standard college prep (which would encompass honors, IB AND AP)? Or are we strictly talking AP? I, personally, am against classes that "teach to a test" (another reason why I hate No Child Left Behind but that's for another thread).</p>
<p>DS has several honors level classes and I think that is just fine. Am I delusional?</p>
<p>In our school system honors is a step below AP although they are weighted the same, and in a couple of cases there is only AP no honors at that level. (Physics B AP replaced the first year honors physics course, there is no honors Calculus, no fifth year in languages except AP.) There is still a senior honors English in addition to the two AP offerings.</p>
<p>This is why there is no "formula" that students can follow. "Rigor" depends on the school system. AP is a "brand". On our school profile there is a paragraph on the very first page that says "Following are the most rigorous classes" or something to that effect followed by a (fairly) short list of classes across most curriculums. Our school does not weight so more often than not a significant chunk of the top 10% are not necessarily the students who took the tough classes. The profile says very clearly how the school ranks and what criteria is applied. It is not in the least difficult for an admin to ascertain whether or not the student chose a tougher schedule (or not), how the school ranks, and enough about that student to gage their ability. The kids know what the tough classes are and the parents can easily find out. I doubt seriously that colleges give brownie points for easy choices and I doubt that give brownie points to kids who kill themselves to the absence or all else. Maybe I'm dead wrong, but I'll stick to my beliefs. As my oldest pointed out to me numerous times a couple years ago if I fretted about anything "If they don't want me I don't want them."...there's alot of truth to that and sometimes the kids are wiser than the parents.</p>
<p>
[quote]
AP Scholar with Honor
Granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.</p>
<p>AP Scholar with Distinction
Granted to students who receive an average grade of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken, and grades of 3 or higher on five or more of these exams.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>At my kids' HS good students are an AP Scholar with Honor by the end of junior year and an AP Scholar with Distinction by the end of senior year. There is a culture of taking AP classes, and if you take an AP class, you are required to take the corresponding AP test.</p>
<p>Pretty much as pinkpineapple described:
[quote]
usually you take 1 AP Sophomore year, 3 Junior year, and 5 Senior year - that's 9. Add an extra one anywhere in there - that's 10-11
<p>Yes, many kids self-study. My S did it a couple of years ago.</p>
<p>BTW - OP here. My D enrolled in the courses she wanted to take - toughest curriculum check-off be damned! (Although she will talk to GC about it come rec time. )</p>
<p>Wow, MidWestMom, that's a lot! When my d graduated, there was only one graduate who had any AP Scholar designation at all (earned as a junior; other designations would have to wait until after graduation)! At her high school, sophomores could not take AP classes - none were offered. Juniors could take three; most took one. Seniors took anywhere from three to six. And even those who took only four had excellent admissions results.</p>
<p>Sometimes it also depends on the reputation of the high school itself.</p>
<p>At our high school there are a fair number of kids who take AP Physics B and/or AP World as sophomores they offer one or two sections of each I believe. Most of those students will go on to take AP US History and another AP Science as juniors, a smaller number will take AP English. So it's certainly possible to have some AP Scholars with Honor or Distinction by the end of junior year. I'm not sure how many get the awards by the end of junior year, since they never break it out in the newsletters. I know the total number is about two dozen of each. There's usually just one or two AP National Scholars by the end of senior year. (At least a 4 on all exams, and at least eight exams taken.)</p>
<p>In dealing with my DS GC, the question was not how only how many but rather what were the possibilities. He went to a smaller high school (800 kids) and as a result had far fewer AP offerings than are mentioned above (perhaps 10 total offerings).</p>
<p>They also were often offered in conflict with each other and to take them all would require incredibly enlightened scheduling. For example - AP Bio and AP Chem were both only offered 1 section first period in the morning. Taking both was impossible unless you took one as a Junior and the other as a Senior - which meant you had fulfilled the prereqs as a Sophomore - which in turn meant that back in 8th grade you had taken HS level Biology and Algebra. </p>
<p>Taking AP stats meant that you couldn't take AP French - both only offered 4th period. </p>
<p>The list goes on... With perfect hindsight, DS could have taken 7 AP classes out of the 10. He ended up taking 5. He did get the most rigorous box checked by his GC after some discussion along these lines at the beginning of his senior year. Things were somewhat complicated by the fact he had had 4 different GC in 4 years thanks to the constant change in GC at his school.</p>