AEC, if you could shoot me a reminder in a couple weeks about summer reading, I'll get back to you with a list I collected.

I was hoping you'd add your impressions! It's funny, you look nothing like your avatar :lol:

American University is located in a residential area of Washington DC, near Embassy Row, approximately 4 miles from the White House. It has a total enrollment of more than 12,000 students with about 7000 undergraduates. The campus is pretty, with light-colored buildings, attractive green spaces, and many trees. Most of the campus is self-contained without regular city streets running through it. We were surprised that the campus is not perfectly flat. Everyone we interacted with was friendly. Undergrads are separated in five schools: College of Arts and Sciences, Kogod School of Business, School of Communication, School of International Service (SIS), and School of Public Affairs. SIS is by far the largest with 2000 students. More than 40 majors offer a combined 5-year bachelor/masters program. The university general education requirements are two classes each from five different areas: Creative Arts; Traditions the Shape the Western World; the Global and Cross-Cultural Experiences; Social Institutions and Behaviors; and the Natural and Mathematical Sciences. AP credit appears to be generous. American is proud of their internship program (85% of students participate in at least one) and their study abroad program. 60% of undergrads study abroad for a semester, a year, or a summer (language-acquisition programs or credit-bearing internships only). About half of the students study at AU's three centers in Brussels, Madrid, and Nairobi. The others choose from 140 programs spread across 39 countries. Specific study-abroad scholarships are available through AU. American has an impressive number of recipients of nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships such as Boren, Fulbright, and Udall, with an Office of Merit Awards to mentor applicants. Freshman and sophomores are guaranteed university housing. There have been many forced triples over the past few years. New sophomore housing is being built which should alleviate the tripling but those may not be ready for this fall. A main dining hall takes meal swipes, and there are multiple locations that accept their points/dollars system. No eateries or shops are immediately off campus but are within a 15 minute walk (or free shuttle ride). The nearest Metro stop is in that location as well. We attended a special visit day for the School of International Service (SIS) so the rest of my notes will focus on that. About 2000 undergrad students are enrolled in SIS as International Studies majors who choose from 8 concentrations. There are 125 full-time faculty and more than 25 adjuncts who come from the State Department, other government agencies, and NGOs to teach a course or two each year. A retired ambassador led a discussion with the students in our group. The current SIS program is four years old. During the first semester of freshman year all the students take World Politics in large lectures but with small discussion sections. During the second semester, the students choose from various cross-cultural communications classes, all with a maximum enrollment of 25. The third required course of freshman year is a 19-person seminar taken either semester, chosen from a wide variety of topics. Required during sophomore year are an intro to research class during the fall and a choice of themed (by topic, region, or methodology) research classes during the spring. Students are required to take 3 survey classes from the 8 thematic area concentrations: environmental sustainability and global health; foreign policy and national security; global and comparative governance; identity, race, gender, and culture; justice, ethics, and human rights; peace, global security, and conflict resolution; and the global economy. Students take additional classes from 2 of the 8 thematic areas, as well as 3 classes from regional areas (Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Eurasia, Middle East and North Africa, South and Central Asia, Western Hemisphere). The foreign language requirement does not have to match the regional focus. Other SIS major requirements include 3 economics classes, US politics, and a senior capstone. D was favorably impressed with the university and especially with SIS. The internship possibilities are a definite draw! She'll need to return to talk with professors from SIS and language departments and to sit in on a class or two. She would also need to be awarded one of their highest merit scholarships to attend because it is way too expensive for this family who cannot pay their high EFC.

Georgetown University, ditto the above: Transfer credit https://uadmissions.georgetown.edu/applying-georgetown/transfer/credit AP/IB/etc http://bulletin.georgetown.edu/admissions

George Washington University, also medium-sized and in DC, very popular for politics and international study: Undergraduate transfer credit policies https://registrar.gwu.edu/transfer-credit AP and IB credits https://undergraduate.admissions.gwu.edu/bring-credits-gw

American University, a medium-sized (7000ish undergrad) university in DC, with more than a quarter of students in the School of International Service: Transfer credit guidelines http://www.american.edu/admissions/transfer/creditguidelines.cfm Credit by exam (AP/IB/A level/CLEP) http://www.american.edu/admissions/examcredit.cfm

You said: "So now we are at the point of trying to compare: The actual course requirements for the majors he is considering. The statistics regarding graduation and whether a 5th year is normal for students and why. Whether or not a 5 year masters is available and how much it costs. The type of internships available. Where students end up when they graduate. Am I on the right track with these comparisons? In some ways I think they may be just overkill. So many kids change their mind about majors, so then course specific info would not matter. Am I nuts to think about graduation taking more than 4 years? Why can't we just decide that he is going to have to graduate in 4 years? A five year masters means locking into that school for graduate studies, and maybe he would rather go elsewhere." We are looking at --the course requirements --university requirements (she doesn't want a huge core) --if AP/dual enrollment credits are accepted and for what --if she can study two languages while majoring in a third area --study abroad opportunities (through the school or do the students have to go through someone else) --if merit aid can be used for study abroad semesters --if all coursework taken during study abroad is accepted by the university --internships: type (full time? part time during regular semester?), access, what students have done recently --level of language reached by graduates of particular programs --if students in the programs have been awarded CLS, Boren, Fulbright, etc fellowships --does the school have a process and liaison who helps with applying for the above --is grad school needed, is it needed right away or do most work for several years first, where do students do grad wirk --employers of recent graduates And then we're also considering --distance from home --ease of getting home for breaks --how many years of guaranteed dorm living --food service flexibility for food allergies and intolerances

:party: Does that make the decision-making process easier...or harder?

Dd will be graduating early next year, sniff sniff. This summer is still uncertain but will probably consist of intensive elementary Russian and maybe an econ or poli sci class. All year: Senior English with Blue Tent Online (assuming she scores a 4 or 5 on AP Lang this year, a prereq for the course) Fall semester: AP US government with me either AP Stats or Calc 2 with me, her choice (I think she should have stats) Advanced Arabic 1 at the university Intermediate Russian 1 at the university Winter session (5 weeks) at the university either geology or astronomy (w lab), either with me or at the university, depending on the course times Spring semester: AP macro or micro econ, depending on what happens this summer, with me Advanced Arabic 2 at the university Intermediate Russian 2 at the university Dd could be elected to a major statewide office in one of her extracurriculars, which would mean she'd have weekly meetings all over the state. And she doesn't drive yet. Yay. Elections are in two weeks. On one hand I really want her to have the amazing opportunity...and on the other hand I don't want it to mess up our lovely relaxed schedule for her last year of homeschooling :(

Oh wapiti :grouphug:

This is the website I referred to http://www.scoop.it/t/geography-education He tweets whenever he adds a new link. This year I've been using his material almost every week for AP Comparative Government :)

I spent a week or so reading teachers' websites to get an idea of pacing, interesting activities, and so on before I began writing my course. I found a weekly twitter chat for APHG and lurked as often as possible (plus I read achived chats). The APHG teachers are/were a very friendly, collaborative group. Through that I discovered Seth Dixon, a geography prof in Rhode Island, who curates amazing articles/videos/links on his scoop.it site. I used his site to find up-to-date supplemental material for all the topics covered in APHG. At the time dd was starting her APHG coursework, there was the gigantic wave of unaccompanied minors migrating to the US from Central and South America. So many good discussions came out of that! Now one would refer to the refugee crisis happening in Syria. I have shared my approved APHG syllabus with many people. Send me your email address and I'll get it to you as well. Remember, you would need to find current supplemental resources to make the book information more relevant to your student :)

A comment about Dr Gillespie: She wrote the least helpful, most superficial APHG review book----5 Steps to a 5. Stay away from that book, unless you were to use it as a second or third source for practice questions.

AP Human Geography is not a difficult class to design on your own. The course approval process by College Board is not onerous (if you want to list the course as AP on the transcript). Save the $725 (plus textbooks) for something that you find hard to teach :) Dd and I would read the textbook and supplementary articles (separately) and watch short videos (mostly together). Then we'd discuss everything, making connections from history and physical geography. I would bring in topics she hadn't yet studied from government, economics, and psychology. I chose a few high-interest activities for dd after I realized she really had no need for the type of lower-order review activities that usually show up in class syllabi. She was in a discussion group with two public-schooled friends who were self-studying. They met weekly during the summer (I think we covered the first five chapters of the book) and then more infrequently when they had a day off during the school year. At their meetings they'd discuss the reading and work together on an FRQ. I scored the FRQ and went over it with them. The discussions were helpful for the other kids but not as much for dd because we were already doing that at home.

There's a competitive Stock Market Game in our state for both middle and high school students. Maybe you have access to something similar. I would have her take AP or DE econ for the experience, not necessarily the credit. At some schools the intro class(es) for those in the major assume the students have already taken the AP course and move at a corresponding pace.

Yay on the acceptance!!!!! Boooooo hissssssss on the finances :(

Which state? Some are pickier than others----like NY and Mass, grrrrr

Wrt to American University for those reading along who cannot afford their high EFC (iow will not qualify for need-based aid): Merit scholarships are not all they used to be at AU. Most are in the $10-15,000 range which is not much compared to the COA of $62,000. Six years ago ds was awarded $27,500 with a COA of around $52K. Five full-ride Frederick Douglas scholarships are given each year. Twenty-five Honors scholarships of $30,000 are given each year. Some students accepted into the very competitive three-year programs (plus required summers) have received zero merit aid according to this year's results on College Confidential. Dd has her eye on one of those programs, alas.

Dd attended the four week high school session last year. She learned so much and had a great time! We live far from the camp, so she flew to Minneapolis, was met by the camp people, stayed overnight with other campers on a college campus, then took the bus up to the camp the following day.

Let's see :) Sun: whole-body weight training w dh Mon: session w trainer focusing on lower body and core; elliptical intervals for 20 minutes Tues: a day off, ran a gazillion errands and did some gardening Today: session w trainer focusing on upper body and core; three hours of yardwork Today I bench-pressed 85 lbs :party: One of my goals is to bench-press 100 lbs by my 50th birthday in June. I think I'll make that! Tomorrow will be more weeding, followed by the shoveling and spreading of 3 cubic yards of mulch :eek: Friday I'll probably do some intervals on either the elliptical or bike. It's supposed to be rainy.

Last year's testing school had the outside kids come in after school hours for the 15 minutes it took to fill out the forms and go over the information. This year's main school has all AP students, theirs and outsiders, sign up for half-hour time periods over the space of a week to do the pre-administration things. OP, I cannot imagine your dd having to stay there all day :eek:

And now I'm really hungry...

Carrie, is History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective (Aldrete) on there? I would recommend that as a true ancient world history survey. We averaged 2 lectures a week, I think.

We had roasted butternut squash with za'atar last night :D (I blend my own za'atar----ground toasted sesame seeds, thyme, oregano, salt)

Dd doesn't have homeschooling friends, just friendly acquaintances. Her friends come from her activities that are not school- or church-related, like ballet, Model UN and Youth in Government (both delegations are sponsored by the Y; kids do not have to be Y members).