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For those of you who have had children go to very competitive science geared colleges, did it matter if they had AP classes on their transcript??? I was just wondering if having the AP designation on the transcript helped any. We are doing Chemistry and Statistics next year with college texts and I thought I should try for the AP approval but then thought is it worth it.........will it make a difference???? Or does it really just boil down to really good test scores and the content isnt important? Because to get the good score, you had to have had a class that covered the material somehow. Just wondering if I should knock myself out and get approval on my syllabus.

 

Thanks

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Well, I never saw the need to get my syllabi approved by the College Board for AP classes my kids self-studied at home (the vast majority - between them we outsourced 3 APs and self-studied another 20!).

 

On the transcript, I named the course something like "Advanced Chemistry with AP exam" and then had a box on the side where I listed their exam scores.

 

I asked several admissions officers ahead of time whether having a CB-approved course would make a difference. They all replied that it didn't make a difference to them whether my kids took an outsourced course or self-studied w/o CB syllabus approval, as long as the exam scores were high.

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WOW ! I knew someone had a simpler method! that makes sense. Just by glancing at the transcript they will know it's an intent to tackle AP. Given the time restraints I'm under, I think that may well be the best bet as the process to write out the syllabus looks like way more time than I have this year.

 

Is it a problem to take the AP exams at the school? IS it like the SAT, you just sign up with the CB and show up to take it? Or like the PSAT where you have to negotiate with the school?

 

Thanks!

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Is it a problem to take the AP exams at the school? IS it like the SAT, you just sign up with the CB and show up to take it? Or like the PSAT where you have to negotiate with the school?

 

Thanks!

 

You have to negotiate with a school. There are two problems here: you need to find a school that is offering the test your student wishes to take and then see if they will allow your student a desk at test time.

 

Fortunately the College Board maintains an online data base displaying which AP courses have met approval at which schools. The 2011/2012 audit will not be posted until later, but the current audit should give you an idea of which exams schools near you gave.

 

Good luck!

 

Jane

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You have to negotiate with a school. There are two problems here: you need to find a school that is offering the test your student wishes to take and then see if they will allow your student a desk at test time.

 

 

I just wanted to add that you should have all this arranged with the school before March. I called our school in the fall and again in January and March. Our local school didn't have any students taking any AP exams, but they have been willing to proctor our two dc for five exams this year, so you don't necessarily need to find a school that's offering your particular exams, as long as you find a certified AP proctor who's willing to order and administer your exams for you.

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I just wanted to add that you should have all this arranged with the school before March. I called our school in the fall and again in January and March. Our local school didn't have any students taking any AP exams, but they have been willing to proctor our two dc for five exams this year, so you don't necessarily need to find a school that's offering your particular exams, as long as you find a certified AP proctor who's willing to order and administer your exams for you.

 

:iagree:

 

I was going to make this point as well. Our local school said they would order and proctor a test just for my son, even one that none of their students were taking. It was a moot point this year, as the two AP tests he took had a reasonable number of kids testing. Next year he'll want to take the Comp Gov AP, so I'll find out if it really is as seamless as they made it sound!

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Thank you ladies!!

 

Now, which do you think bears more "weight". SAT 2 subject test or the AP ? I all ready know that a couple of schools want SAT in certain subjects and I'll make sure we get those but would both be needed ? Or one over the other if the college doesn't make a preference?

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It can depend on where you apply. In another thread, tigersgrowl said that the college she wanted to attend weighted the grades based on whether it was AP or not.

 

I wish that I had done it for the French AP that my son did in 9th because on the transcript, it just shows up as French II. (We're using an umbrella school that does not have a class " x course leading to AP exam".) Then there is the AP grade on another part of the transcript, but it doesn't correlate to that class unless the administrator is making an effort figure it out.

 

For this year, he'll have the AP courses on his transcript even though he won't have the AP grades yet. That makes his level of work clear.

 

Also, FWIW, I thought that preparing the syllabus for the AP audit made me more aware of what can be done in a course besides just following a book and so hopefully enriched ds study.

 

It certainly does take more time and effort though.

 

Joan

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Preparing a syllabus for the AP is a lot of work, but it makes you really understand what's on the test and makes you really think through your plan for the year. We have had no problem getting courses approved, and I think it's definitely worth the effort.

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But I also really, really enjoyed & learned from thinking through my different course plans and preparing for each new year, even w/o submitting those plans to the College Board.:001_smile:

 

I felt that by submitting a syllabus to CB, I'd be tied to that plan as the year progressed, and I always felt that one of the best benefits of homeschooling was the ability to keep things flexible. And I still was very much on top of my kids' studies, and they did extremely well with the tests.

 

Now, I've never heard of the situation that tigersgrowl described in another thread where colleges added extra points for AP classes, even if the high school didn't do it that way. Mostly we heard that colleges stripped those extra weighted points off and recalculated the gpa without them. In any case, I didn't worry too much about and submitted unweighted gpa's for my two kids. I worried more about supplying a course description document detailing what we did in each class. I figured that would give the admissions offices better insight into what we actually accomplished.

 

I couldn't do it all, and I doubt that any of us can! We just have to decide what works best in our own families. The more that I hear about other families' college stories, the more that I understand that there are many, many roads to the same end!

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Kathy, I'm sure you did enjoy preparing for the AP course and I know you work really hard. And I certainly agree that we should do what is best for our students and families. I'm in no way discrediting your choices or anyone else's that choose to not do the audit.

 

I'm just a bit lazier than you and work harder with a bit of external push and I know I worked harder this year than when I had ds do his French AP before. (He just looked at a review book before the exam and still did really well...). Plus I wanted it on the transcript...I wouldn't have thought of doing it before (no energy and not enough understanding), but this year it was a good thing to do.

 

But here's the interesting thing about the AP audit...they recognize that there has to be flex in the plans. What they say about the authorization is this:

 

"Renewing Your Authorization

Once your course has been authorized, you do not need to resubmit the syllabus unless the College Board significantly revises the AP course. Prior to the 2011 - 2012 school year, you will be sent instructions for extending your authorization status for 2011 - 2012.

 

We understand that you may need to modify or adapt your syllabus or course plan to address the needs of your students, reflect new discoveries, and try out new approaches. You do not need to resubmit your syllabus when you modify it, as long as you are not changing your course so significantly as to eliminate from your curriculum one or more of the curricular requirements on the AP Course Audit form."

 

So it seems like there is more flex than one might think in the syllabus, as long as you are not eliminating curricular requirements...

 

Joan

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I'm just a bit lazier than you and work harder with a bit of external push and I know I worked harder this year than when I had ds do his French AP before. (He just looked at a review book before the exam and still did really well...). Plus I wanted it on the transcript...I wouldn't have thought of doing it before (no energy and not enough understanding), but this year it was a good thing to do.

 

But here's the interesting thing about the AP audit...they recognize that there has to be flex in the plans. What they say about the authorization is this:

 

"Renewing Your Authorization

Once your course has been authorized, you do not need to resubmit the syllabus unless the College Board significantly revises the AP course. Prior to the 2011 - 2012 school year, you will be sent instructions for extending your authorization status for 2011 - 2012.

 

We understand that you may need to modify or adapt your syllabus or course plan to address the needs of your students, reflect new discoveries, and try out new approaches. You do not need to resubmit your syllabus when you modify it, as long as you are not changing your course so significantly as to eliminate from your curriculum one or more of the curricular requirements on the AP Course Audit form."

 

So it seems like there is more flex than one might think in the syllabus, as long as you are not eliminating curricular requirements...

 

Joan

 

That's interesting, Joan! I hadn't seen that bolded part that you quoted before. Thanks for sharing.:) I'm not criticizing anyone else's choices, just pointing out why I chose what I did. In your case, with the cover school preparing the transcript and having less choice about how to word course titles, I would have considered doing the course audits as well. And you aren't lazy in any sense of the word in how thoroughly you've planned your children's educations. My personal laziness leans more toward filling out paperwork like the course audit and less toward planning and directing the actual coursework. That's what I was trying to say - all of us do what makes sense in our own personal and school situations.

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That's interesting, Joan! I hadn't seen that bolded part that you quoted before.

 

I hadn't seen it before starting either (though it is sometimes hard to find everything on the CB website), so it might not actually be on the site. It was in the authorization letter I received for the course.

 

Umbrella school transcripts are the problem with umbrella schools it seems to me...they don't always come exactly the way you want them. The one we have is fairly flexible (though they have their regs too), but you don't always know what they will do until you get the transcript and then see - uh oh.:)

 

This forum certainly shows the multitude of ways to accomplish homeschooling through high school. :001_smile:

 

Joan

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  • 1 year later...
Guest vikki wulf

Preparing a syllabus for the AP is a lot of work, but it makes you really understand what's on the test and makes you really think through your plan for the year. We have had no problem getting courses approved, and I think it's definitely worth the effort.

 

Would you be willing to share the syllabi that your prepared for AP courses? i have recently found that I will need to homeschool my daughter and she was taking AP courses and wants to continue to take them

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To the OP --

 

if you are doing advanced / AP classes at home, DO make sure that your child has enough outside contact with someone academic that the person can write a recommendation for your child.

 

At the less competitive colleges my kids applied to, the recommender could be anyone, but some of the more "elite"' schools required recs from a humanities teacher, a math/science teacher, and then someone else.

 

I know you have probably thought of this already, but every year I seem to hear of at least one homeschooler who has issues finding people to write recs due to lack of outside classes / involvement.

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Would you be willing to share the syllabi that your prepared for AP courses? i have recently found that I will need to homeschool my daughter and she was taking AP courses and wants to continue to take them

 

Hello. I see you are a new poster who opened an old thread.

 

I recommend that you begin by looking at the AP Central site. There you will find the content of each exam, recommended text books, etc. In recent years, some of the tests have undergone changes. This will influence what material is covered and how that material is tested.

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Yes, on the 'teacher page' of AP Central - you can scroll down and you will see all the subjects. If you click on the subject you want, eg Physics B, it will take you to the page which has as 2. Preparing your syllabus. There are sample syllabi.... The same for each subject. This is one of the wonderful things about AP exams - they are very transparent! And there are lots of resources for success.

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