April in CA Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Hi! for those of you who are considering using ChemAdvantage for AP Chemistry, I wanted to share our good news! My ds just found out that he scored a 5 on the AP Chem exam! AP Chem with CA really prepares the student well for the exam, and I really feel that my ds learned the subject matter and enjoyed it. I will say that he worked extremely hard in this class - his final average in the class was around 94%, while the class average was in the 70's somewhere (as should be expected!). I just wanted to encourage those considering the class that we found it outstanding. I would not put a first year chem student in this course, however. As I have mentioned in other posts, we found the DIVE Chemistry cd course used with both Apologia chem texts to be an excellent foundation for AP Chemistry. Interestingly, my two sons (older ds was a freshman in college) enjoyed comparing what they were learning in chemistry; they found their courses tracked pretty closely. Older son did not take AP chem in high school. He used both Apologia chem texts and found he was very well prepared for Chem I and II and was happily surprised by how much he remembered after a two-year gap. Hope this helps and encourages someone! Blessings, April (so enjoying hearing the AP results of all of our "board" kids!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwen in VA Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 :iagree: I have two kids who have taken this class and I totally agree with April's rave review! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Thanks, April, for posting this! I have heard nothing but wonderful things about AP Chem with ChemAdvantage and can't wait for my son to take it. He'll do physics this coming year and AP the following year (2012-2013), despite my trying to convince him to follow this past year's chem class with AP chem ... he was ready to try physics. Here's hoping the Moskaluks still offer their wonderful class two years from now! (yes, I'm a worrier, haha!) ~Laura P.S. Congratulations to you and your son! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigid in NC Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 It is so helpful when everyone shares information like this. It's great to know what has worked well! Thanks! :) And congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Thanks for posting this, and congratulations! My daughter is registered to take this class in the "fall." Glad to know it will work if she does. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 Thanks very much! Now I need to find alternatives for AP Language and Comp! Our local, wonderful AP Lit teacher doesn't have enough students yet to make teaching AP worthwhile, so we may need to find a different choice! Any thoughts? Thanks! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigid in NC Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Thanks very much! Now I need to find alternatives for AP Language and Comp! Our local, wonderful AP Lit teacher doesn't have enough students yet to make teaching AP worthwhile, so we may need to find a different choice! Any thoughts? Thanks! Well, I know someone who is teaching it online . . . ;) ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted July 5, 2011 Share Posted July 5, 2011 Thanks for the review. My son took ChemAdvantage's Honor chemistry class last year, and he will be taking AP Chem with them this year. We have been very happy with ChemAdvantage as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjbucks1 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 So wonderful to hear!! I am also glad that Apologia prepares a child so well for chemistry. DS is working his way through both Apologia Chemistry books before taking AP chemistry with ChemAdvantage next year (2012). It sounds like he will be well prepared :D!! A BIG congratulations to your son!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choirfarm Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Several of you mentioned doing BOTH Apologia books before your child took this class. He only did the first one. He's doing PA Homeschoolers AP Chem ( Which is the same as Chemadvantage I think..) I hope that's ok... I thought the second book was equivilent to AP hence it seemed redundant... Yikes..Oh well, too late now. Christine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Several of you mentioned doing BOTH Apologia books before your child took this class. He only did the first one. He's doing PA Homeschoolers AP Chem ( Which is the same as Chemadvantage I think..) I hope that's ok... I thought the second book was equivilent to AP hence it seemed redundant... Yikes..Oh well, too late now. Christine My ds is taking it in the fall as well. He only used Spectrum and about 2/3 of Plato. I'm not worried about it. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Hi! for those of you who are considering using ChemAdvantage for AP Chemistry, I wanted to share our good news! My ds just found out that he scored a 5 on the AP Chem exam! AP Chem with CA really prepares the student well for the exam, and I really feel that my ds learned the subject matter and enjoyed it. I will say that he worked extremely hard in this class - his final average in the class was around 94%, while the class average was in the 70's somewhere (as should be expected!). I just wanted to encourage those considering the class that we found it outstanding. I would not put a first year chem student in this course, however. As I have mentioned in other posts, we found the DIVE Chemistry cd course used with both Apologia chem texts to be an excellent foundation for AP Chemistry. Interestingly, my two sons (older ds was a freshman in college) enjoyed comparing what they were learning in chemistry; they found their courses tracked pretty closely. Older son did not take AP chem in high school. He used both Apologia chem texts and found he was very well prepared for Chem I and II and was happily surprised by how much he remembered after a two-year gap. Hope this helps and encourages someone!Blessings, April (so enjoying hearing the AP results of all of our "board" kids!) Why would this be expected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plansrme Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Several of you mentioned doing BOTH Apologia books before your child took this class. He only did the first one. He's doing PA Homeschoolers AP Chem ( Which is the same as Chemadvantage I think..) I hope that's ok... I thought the second book was equivilent to AP hence it seemed redundant... Yikes..Oh well, too late now. Christine Before enrolling my daughter, I e-mailed ChemAdvantage to ask if the first Apologia book was sufficient preparation. They assured me that it was. Terri Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicmom Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Several of you mentioned doing BOTH Apologia books before your child took this class. He only did the first one. He's doing PA Homeschoolers AP Chem ( Which is the same as Chemadvantage I think..) I hope that's ok... I thought the second book was equivilent to AP hence it seemed redundant... Yikes..Oh well, too late now. Christine Hi Christine, my dd is doing PA Homeschoolers AP Chem (Chemadvantage) this fall, too :001_smile:, and she's only done the first Apologia Chem book. I'm pretty sure both Apologia books are the equivalent of AP or close to it. Chemadvantage's prereq is high school chem, and that's what the first Apologia book is, so I think we should be good... April, thanks so much for posting this great news! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 Why would this be expected? Hi Unsinkable! I may be showing my stats ignorance (also not unexpected!), but I was assuming that with a sizable group of students (not sure of the total number of students, although the instructor had a cool map that showed "push pins" where the students lived all over the world) that the class average would be in the 70% range, which is typically thought of as average in American schools. Was I thinking incorrectly? Thanks for asking, and thanks for letting me know if I was incorrect. Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
April in CA Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 Best wishes to all of your kids who will be in next year's AP Chem class - I am looking forward to hearing great things next July! Blessings, April Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unsinkable Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) Hi Unsinkable! I may be showing my stats ignorance (also not unexpected!), but I was assuming that with a sizable group of students (not sure of the total number of students, although the instructor had a cool map that showed "push pins" where the students lived all over the world) that the class average would be in the 70% range, which is typically thought of as average in American schools. Was I thinking incorrectly? Thanks for asking, and thanks for letting me know if I was incorrect.Blessings, April I guess I am not understanding who composes the population of students. I thought this was a homeschool program, not a program composed of all students (homeschooled and brick & mortar). Sorry about that! Edited July 6, 2011 by unsinkable Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tofugirl101 Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Do I have to take some kind of Chemistry before I can take CA's Honors course? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Do I have to take some kind of Chemistry before I can take CA's Honors course? It is my understanding that ChemAdvantage no longer offers Honors Chemistry. :crying: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Hi! for those of you who are considering using ChemAdvantage for AP Chemistry, I wanted to share our good news! My ds just found out that he scored a 5 on the AP Chem exam! Congratulations! That's exciting news. I've only heard positive reviews of ChemAdvantage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Not to veer this in another direction..my rising 10th grade son will have Physics this year having finished AMSCO Chemistry last year...he did well and I am planning for his junior/senior year...I want him to take ChemAdvantage...but will this only help him if he's a non-science major in being able to earn credit for science? Right now, I think he's likely going to be economics/political science major but if he does decide to jump the fence and go chemical engineering...would the AP credit even help him? I want to be very certain we are not wasting time earning 4's and 5's if it's just for a transcript and will not allow him to waive classes...what has been the experience here the past few years? I was pre-med/Chemistry and while it allowed me to go up to Honors level my freshmen year, it did not earn me any course hours..wondering if things have changed.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigid in NC Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 (edited) Not to veer this in another direction..my rising 10th grade son will have Physics this year having finished AMSCO Chemistry last year...he did well and I am planning for his junior/senior year...I want him to take ChemAdvantage...but will this only help him if he's a non-science major in being able to earn credit for science? Right now, I think he's likely going to be economics/political science major but if he does decide to jump the fence and go chemical engineering...would the AP credit even help him? It's really going to depend on the college and the course requirements for the major your son chooses. For instance, my older ds, who is majoring in engineering, earned a lot of college credit for AP US History, AP Economics, and AP Comparative Govt because he had a certain number of electives that were required for his major. I know that there are humanities tracks that require science courses. So AP classes can provide college credit in areas that are not the focus of a student's studies. You probably have seen this in earlier posts, but this is a helpful place to go if you want to look up AP credit policies for colleges across the country: AP Credit Policies. But this only helps so much. You might want to go to several college websites and look at the four-year course requirements for various majors that your son might be interested in, to get an idea about the extent (if any) of science credits that are required -- or that could fulfill electives. Edited July 10, 2011 by Brigid in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tokyomarie Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 I think he's likely going to be economics/political science major but if he does decide to jump the fence and go chemical engineering...would the AP credit even help him? I want to be very certain we are not wasting time earning 4's and 5's if it's just for a transcript and will not allow him to waive classes...what has been the experience here the past few years? I was pre-med/Chemistry and while it allowed me to go up to Honors level my freshmen year, it did not earn me any course hours..wondering if things have changed.. It's very much a "Your Mileage May Vary" situation: it depends on the college. Most colleges prefer that their majors take the beginning courses in the major sequence, however some will award credit for AP and some won't for the major. My oldest daughter was originally going to major in biology as a pre-med. Her college would have awarded credit for AP, and did award her credit for her CC Biology. But, unofficially, they encourage their majors to take the beginning class at their college. At the Ivy League & other highly elite schools, the advantage of taking AP even if a student isn't awarded credit is that the student will be on an even footing with the other incoming students, who will have taken the AP classes at their high schools. They will simply be better prepared for the pace and depth of a beginning class at the elite college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigid in NC Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 At the Ivy League & other highly elite schools, the advantage of taking AP even if a student isn't awarded credit is that the student will be on an even footing with the other incoming students, who will have taken the AP classes at their high schools. They will simply be better prepared for the pace and depth of a beginning class at the elite college. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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