I am hoping that by posting here a community administrator, moderator, or someone else with some knowledge will see this. I have been a member of the forums since 2008 with a 10 rating in my profile and have posted many times on the forums and on the sale and swap board. However, now that I try to add a for sale ad to the board, I get a screen that says I can't access this feature and I must post at least once in the community. It automatically logs me out. I log back in. Lather. Rinse. Repeat. Same results. I hit the link to contact the community administrator and it would only let me do so under my old email address which I no longer have access to. So I hit contact us on the main page, described the problem as I am doing here, said it was for classified help, and included a valid email address and have heard nothing. Filled out the contact form Friday. HELP. Does anyone know how I can resolve this?

I wish I knew. I have one like that and she wears us all out, though I love her like no other. Tabitha

I hear ya. All of the following is word-of-mouth reported, mostly on the part of students and at least one parent. I have no direct knowledge or verification, but I've been told (from various parties): *"My son is having trouble in his regular classes in middle school and needs extra help. But yet, when he gets to high school next year, they want him to take AP?!?!" *"Our school doesn't have any advanced classes, only regular ones, and I'm so bored." *"Our school doesn't really have very many regular classes. There is a big push for EVERYONE to be in AP. It seems like everyone is either in AP or remedial." Now of course word of mouth can be inaccurate, and as I said, I have no direct knowledge of these things--just things I've been told in passing and have not verified. But if true, these comments would exhibit the vast differences between one school/school system and another which can exist. Tabitha

OK I see what you mean and I agree to a large extent. So much of this whole college and scholarship thing can come under the generic but appropriate answer, "It depends what college you want to go/apply to." Tabitha

I'm sorry but I must have missed something somewhere. AoPS? What is that please? I can speak to weighting of classes directly. I took an AP English class back in the day, got an A in it, and it was given a 5 on a 4 point scale, both from my PS and at all the colleges to which I applied. As to what is done now, my dd has friends in PS (some of whom have parents who work for PS) who say the same--APs are 5, Honors are 4.5, and regular classes are 4 (for an A) when calculating GPA. I have always known this to be the case. If something is different, I would be more than happy to be informed. I am as human as anyone walking the planet, and am always open to new information, especially when said information affects the direction I am guiding my child in. Tabitha

See my comment about weighting for gpa in post 15. Tabitha

At the public high schools in my area (and this was true when I was in high school a zillion years ago too--same area) regular classes are given 4 points in the GPA if an A is earned for the course. AP classes are given a 5, and Honors classes are given a 4.5, for A's, respecitvely. So yes, I would assume that makes a difference. Tabitha

OK there are two different things that I meant here, and the 2 are getting mixed up. Credit. Credit is by EXAM. But SCHOLARSHIP CONSIDERATION....I was given to understand that when being considered for scholarships, UA looks for AP CLASSES and AP EXAMS on the transcript, along with a mixture of other things, depending on the student's intended major and the size and type of scholarship. Tabitha

In the town we live in, there are only 2 possibilities for dual enrollment that I'm aware of. One is the local CC and one is the local university. For the CC, you have to be 10th grade AND 16. For the university, you must be 11th grade AND 16. When I say "and 16" I mean that age or older. I talked to them directly and no exceptions will be made from my understanding. Tabitha

My info came directly from one of my known contacts on campus. Of course I may have misunderstood, and I will keep researching. You may be right. I will file away your comments and keep researching. There is a brochure they handed out to all the kids when dd was on campus for a function that basically said, "Also, list ALL the math and science you can, even if you are NOT going into a math/science major." UA has its OWN philosophy about ALMOST everything. As a parent I talked to whose child is currently on campus said, "The thing is, everything about UA has gotten extremely competitive in almost every department. In my impression, they are trying to be #1 in the country in everything they can." Maybe not the parent's exact words, but that was the sentiment. Even the director of our homeschool umbrella, whose own daughter went to UA, agrees that UA has its own philosophy about almost everything. Things that will work at one university will NOT necessarily work at UA. For example, they accept almost every CLEP, AP , IB, dual enrollment, etc. etc., but NOT AP Music Theory or any transfer music theory credits. I was recently on campus and one of the kids was telling another potential student a story that she had transferred from XXXXX (very prestigious school with an outstanding music program) because she wanted to major in a particular thing in the music department at UA and study under a particular person. When she went to transfer, if I understood her correctly, she lost a ton of her credits because they wanted her to take those classes IN HOUSE, so it added quite a bit of time to her education that she hadn't anticipated--at least that was my understanding and impression. My point is--in my research, I'm finding that what is "typically done" at most universities is not necessarily what is done at UA. So do your research so you don't get surprised. My daughter is only a freshman and does not qualify for dual enrollemnt in our state yet anyway. I contacted the local community college, and though they will let her dual enroll in the 10th grade, they will NOT let her dual enroll until she is 16. She will be 16 a year from now (I need to change my siggy) and they will not make ANY exceptions to this, even for online classes for which she will not be stepping foot on campus, even though she's been in DUKE TIP, away from home, on many different college campuses for different reasons. I don't want to put off accruing her college credits just because of a technicality, and as you stated, CLEP doesn't seem to be very highly regarded, so AP is the only avenue left open to me at the moment. Tabitha

Actually, I can fill you in. My daughter wants to go to University of Alabama, and UA has its own ways of thinking about things, rules, etc., for EVERYTHING. In talking with some contacts, my understanding is the greatest scholarship considerations are given for kids who have actually taken AP exams WITH AP-approved classes. In the world of competitive scholarship consideration at that particular school, 1st is AP, 2nd is CLEP, and 3rd is dual enrollment when they look at your high school stuff. Couple AP classes and exams with SERIOUS SAT or ACT scores, and you have the recipe for good scholarship consideration. My understanding also is (and someone may correct me if I am wrong) that the penalty for listing a class as AP without getting it approved is potential jail time and a fine, because AP is a registered trademark of the College Board. Tabitha

Has anybody with a high-school-age (or high school work level) child written an AP course description and/or syllabus and had the college board approve it? If you have, can you walk me through the process? I am specifically looking for AP Biology, AP Spanish Language, and AP English Lit for my daughter's transcript. Thanks, Tabitha

Has anybody with a high-school-age (or high school work level) child written an AP course description and/or syllabus and had the college board approve it? If you have, can you walk me through the process? I am specifically looking for AP Biology, AP Spanish Language, and AP English Lit for my daughter's transcript. Thanks, Tabitha

Has anybody with a high-school-age (or high school work level) gifted child written an AP course description and/or syllabus and had the college board approve it? If you have, can you walk me through the process? I am specifically looking for AP Biology, AP Spanish Language, and AP English Lit for my daughter's transcript. Thanks, Tabitha

AMEN AMEN and AMEN. Grueling. Expensive. And no room for "I have no idea what I'm doing."