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High School Parents
My daughter will be taking AP
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Each AP experience is unique depending on school and teacher. Some might be a poorer experience than the "regular" course. Some might be an enlightenment.
Also, keep in mind:
A good number of colleges do not accept AP credit to replace the college class. Often, the better the college, the less likely they will allow students to skip college class.
Some of the best classes at colleges are the introductory ones that might be bypassed if the college accepts the high school AP course in place of the college one. Students might be missing wonderful experiences.
Some classes--for instance, calculus--are not adequate in high school to replace the college class if the student is going into math or the sciences--really, I believe the student should get the college calc. class for a thorough grounding in this case.
If saving money at college is a primary concern, then make sure the college your child is interested in will allow AP classes to waiver them out of intro college courses.
Also, keep in mind:
A good number of colleges do not accept AP credit to replace the college class. Often, the better the college, the less likely they will allow students to skip college class.
Some of the best classes at colleges are the introductory ones that might be bypassed if the college accepts the high school AP course in place of the college one. Students might be missing wonderful experiences.
Some classes--for instance, calculus--are not adequate in high school to replace the college class if the student is going into math or the sciences--really, I believe the student should get the college calc. class for a thorough grounding in this case.
If saving money at college is a primary concern, then make sure the college your child is interested in will allow AP classes to waiver them out of intro college courses.
laceyjay, my son is also very bright, but has LDs ~ the term for that is "2e," or "twice exceptional." You might be interested in learning more, or sharing your experiences, in the group at community.greatschools.net/gro
i am and i have taken AP courses in the past. it is more difficult you move along faster than in a normal class but it gives you a greater opportunity to learn more. when i went from middle school to high school i ended up in a lot of AP classes most of them were my bad subjects, for example, math, science, world geography, just to name a few. but it helped me in learning and gave me a challenge because that's what i need in school is a good challenge. i learned that you can't slack off in school and you must study for every test. and some of the projects i did counted as 60% of my final grade. I've never been good in science but when i got enrolled in an AP class i had no choice so i didn't sleep in class i actually payed attention. i got in trouble a few times for texting in class so i advise you not to do that especially if its in an AP class. i have a learning disability so i don't know how to study. but i took good notes in class and revised them every night. now I'm going to be a sophomore and I'm proud to say that I'm taking all AP classes. yeah its harder and there's more homework. but at the end its all worth it every minute of your time in class is well needed. and you should also try to stay out of trouble. i got suspended for 3 days and i missed a lot of valuable information therefore i failed my next quiz. i just though this might help a little bit. i hope it does help
Lacey
Lacey
Thanks for your input. I'm happy that my daughter's science teacher thought enough of her to sign her up (even though I suspect it was also to boost the enrollment in AP courses, too). My daughter is an honor roll student, but is not the most motivated student at times. Maybe this is the reality check she needs. I just don't want to set her up for failure. I'm not even thinking about the test aspect yet. I figure if she fails the test, OK, so no college credit. If she passes the test, that's great!
I'll stay optimistic about it. Thanks again.
I'll stay optimistic about it. Thanks again.
My son also took some AP courses. The actual work load is not usually a problem for students who are bright and manage their time well. His school offered several options for credit (although some kids just took the course without seeking any college credit, because they had an interest in the subject.)
In our case, my son's high school had an agreement with a four-year college that whatever grade was achieved in the high school course would equate to the grade at that college, and for a fee, the college would issue a transcript, since the course content was the same. We felt, at the time, that it would be better for our son not to rely on a single test on a single day to show mastery of the entire year's work. Unfortunately, my son ended up attending a different 4-year university, and they didn't accept his credits earned from the other school. (Every university's transcript evaluation criteria is different.)
While it didn't work out for us, my nephew is exceptionally gifted and had 30 hours of AP credits when he graduated from H.S., but most colleges only allow students to apply a lesser number of AP hours...in his case, the university he's attending would have taken the max. amount of AP credits AND additional college transfer credits (but he didn't opt for the college transfer credit hours.) Live and learn. Unless your daughter is certain which college she's going to attend after high school, it's hard to know which approach is best. (But not every high school even offers a college credit option, so you might not have a choice to worry about, anyway!)
In our case, my son's high school had an agreement with a four-year college that whatever grade was achieved in the high school course would equate to the grade at that college, and for a fee, the college would issue a transcript, since the course content was the same. We felt, at the time, that it would be better for our son not to rely on a single test on a single day to show mastery of the entire year's work. Unfortunately, my son ended up attending a different 4-year university, and they didn't accept his credits earned from the other school. (Every university's transcript evaluation criteria is different.)
While it didn't work out for us, my nephew is exceptionally gifted and had 30 hours of AP credits when he graduated from H.S., but most colleges only allow students to apply a lesser number of AP hours...in his case, the university he's attending would have taken the max. amount of AP credits AND additional college transfer credits (but he didn't opt for the college transfer credit hours.) Live and learn. Unless your daughter is certain which college she's going to attend after high school, it's hard to know which approach is best. (But not every high school even offers a college credit option, so you might not have a choice to worry about, anyway!)
Hi tropicgal,
She can expect a challenging course, but it's generally accepted that AP Bio isn't the most challenging among the AP courses. She'll have regular homework and she'll have to maintain the workload. In March or April she will have to decide if she plans to take the test or not. The first week or so of May, the test will occur, and from May on, it's a lot calmer.
For more information on the AP exams, definitely visit www.collegeboard.com/student/t
and here on GreatSchools: www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/s
www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/g
Good luck, and if you have any questions, you might want to join us in the College and Beyond group, located here: community.greatschools.net/gro
She can expect a challenging course, but it's generally accepted that AP Bio isn't the most challenging among the AP courses. She'll have regular homework and she'll have to maintain the workload. In March or April she will have to decide if she plans to take the test or not. The first week or so of May, the test will occur, and from May on, it's a lot calmer.
For more information on the AP exams, definitely visit www.collegeboard.com/student/t
and here on GreatSchools: www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/s
www.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/g
Good luck, and if you have any questions, you might want to join us in the College and Beyond group, located here: community.greatschools.net/gro
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