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WestrnMom
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| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | West Coast, USA |
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Posted: Mon Sep 17th, 2007 08:32 pm |
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Consolation, I agree that some students can benefit from the challenge of taking many APs, but for others it's a stretch as they are not always interested in the subjects themselves but in taking APs to get into a better college. That should not be the purpose of AP classes. Nor should skipping freshman year by virtue of passing APs be the reason. I see many very stressed-out students who could do well in high school honors classes, pushing themselves to the limit to include all their EC activities and pass AP exams. Perhaps it's because the high schools in our district push students into APs rather than allowing the choice to come from the students. The concept also puts good students who are unable to fit APs into their schedules at a major disadvantage when applying to colleges. Students involved in sports or rigorous ECs, like music, or in schools where APs are offered a limited number of class periods, are not able to make their schedules fit the AP offering times. I've personally known 3 students in the last year who should have been accepted at UCLA or Berkeley denied admission because they didn't take enough APs and whose GPAs were therefore not high enough to be considered competitive. All three are brilliant in their chosen areas of study and would have been assets at either school.
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Consolation
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 9th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
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Posted: Tue Sep 18th, 2007 12:16 am |
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I would venture to guess that colleges will see that she took Calculus junior year, and realize that she finished the advanced sequence a year early. That should weigh more that "4" years of math. I agree that finishing the science sequence with physics seems to be important to more selective schools, so taking that instead of AP Stats seems like a good idea. If there is any question about it, her GC can mention in her recommendation that there was a schedule conflict.
It sounds as if she has an excellent, strong program.
Last edited on Tue Sep 18th, 2007 12:16 am by Consolation
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Consolation
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 9th, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 18th, 2007 12:30 am |
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WestrnMom wrote: I've personally known 3 students in the last year who should have been accepted at UCLA or Berkeley denied admission because they didn't take enough APs and whose GPAs were therefore not high enough to be considered competitive. All three are brilliant in their chosen areas of study and would have been assets at either school.
Ah, well there you fall afoul of the UC system's unique and very numbers-driven entrance system. (The price you pay for having the wonderful UC system, I guess.  I've often expressed my envy here.) I can see why this is a particularly sensitive issue for California residents.
Our high school doesn't weight grades at all. My son's average includes the grades he has received in the required Health and gym classes. His 90 in Health counts as much towards his GPA as his 98 in AP Bio (Well, almost. AP Bio is a 1.25 credit course, and Health is .5, but you get my drift.)
Unfortunately, his #1 target school, Yale, does NOT recompute GPAs, unlike many other places.
Something I've been trying to come to terms with is similar: it seems that these schools want totally driven kids who are not only brilliant in their chosen areas of study, but top performers across the board--including standout ECs and volunteer work. It seems as if they are asking too much--but they manage to find them. I've been trying to come to terms with the fact that although my kid is indeed brilliant, and does have ECs that take a substantial amount of time, he simply may not be the totally driven kid they are looking for.
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WestrnMom
Super Moderator
| Joined: | Fri May 26th, 2006 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 18th, 2007 01:38 am |
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Also, do you want him in a school where all the other students are that driven? It will affect the entire college experience. I believe in balance in life and in education.
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Consolation
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 9th, 2007 |
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Posted: Tue Sep 25th, 2007 12:16 am |
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WestrnMom wrote: Also, do you want him in a school where all the other students are that driven? It will affect the entire college experience. I believe in balance in life and in education.
I want him to find some things to be passionate about.
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SoCalMom
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| Joined: | Fri May 16th, 2008 |
| Location: | California USA |
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Posted: Sat May 17th, 2008 08:08 pm |
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Some of this may depend on the ability of the student and the quality of the next level math class. AP Physics has a strong math component as well.
Our DS completed (well, in a few weeks) AP Calculus BC as a sophomore. His school does offer AP Statistics so we were all pondering this for next year, until DH and I went to Open House and spoke to the calculus teacher. The teacher said he felt the AP Stats class was not rigorous enough for DS, and after DH (the math professor) reviewed the syllabus he agreed, figuring DS could pick up a better version of Stats later in college if he wanted.
That being decided, we were then left with the big issue of what to do junior year. There is a community college in the area that has the next levels up (linear algebra, multivariable calculus) at no cost to HS students except for the textbook BUT is six miles away. This means attendance requires a drivers license (he doesn't have one, yet), two buses, or an available parent (only for evening class.)
Being persistent, we checked out online learning options. We got lucky. The JHU Center for Talented Youth program has the same classes noted above in self paced, on line versions. Making good use of our friendly advocate, the calculus teacher, in about two weeks we ran it through the public school bureaucracy and got agreement that DS could use this option, and receive HS credit. (DS is thrilled class is graded, since it will factor into GPA like an AP class.)
This option will cost us $ but resolves logistical issues. DH can assist where necessary. So, once we determine our computers are set up correctly and DS finishes other summer AP class work and takes a vacation, he will try this online learning option and see how it goes.
Our next minor worry is that not enough kids will sign up for AP Physics next year and/or the nasty budget cuts in CA will cause the HS to cut back on the less subscribed AP classes ... Problem for another day.
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CarolynLawrence
Administrator
| Joined: | Sun Mar 5th, 2006 |
| Location: | USA |
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Posted: Sat May 17th, 2008 08:13 pm |
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| SoCalMom, I've worked with several kids who did online math courses through JHU (and also Stanford's EPGY online courses). In all cases, the reports were good, although some of the students said it was helpful to have a "real world" teacher at their school to turn to if they needed help. Congratulations to your son for his accomplishments, and to your son's school for being willing to allow him this option.
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SoCalMom
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| Joined: | Fri May 16th, 2008 |
| Location: | California USA |
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Posted: Sat May 17th, 2008 08:48 pm |
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Carolyn, thanks for the feedback on the CTY online classes.
Previously, we used the CTY summer program option for enrichment type classes. We and other families in the area can give the two thumbs up on this program, which is why we were willing to try their on line program.
One of our school board members could use her sons as a promotion for the self-launching aspects of CTY. Her twins both took summer enrichment classes for three years. They were both Emory scholars and now both were accepted into the grad program at Stanford.
The self-paced feature of the on line classes could turn into a double edged sword, of course. So, until DS is truly "off" to college, the Mom Monitor Meter will still be in the background. 
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Consolation
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 9th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 483 |
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Posted: Sun May 18th, 2008 12:37 pm |
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Back in junior high, my S, also a CTY devotee, took JHU's online Honors Algebra course. It went well. I believe that the difference between EPGY and JHU online courses, for those who might be considering this option, is that JHU includes a human tutor. JHU is also more expensive, for this reason.
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lfm
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| Joined: | Sat Jul 28th, 2007 |
| Location: | California USA |
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Posted: Thu May 22nd, 2008 08:28 pm |
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A cheaper alternative to EPGY and CTY for post Calculus classes in MIT OCW.
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm
The advantage is that they are free. The disadvantage is there is no live teacher and no credit is given. It would not go on a transcript (unless you homeschool), but it would certainly go on a college app, and be noticed.
Some are better than others, but they have a large variety of offerings.
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Consolation
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| Joined: | Mon Apr 9th, 2007 |
| Location: | USA |
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Posted: Fri May 23rd, 2008 12:42 am |
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This jogs my memory. A few few years ago a friend told me that the University of Texas, or some branch of a state school in Texas anyway, has a bunch of high school level math classes on line for free.
Well, I apologize for being vague, but it's a starting place for a search, anyway!
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