|
Post by littlemama on Jul 12, 2016 15:42:35 GMT
Honors classes are designated as such by the school. Colleges don't particularly care about those. This is false information. Colleges care about rigor. They also realize not all high schools offer an abundance of AP or dual enrollment classes, so yes, honors classes DO matter quite a bit because they indicate rigor. I would not call it false. Colleges care about standardized items that can be applied across all applicants - AP classes and score, IB diplomas, ACT or SAT scores. They may note that honors classes were taken, or that someone was in an MST program (Math, Science, Tech), but there is nothing standardized about any of them.
All colleges don't operate this way I am sure, but every one we visited as well as every one other friends visited essentially said the same thing
|
|
oaksong
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,164
Location: LA Suburbia
Site Supporter
Jun 27, 2014 6:24:29 GMT
|
Post by oaksong on Jul 12, 2016 16:49:54 GMT
One thing to consider in all of this is that high school class ranking with the weighted GPA (AP and Honors classes) is part of consideration for top colleges. Since each high school has different offerings, they are looking at the student's success based on the curriculum that was offered. Class rank has become somewhat less important now. Our district doesn't even do class rank anymore because of the level of crazy at the top. People were trying to audit non-honors weighted classes so that their GPA would be higher, gaming the system. We did away with it. www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2015/07/13/high-schools-are-doing-away-with-class-rank-what-does-that-mean-for-college-admissions/SaveSaveI'm sure it depends on the schools involved. The public high schools in our school district still have it. Here in California, I believe class ranking is still one of the top criteria for UC admissions in particular, and they are obligated to accept students with the highest class rankings. Private colleges will take the time to look at the whole package, but UCs rely more heavily on numbers.
|
|
scrapaddie
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,090
Jul 8, 2014 20:17:31 GMT
|
Post by scrapaddie on Jul 12, 2016 16:54:17 GMT
So for my dd's dual credit pre-calc class, which she did get a A in, she's guaranteed college credit for it only in state colleges in our state (Ohio), but if she goes out of state or to a private college she *may* get credit, but she may not? Would you say most colleges accept them? Most, yes, but many no. Some colleges don't even accept AP credit and a few will accept AP credit, but only after you pay for the credits ( same price as taking the course!!)
|
|
scrapaddie
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,090
Jul 8, 2014 20:17:31 GMT
|
Post by scrapaddie on Jul 12, 2016 17:01:25 GMT
This is false information. Colleges care about rigor. They also realize not all high schools offer an abundance of AP or dual enrollment classes, so yes, honors classes DO matter quite a bit because they indicate rigor. I would not call it false. Colleges care about standardized items that can be applied across all applicants - AP classes and score, IB diplomas, ACT or SAT scores. They may note that honors classes were taken, or that someone was in an MST program (Math, Science, Tech), but there is nothing standardized about any of them.
All colleges don't operate this way I am sure, but every one we visited as well as every one other friends visited essentially said the same thing
One of the schools we visited stated that if a student got very good grades, but never took the honors courses offered , that would be a negative. In my experience as a teacher of honors biology, the most important thing about an honors course is that the majority of students in the class are interested in their grades. This means a better learning environment for all of the students. In a regular class there are many students that really don't care about grades and care too much about having a good time. All the time. Only one or two of such Students can totally interfere with the learning of the entire class.
|
|
Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
|
Post by Dani-Mani on Jul 12, 2016 17:01:44 GMT
This is false information. Colleges care about rigor. They also realize not all high schools offer an abundance of AP or dual enrollment classes, so yes, honors classes DO matter quite a bit because they indicate rigor. I would not call it false. Colleges care about standardized items that can be applied across all applicants - AP classes and score, IB diplomas, ACT or SAT scores. They may note that honors classes were taken, or that someone was in an MST program (Math, Science, Tech), but there is nothing standardized about any of them.
All colleges don't operate this way I am sure, but every one we visited as well as every one other friends visited essentially said the same thing
With colleges doing away with SAT and ACT requirements more and more, they do rely on the rigor your schedule. again. You're forgetting that this nations education system is far from equal. Not every child has access to AP, IB, dual enrollment. Not every college requires standardized tests and tests are a snapshot of what they remember for one day. Thus, they look at the student. And part of examining the student is determining rigor. Ive worked for a college for five years in grad school, and i know our decisions to admit undergrads didn't depend on AP classes. Not all of our kids in our state had access to advanced curriculums. We had other guidelines, and overall rigor was one of them.
|
|
msliz
Drama Llama
The Procrastinator
Posts: 6,419
Jun 26, 2014 21:32:34 GMT
|
Post by msliz on Jul 12, 2016 17:03:09 GMT
DD's college gave her general credit for her 3 AP courses, but she was still required to take the college's intro level courses. The AP versions did not put her ahead in terms of fulfilling prerequisites for higher level college classes. But she can use the AP credits to satisfy general credit requirements. I also wanted to note that her HS taught the same material at the same level for Honors and AP. The difference between them was that the AP curriculum was set and the teacher could not deviate from the plan at all, while the Honors curriculum was often more interesting to the students because the teacher had the freedom to customize to it a bit.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 14:11:00 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2016 17:08:34 GMT
For most schools, they operate under the common course system that means that if you take a freshman english class at a community college in Florida, you will get the credit for that freshman english class in Georgia. Or Iowa. Or Alaska. Some private schools may not allow it, but that is way more rare than you think. One thing I noted was that the schools are really pushing AP over Dual Enrollment. I asked the counselor one time why and got a very long answer that had no information, but I think it had to do with school funding-more money for students in AP classes. I am more comfortable with Dual Enrollment, but my son preferred AP so that is what he did. The AP classes gave him a significant bump in his GPA. The honors classes a little less so, but still higher than non-honors classes. Interestingly, schools are evaluated by several publications (including US News and World Report) based on AP offerings and participation, so they like to push AP to get a better rating. The College Board is a massive organization that claims to be non-profit, but really, they have a monopoly on college entrance testing. It's pretty interesting. Also, any teacher can teach an AP class, but most dual-credit programs require that the teacher have the same level of credential as a college faculty member (meaning a masters degree in the subject, at the very least). There has been such a huge push for AP in our area. I wonder when colleges will begin to calculate how much revenue they're losing from exemption from gen eds & prerequisites... SaveSaveThey began calculating that a long time ago. There is a reason degree programs now require more credits to graduate than they required, say 50 years ago. Instead of flat out not accepting AP courses (pressure from parents and other colleges to accept them) They load the upper level end of the program with more credits. Looking through our records, at the beginning of the 20th century degree (1900 to 1950) programs were around 110 credit hours. Now most of them are around 126. Save
|
|
|
Post by littlemama on Jul 12, 2016 17:29:16 GMT
I would not call it false. Colleges care about standardized items that can be applied across all applicants - AP classes and score, IB diplomas, ACT or SAT scores. They may note that honors classes were taken, or that someone was in an MST program (Math, Science, Tech), but there is nothing standardized about any of them.
All colleges don't operate this way I am sure, but every one we visited as well as every one other friends visited essentially said the same thing
With colleges doing away with SAT and ACT requirements more and more, they do rely on the rigor your schedule. again. You're forgetting that this nations education system is far from equal. Not every child has access to AP, IB, dual enrollment. Not every college requires standardized tests and tests are a snapshot of what they remember for one day. Thus, they look at the student. And part of examining the student is determining rigor. Ive worked for a college for five years in grad school, and i know our decisions to admit undergrads didn't depend on AP classes. Not all of our kids in our state had access to advanced curriculums. We had other guidelines, and overall rigor was one of them. I'm not "forgetting" anything. I am repeating things that we and others we know were told at visits to various college visits. Obviously, all schools are not the same and all colleges are not the same. Can the condescension.
|
|
|
Post by bc2ca on Jul 12, 2016 17:30:34 GMT
What is the advantage of one over the other? DS is starting high school. We opted for him not to take the AP Geography this year. He is taking 3 honors classes (ELA, Biology and Alegbra I). At our HS the honors class are considered the preAP track, so if you would take H ELA9, H ELA 10, AP Lang & Comp in grade 11 and AP Lit in grade 12. There is no H ELA 11 or H ELA 12 option available, just the regular class. Same with the sciences. Kids will take H Bio or Bio (usually as a freshman) and the H Bio kids can take AP Bio the next year. Not all do though. DS took both H Bio and H Chem and isn't doing the AP classes for either.
|
|
Dani-Mani
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,706
Jun 28, 2014 17:36:35 GMT
|
Post by Dani-Mani on Jul 12, 2016 17:33:16 GMT
With colleges doing away with SAT and ACT requirements more and more, they do rely on the rigor your schedule. again. You're forgetting that this nations education system is far from equal. Not every child has access to AP, IB, dual enrollment. Not every college requires standardized tests and tests are a snapshot of what they remember for one day. Thus, they look at the student. And part of examining the student is determining rigor. Ive worked for a college for five years in grad school, and i know our decisions to admit undergrads didn't depend on AP classes. Not all of our kids in our state had access to advanced curriculums. We had other guidelines, and overall rigor was one of them. I'm not "forgetting" anything. I am repeating things that we and others we know were told at visits to various college visits. Obviously, all schools are not the same and all colleges are not the same. Can the condescension.
Trying to "prove" your point by indicating "every college we visited" and "every college our friends visited" is just as condescending. Check the tude, okay?
|
|
|
Post by peasapie on Jul 12, 2016 18:18:30 GMT
I have not read any of the responses. My kids took AP classes and the subsequent AP exam and then began college with credit for those classes. My son started college as a second semester freshman, as he had credit already for four courses.
One of my son's friends chose to take honors classes vs. AP. He did very well, had a great GPS, and got into an excellent college.
AP classes are a lot of work and are on a strictly prescribed schedule. Teachers must cover specific material and there is no time to stop, slow down, or really do many of the additional "fun" activities sometimes associated with certain subjects.
Most kids I know took AP classes in sophomore and junior years.
|
|
|
Post by Dreamsofnyssa on Jul 12, 2016 18:30:26 GMT
You can take AP courses without taking the test. They are just higher level classes. To be honest, I took all AP classes in high school and had no idea there was even a test. Not until I read about it here on 2peas.
|
|
|
Post by SockMonkey on Jul 12, 2016 18:40:10 GMT
You can take AP courses without taking the test. They are just higher level classes. To be honest, I took all AP classes in high school and had no idea there was even a test. Not until I read about it here on 2peas. I mean, you CAN, but if you can afford to take the test, it's probably worth it if you do reasonably well in the class. You'd just want to be sure any colleges you might attend will accept the credit (and at what score). SaveSave
|
|
|
Post by Linda on Jul 12, 2016 18:45:05 GMT
I'm going to guess that what he was actually offered was pre-AP geography and not actual AP culminating in a standardized test. It would be rare for freshman to take a true AP class. at my daughter's high school, AP Human Geography IS a freshman course - it's only offered to freshman on the honours track (as an incoming freshman - you're either honours track for all core classes (so honours maths, honours english, honours science and AP Human Geography) or you're regular track (no honours courses) or you're tracked higher (honours) for maths and regular for the other 3 core subjects) And yes - it's a true AP course and they take the AP exam in the Spring.
|
|
|
Post by Linda on Jul 12, 2016 18:49:37 GMT
In my experience as a teacher of honors biology, the most important thing about an honors course is that the majority of students in the class are interested in their grades. This means a better learning environment for all of the students. In a regular class there are many students that really don't care about grades and care too much about having a good time. All the time. Only one or two of such Students can totally interfere with the learning of the entire class. This is a very good point. My daughter who is in honours and AP classes for her core subjects really noticed a difference between the class environment (student attitude/interest in learning/behaviour) between her core classes and her electives (which drew from a cross-section of the student body). She MUCH prefers the honours/AP classes both because they have more challenging material AND because her classmates are also there to learn and get good grades not just because they need a credit to graduate (not saying all non-honours students have that attitude but some do and even one or two can spoil a class- and it's much rarer to find that attitude in the higher level classes because that attitude doesn't get you INTO higher level classes)
|
|
twinsmomfla99
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,987
Jun 26, 2014 13:42:47 GMT
|
Post by twinsmomfla99 on Jul 12, 2016 22:45:38 GMT
I haven't read all the replies, but I want to weigh in with a college advisor's opinion.
AP credits can be an inexpensive way to get some of your college credits out of the way before you even start. But there are disadvantages to earning a lot of these credits.
1. You don't get a grade in them. These are generally freshmen level courses, and for many students, they are the "easy A" grades to help boost the overall GPA during the freshman or sophomore year. Yes, you get AP credit for them, but you if you replace them in your freshman schedule with sophomore level courses (because those are the courses that logically follow in your progression to a degree), you are going to be expected to carry a heavier work load than you would have with freshman level courses. That is not necessarily a good thing for a young adult who is experiencing living on his or her own for the first time and having to manage their time without parental support. There is a reason we advise students to stick to the 100 level classes and to avoid those 200 levels until at least second semester once they have some college experience under their belts. In addition, when it is all said an done, the student's final GPA upon graduation is going to be more heavily weighted toward the upper-division classes which tend to have lower overall grades.
2. It is hit or miss as to whether they will count as something you need. Some majors are wide open for electives and general ed courses. Others are highly structured with course lists that must be strictly followed to earn the degree. Business (at least at my school), engineering, nursing, etc. (most STEM fields) leave little room for anything extra. Assuming that you are hoping to graduate early by taking all those AP classes in high school, you would then have few options for earning a minor with your electives and still graduate early as planned. My business students only need one history general ed course, and if they come in with four AP history classes, three of those go into the electives. Many of those students also complete the US Gov class, and that goes into a general ed category that is already filled with their required ECON class, so the AP credit falls into the electives bucket. The most electives most of our majors allow outside of the required classes is 18, and those four courses just filled 12 of those hours. Yes, technically they can "graduate a semester early," but they have used up all the elective spots that we put into the junior and senior year to allow students a break on those upper-division business classes, which contrary to popular thought, can be quite demanding with the workload.
3. Counting your AP credits as your electives takes away the freedom to explore other areas of interest that a student might develop while in school. Well, technically, it doesn't "take it away" unless the student wants to graduate a semester or two early. But if you aren't earning that credit to graduate early, why take so many in high school and create all that stress?
4. Also related to GPA is the possibility of repeating a class if necessary for academic forgiveness. At my school, AP credits count as "attempted" and "earned" hours. Any class in which a student earns a D or F during the first 60 attempted hours can be repeated one time with the second grade replacing the first in the GPA (it still shows on the transcript, though). The purpose of the rule (and most universities have similar rules, although the details may differ) is to allow students a "do-over" during that adjustment period when the student is getting used to being on his or her own, learning that a major isn't the right one (and maybe doing poorly in classes as a result), etc. I once had a student with 48 AP credits, and he hit the sixty hour mark during his first semester on campus. He was okay until second semester when he struggled with ACCT 202 and earned an F along with a couple of D grades. He had to repeat it because he could not take upper-division courses until he passed it. Even though he repeated it, that F counted because he was beyond the 60 hour mark. Since he only had a total of 30-32 hours of "GPA credit" with grades attached, the F and Ds had a serious impact.
5. I have seen a lot of biology students struggle with the second semester biology course when the first semester one was completed with AP credit. Yes, these are supposed to be college level courses, and the test should be rigorous enough to prepare students for the next course, but that is not always the case. I would not recommend that a student take the foundation courses for their major as AP credit. When one college course is a prerequisite for another, it is generally helpful to take both on campus because the courses are designed to fit together. AP and transfer courses do not usually satisfy 100% of the college course requirements; each college or state system will have a standard as to what percentage of the material must be covered in order to be a course equivalent. Taking ACCT 201 at one school and expecting to cover everything that is needed for ACCT 202 at another isn't realistic. I generally advise my accounting students to complete their accounting foundation courses in residence and pick up general ed credits for transfer instead. I don't get to make that suggestion for AP courses (i.e. don't rely on AP econ if you want to be an econ major) because they have already completed them before I ever see them. Just yesterday I encountered an incoming freshman econ who is going to have to make some tough decisions about his econ classes this year since he earned credit for micro and macro but does not have the other prerequisites he needs to move on to more advanced econ classes. Repeating them would affect his financial aid and scholarships because you can only earn credit once, so the repeat classes would not be "degree-applicable." At the same time, going an entire year with no econ before starting upper-division courses does not seem wise, so I think he is going to audit them. So he will have his normal full schedule plus the audit requirements for one of these two classes each semester.
So what AP courses are helpful? English language (counts as our basic ENGL 101 and 102) is an excellent choice because it is going to be required for just about everyone. Math doesn't hurt either because I have found that the material covered in math courses is a little more "universal" than a lot of other subjects. So if you meet the AP requirements, there is a pretty good chance you are prepared for the next level course. ONE AP history course (unless the student plans to major/minor in history) isn't a bad choice, because almost every school is going to accept that as a general ed credit. Psychology and sociology are required for many majors, and if not required, will frequently fulfill a general ed credit.
Just be careful of loading up on too many AP courses because they can cause issues with GPAs, which can make it more difficult to get into a graduate program if that is the path the student wants to take. It can also make a difference in the level of employment opportunities (some firms refuse to interview anyone below a certain GPA) and honors for graduation.
|
|
|
Post by 950nancy on Jul 12, 2016 23:42:20 GMT
I haven't read all the replies, but I want to weigh in with a college advisor's opinion. AP credits can be an inexpensive way to get some of your college credits out of the way before you even start. But there are disadvantages to earning a lot of these credits. 1. You don't get a grade in them. These are generally freshmen level courses, and for many students, they are the "easy A" grades to help boost the overall GPA during the freshman or sophomore year. Yes, you get AP credit for them, but you if you replace them in your freshman schedule with sophomore level courses (because those are the courses that logically follow in your progression to a degree), you are going to be expected to carry a heavier work load than you would have with freshman level courses. That is not necessarily a good thing for a young adult who is experiencing living on his or her own for the first time and having to manage their time without parental support. There is a reason we advise students to stick to the 100 level classes and to avoid those 200 levels until at least second semester once they have some college experience under their belts. In addition, when it is all said an done, the student's final GPA upon graduation is going to be more heavily weighted toward the upper-division classes which tend to have lower overall grades. 2. It is hit or miss as to whether they will count as something you need. Some majors are wide open for electives and general ed courses. Others are highly structured with course lists that must be strictly followed to earn the degree. Business (at least at my school), engineering, nursing, etc. (most STEM fields) leave little room for anything extra. Assuming that you are hoping to graduate early by taking all those AP classes in high school, you would then have few options for earning a minor with your electives and still graduate early as planned. My business students only need one history general ed course, and if they come in with four AP history classes, three of those go into the electives. Many of those students also complete the US Gov class, and that goes into a general ed category that is already filled with their required ECON class, so the AP credit falls into the electives bucket. The most electives most of our majors allow outside of the required classes is 18, and those four courses just filled 12 of those hours. Yes, technically they can "graduate a semester early," but they have used up all the elective spots that we put into the junior and senior year to allow students a break on those upper-division business classes, which contrary to popular thought, can be quite demanding with the workload. 3. Counting your AP credits as your electives takes away the freedom to explore other areas of interest that a student might develop while in school. Well, technically, it doesn't "take it away" unless the student wants to graduate a semester or two early. But if you aren't earning that credit to graduate early, why take so many in high school and create all that stress? 4. Also related to GPA is the possibility of repeating a class if necessary for academic forgiveness. At my school, AP credits count as "attempted" and "earned" hours. Any class in which a student earns a D or F during the first 60 attempted hours can be repeated one time with the second grade replacing the first in the GPA (it still shows on the transcript, though). The purpose of the rule (and most universities have similar rules, although the details may differ) is to allow students a "do-over" during that adjustment period when the student is getting used to being on his or her own, learning that a major isn't the right one (and maybe doing poorly in classes as a result), etc. I once had a student with 48 AP credits, and he hit the sixty hour mark during his first semester on campus. He was okay until second semester when he struggled with ACCT 202 and earned an F along with a couple of D grades. He had to repeat it because he could not take upper-division courses until he passed it. Even though he repeated it, that F counted because he was beyond the 60 hour mark. Since he only had a total of 30-32 hours of "GPA credit" with grades attached, the F and Ds had a serious impact. 5. I have seen a lot of biology students struggle with the second semester biology course when the first semester one was completed with AP credit. Yes, these are supposed to be college level courses, and the test should be rigorous enough to prepare students for the next course, but that is not always the case. I would not recommend that a student take the foundation courses for their major as AP credit. When one college course is a prerequisite for another, it is generally helpful to take both on campus because the courses are designed to fit together. AP and transfer courses do not usually satisfy 100% of the college course requirements; each college or state system will have a standard as to what percentage of the material must be covered in order to be a course equivalent. Taking ACCT 201 at one school and expecting to cover everything that is needed for ACCT 202 at another isn't realistic. I generally advise my accounting students to complete their accounting foundation courses in residence and pick up general ed credits for transfer instead. I don't get to make that suggestion for AP courses (i.e. don't rely on AP econ if you want to be an econ major) because they have already completed them before I ever see them. Just yesterday I encountered an incoming freshman econ who is going to have to make some tough decisions about his econ classes this year since he earned credit for micro and macro but does not have the other prerequisites he needs to move on to more advanced econ classes. Repeating them would affect his financial aid and scholarships because you can only earn credit once, so the repeat classes would not be "degree-applicable." At the same time, going an entire year with no econ before starting upper-division courses does not seem wise, so I think he is going to audit them. So he will have his normal full schedule plus the audit requirements for one of these two classes each semester. So what AP courses are helpful? English language (counts as our basic ENGL 101 and 102) is an excellent choice because it is going to be required for just about everyone. Math doesn't hurt either because I have found that the material covered in math courses is a little more "universal" than a lot of other subjects. So if you meet the AP requirements, there is a pretty good chance you are prepared for the next level course. ONE AP history course (unless the student plans to major/minor in history) isn't a bad choice, because almost every school is going to accept that as a general ed credit. Psychology and sociology are required for many majors, and if not required, will frequently fulfill a general ed credit. Just be careful of loading up on too many AP courses because they can cause issues with GPAs, which can make it more difficult to get into a graduate program if that is the path the student wants to take. It can also make a difference in the level of employment opportunities (some firms refuse to interview anyone below a certain GPA) and honors for graduation. I can only speak from just our experience, but my son took enough AP and actual college courses (left high school four days a week to go to CC) that he entered college as a sophomore his freshman year. Because of these credits, he was also able to register for classes that his counterparts could not. He got most of his general ed courses taken care of in high school. He has always known what he has wanted to do, so that helps with exploring. Thankfully he has been in charge of everything college. I tell him to research everything and give me the bill. He did save us about 25K in college expenses, so for us, the AP/college classes were well worth it. He has talked about doing a graduate program, so we will have to see if that pans out. He never had anything but A's in school, so I haven't ever stressed (or really even thought much) about his college education. God bless that boy.
|
|
|
Post by dockmaster on Jul 13, 2016 3:36:36 GMT
My older dd went the AP direction. She will graduate a semester early. It is what worked for her. She did the English, history, econ, phsycology AP classes and did well on the tests. She is a linguistics major, so these classes helped not hindred her.
Now younget dd is doing dual enrollment or "Move On When Ready" as it is called here. MOWR is a better fit for her because schedulimg has become an issue at her high school and MOWR is totally free and AP tests are expensive with no guarantee. If she does well in her MOWR classes, she has college credit. She is attending classes at our local college right along with other regular college students. So far she is doing excellent. Her plan is to walk with her associates degree at the same time she walks for high school. She would the move on to a 4 year school as a transfer student rather than a freshman.
It is totally free including books. Oir lottery pays for the program. The only expense I have incurred this summer was a $30 parking pass. I will need to pay $30 in the fall too, but that one will be good for 1 year. If she stays on track and manages to get her associates degree, we will have saved about 40k in college expenses. If she gets her bachelor's degree here in GA, all her credits will transfer.
|
|
|
Post by *leslie* on Jul 13, 2016 4:09:17 GMT
The honors science class my daughter took in high school, (I think it was Microbiology/Genetics), did give her college credit so I don't think that's it's necessarily true that colleges don't care about honor classes.
|
|
|
Post by 950nancy on Jul 13, 2016 4:30:38 GMT
The honors science class my daughter took in high school, (I think it was Microbiology/Genetics), did give her college credit so I don't think that's it's necessarily true that colleges don't care about honor classes. I have never heard of that before. But when you think of all fifty states and all of their programs, there have to be lots of differences. I think you just have to research the schools you are looking at and make the best decision. Our high school wouldn't let freshman or sophomores enroll in a single AP class. I know other high schools are different.
|
|
|
Post by ~summer~ on Jul 13, 2016 4:32:10 GMT
Honors classes are designated as such by the school. Colleges don't particularly care about those. Advanced Placement Classes are tested nationally and the student can earn college credit for a passing score - that score may vary based on the college selected. Some schools offer a gpa boost for Honors classes and/or AP classes. Our HS offered it for AP only. Colleges also don't care about that. They use the unadjusted GPA, so saying that my child graduated with a 4.017 gpa does not mean that is the gpa the college used for scholarship/admission calculations. The other thing with AP classes is that for DS, 3 of the 4 satisfied Gen Ed Category Requirements, but his major requires different classes to be taken from those categories, so he got the credit hours, but didn't meet requirements for his major. The fourth class satisfied both. Finally, watch out for duplication. Many colleges will only accept either AP Language or AP Literature to satisfy an English requirement, but lots of students still take both! If colleges use the unadjusted then how can they say that the average gpa for kids admitted was 4.2?
|
|
|
Post by littlemama on Jul 13, 2016 10:56:15 GMT
Honors classes are designated as such by the school. Colleges don't particularly care about those. Advanced Placement Classes are tested nationally and the student can earn college credit for a passing score - that score may vary based on the college selected. Some schools offer a gpa boost for Honors classes and/or AP classes. Our HS offered it for AP only. Colleges also don't care about that. They use the unadjusted GPA, so saying that my child graduated with a 4.017 gpa does not mean that is the gpa the college used for scholarship/admission calculations. The other thing with AP classes is that for DS, 3 of the 4 satisfied Gen Ed Category Requirements, but his major requires different classes to be taken from those categories, so he got the credit hours, but didn't meet requirements for his major. The fourth class satisfied both. Finally, watch out for duplication. Many colleges will only accept either AP Language or AP Literature to satisfy an English requirement, but lots of students still take both! If colleges use the unadjusted then how can they say that the average gpa for kids admitted was 4.2? They may do their own weighting of those classes. Our high school gives a .5 bump for AP classes. I know of schools that give a full point bump for them. Not a level playing field for admissions and scholarship purposes, so the university may use the unadjusted grades or they may apply their own bump. Reporting an admissions average higher than is technically possible is an advertising tactic, I think.
|
|
raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
|
Post by raindancer on Jul 13, 2016 11:27:47 GMT
You can take AP courses without taking the test. They are just higher level classes. To be honest, I took all AP classes in high school and had no idea there was even a test. Not until I read about it here on 2peas. I mean, you CAN, but if you can afford to take the test, it's probably worth it if you do reasonably well in the class. You'd just want to be sure any colleges you might attend will accept the credit (and at what score). SaveSaveI also took all AP classes but didn't test because my patents couldn't afford the fee. It still helped my addmissions, but that was 20 years ago. My dd starts HS this year in the honors program but they don't offer AP to freshman. The scores matter some take a 3 or higher some only take a 5.
|
|
|
Post by peasapie on Jul 13, 2016 12:40:11 GMT
I would not call it false. Colleges care about standardized items that can be applied across all applicants - AP classes and score, IB diplomas, ACT or SAT scores. They may note that honors classes were taken, or that someone was in an MST program (Math, Science, Tech), but there is nothing standardized about any of them.
All colleges don't operate this way I am sure, but every one we visited as well as every one other friends visited essentially said the same thing
With colleges doing away with SAT and ACT requirements more and more, they do rely on the rigor your schedule. again. You're forgetting that this nations education system is far from equal. Not every child has access to AP, IB, dual enrollment. Not every college requires standardized tests and tests are a snapshot of what they remember for one day. Thus, they look at the student. And part of examining the student is determining rigor. Ive worked for a college for five years in grad school, and i know our decisions to admit undergrads didn't depend on AP classes. Not all of our kids in our state had access to advanced curriculums. We had other guidelines, and overall rigor was one of them. Are there colleges that don't require SAT/ACT?
|
|
|
Post by SockMonkey on Jul 13, 2016 13:35:23 GMT
With colleges doing away with SAT and ACT requirements more and more, they do rely on the rigor your schedule. again. You're forgetting that this nations education system is far from equal. Not every child has access to AP, IB, dual enrollment. Not every college requires standardized tests and tests are a snapshot of what they remember for one day. Thus, they look at the student. And part of examining the student is determining rigor. Ive worked for a college for five years in grad school, and i know our decisions to admit undergrads didn't depend on AP classes. Not all of our kids in our state had access to advanced curriculums. We had other guidelines, and overall rigor was one of them. Are there colleges that don't require SAT/ACT? Yep: www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2015/07/27/a-list-of-180-ranked-schools-that-dont-require-act-or-sat-scores-for-admissions/SaveSave
|
|
|
Post by auntkelly on Jul 13, 2016 13:44:13 GMT
I'm not an expert by any means, but based on my experience with my two kids' experiences with the college admissions process, it seems like it varies greatly what colleges look at during the admissions process.
My son went to a very competitive private university and I don't think they would have even considered admitting him if he hadn't taken just about every AP course offered and scored high on the AP tests.
My daughter, on the other hand, goes to a public university with a good reputation, and I think they looked at her unweighted GPA and her ACT score and admitted her based on those two numbers and nothing else.
In the end, I feel like both of my kids are receiving a good education and both of them feel like they chose the right school for them.
|
|
|
Post by SweetieBugs on Jul 13, 2016 15:46:58 GMT
My DS took enough AP classes in high school that he is starting at UC Santa Barbara with almost a full year of transferable credits. At $60 a class, very well worth it.
|
|
sophikins
Full Member
Posts: 239
Aug 30, 2014 15:12:27 GMT
|
Post by sophikins on Jul 13, 2016 16:07:11 GMT
Here is an interesting perspective on AP classes, and why colleges may be concerned about giving college credit or letting them substitute for prerequisite courses. College credit for AP classes
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 14:11:00 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 13, 2016 19:05:41 GMT
My daughter took lots of AP classes her senior year high school -- she was a very motivated and advanced student and it was her choice. Some of them were accepted as credit -- German got her into the next level course which became her minor. Several were not accepted as the university required students to take their courses in stats and physics as a foundation.
My son, on the other hand, took mostly honors with only a couple APs. He wanted to spend his effort on extracurricular music groups. He'll get credit for his French and Chem. The music school doesn't require those, so he gets gen ed credits and bumped up a level in French.
ETA: I meant to say that they were both accepted by most of the schools they applied to, so I doubt the honors vs AP was that big a deal.
|
|