My daughter will be taking her first-ever AP exam in May - AP Art History. Our understanding is that the test is taken on paper with actual pen and paper (not on a computer). The first half of the test is multiple choice, and then there is a ten-minute break, followed by the essay portion of the exam. My question: Does the proctor take away the multiple-choice section as soon as students finish it (before the ten-minute break)? Or can students flip back and forth through the entire test during the three-hour testing period? (Just curious if you can go back and check over multiple-choice answers if you finish the essay portion early - that sort of thing.) Thanks for any info you can provide!

Thank you! Yes, that is a good idea; I will plan to help her pay special attention to that vocab.

So helpful! Thank you for taking the time to share this.

Oh my gosh, thank you! I think hearing this will really help calm her nerves. Appreciate your taking the time to respond!

Does spelling count on AP exam essays? My daughter is a capable writer, but she's not a "natural" speller. She easily self-corrects for this issue when typing on a computer (she capably uses spellcheck), and I'm happy to do a final proofread for her on important papers. But her AP Art History exam will have six handwritten essays, and I'm a little worried her spelling might be poorer than usual in a timed writing situation. (I really don't care much about AP scores, but she does, and she's hoping to score well on this exam.) Her errors tend to be minor, and they make sense phonetically (they are always logical guesses!). If the exam reader can generally figure out what she means, will she mostly be okay, or are spelling errors a big deal on AP exams? Thanks!

Hi! My oldest is a sophomore in our homeschool and I'm just looking ahead to things we need to hit next year, when she's a junior. I was looking at the SAT site and it looks like there are prospective dates in place for the test next year (I attached a screenshot). If my daughter wants to take the test on October 7th, 2023, when would I need to register her for that? (How early does that open up, typically?) Other questions: Did you automatically sign your child up for TWO test dates (one for fall and one for spring?) (Does registration for all the year's test dates open up at once?) The SAT site says most students take the test in the spring of junior year and then again the fall of senior year. However I imagine my daughter will be super busy the fall of her senior year (!), so I was planning on having her take it fall and spring of junior year. Is there any reason that's a bad idea? What is the highest level of math on the SAT? (She took Algebra I freshman year and is currently doing Geometry this year. Will that be sufficient, or is the math on the SAT higher than that?) Obviously we will study and prep specifically for the test, but I just want to get a sense of the work ahead of us. It looks like the test cost $60.00 this year. Is that about what I can expect to pay per test next year, or are there other fees attached that I may be unaware of? Any other SAT advice you have is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

My daughter is taking AP Art History this year (this is her first-ever AP; she's taking it through PA Homeschoolers). She's requested one of the big, fat review books, and I have a couple of questions: Does this look like a good one? (AP Art History is not a super popular AP course, so this is the only test prep book I've found online. The copyright date is 2020, so I'm hoping there's been no major changes in the test in three years. Thoughts?) How did your student use their test prep book? (Did they work in it in small chunks across the school year, or did they use it as a crash course at the end of the year? Another way?) In your experience, are the test prep books worth it? (It's not cheap, so I want to make sure it's something we'll actually use and benefit from.) Thanks!

Thanks for sharing this! My older daughter is a sophomore this year and very clear on her goals for college. We are about to start touring some colleges near us, to get some exposure/practice at dealing with colleges, and to get a general sense of things. (We're just at the very, very start of identifying colleges to put on her list.) Then, next year, we'll probably make some very selective visits to colleges that require more than an hour or two of travel. I confess I'm a little torn about visiting schools before applying (I don't want her to fall in love with a school that she might not get into and/or we might not end up being able to afford), but ultimately, our hope is that visiting several schools can show her that there are many places she could be happy and successful. We're going to start with our big state U, which, luckily for us is only about 45 minutes away. (We've passed it on the highway, but never done an official tour or anything.) I feel like the state U is a good place to start because (a) she may very likely attend! and (b) it will give her a sense of what life would be like at a huge university. Beginning this whole college process is definitely overwhelming, but my hope is that by tackling different aspects across sophomore, junior, and senior years, it won't feel crushing.

Thank you; it's so great to hear from someone who's used the QSL kit! You're making a good point; we don't necessarily have to do everything in the box, or do it all to the same degree to benefit. (I tend to think in all-or-nothing terms, so this is a nice reframing.)

Thank you for offering a number! That is helpful. We can definitely manage 10. I think I'll plan for at least ten really well-done labs, and then if we can add in others, I will consider it a great bonus.

Thank you so much for this thoughtful reply! So helpful!

Thanks for sharing this! I'm so glad to know the MicroChem kit experiments are likely to be successful! (I've unpacked the kit, but I haven't tried anything with it yet.) My daughter will probably take a Botany with lab class at the community college next year (DE), and possibly a fourth DE lab science after that, so I feel pretty confident she will get a solid science education across her four years. But like I said, chemistry happens to be more utilitarian for us, so I'm just looking to do a solid experience for this year. If it helps, after I posted this, I looked up the WTMA lab course syllabus and it looks like they do 8 labs per semester. I would definitely like to do more than 8, but it was helpful to see that. Thanks again!

Last year, we did biology on our own, at home. It ended up being a great course! I got the QSL biology kit and it was wonderful; we completed 20 labs. This year, my daughter is taking chemistry. She is doing the lecture portion of the course through the WTMA and we are doing the lab portion of the course at home. I bought the QSL MicroChem kit, and it looks great, but my daughter is definitely busier this year than she was last year. She is taking other challenging courses in addition to chemistry, and I don't think we'll be able to swing 20 labs like we did last year. What is a respectable number of labs to do? (We loved biology, but chemistry is definitely more of a get 'er done subject for us. What's the bare minimum we can get away with, would you say? If it's relevant, she is an aspiring fine arts major; not looking to go into the sciences in college.) Thanks!

Benzmicroscope.com!! Another boardie shared this site with me and it's great! I bought a used microscope from this small business last year and the transaction was fantastic. If you call or email, an actual (friendly!) human will happily work with you help you figure out what you need. I ended up getting a great microscope (a refurbished AO/Reichert-Jung 150 Series) at a great price. (I don't remember exactly what I paid, but it was under $200.) I knew nothing about microscopes, so I really needed their help. I was super happy with the transaction and I can't recommend them highly enough. I am so grateful to the boardie who recommended them to me. 🙂

Great to know; thanks!!

Yes, this makes sense! Thank you! (I appreciate your advice not to do a random smattering of stuff. I can definitely see how that would weaken a transcript.) I'm picturing the sort of thing one might do as an independent study in college. The chunk of time she'll have seems like such a good opportunity to direct a huge project of her own design. Or do college-level dives into topics related to her career goals and interest in art (art history, art movements, women artists, psychology of color, a senior art thesis that explores something super interesting and combines artwork, research, extensive writing, etc.). Or getting a certification in something like Adobe Illustrator, etc. Clearly, I'm not sure exactly what it would be just yet--I know her interests will shift and sharpen between now and then--but I'm trying to imagine the types of things we could do. Since we started high school last year, I've been so focused on making sure we're hitting all the "must-dos." I am eager to look ahead and make space for something truly unique and exciting and remember the reasons we're homeschooling in the first place! (At the same time, I don't want to totally screw things up or steer her wrong, so I like to check in with others!) 😜

This is a good point! (In my mind, I think in semesters as I plan things out, but you're right--on paper on the transcript, it won't be so obvious how things were broken out. That is good news!) I guess my main concern was: Will several .5 credit courses look "light" on a transcript (as if our work was somehow less in-depth than a year-long course might be). Thank you for your help!

I'm probably phrasing that question poorly, lol. My daughter is just about to start 10th grade, but I'm long-term planning and it looks like my daughter will have met most of her college admissions requirements by December of her junior year (that is, if she takes some dual enrollment courses in the fall of her junior year). In other words, all she will "have" to do her senior year is English and math, both of which we do at home. She'll pretty much have the second half of her junior year and all of her senior year "free," to study what she likes. Is it in any way "bad" to do DIY semester-long electives once the core admissions requirements are met? For example, she'll likely take DE Intro to Psychology the fall of her junior year. I'm thinking of immediately following that up in the spring semester with a DIY course at home called The Psychology of Color. (She's an aspiring Fine Arts major, so that sort of elective would thrill her.) I can picture several different one-semester courses like that, that she would love (mostly interest-led stuff, but still super academic). Or just spending tons of time developing her art or opening a shop, etc. I could extend some of these ideas into year-long courses, but I feel like we could explore more topics and interests with semester-long courses. I guess I'm wondering two things: (1) Are semester-long electives seen as somehow "less than" full-year courses? (2) If I use college-level texts/materials for a DIY course, can I give one credit for a semester-long course (the way DE courses do), or do I always just give .5 credits for 60 hours of work done at home? I hope this makes sense! Of course, I might also encourage her to just continue racking up DE courses, but she is a super self-directed student, so I can see her wanting to pursue cool independent studies, like a senior thesis project of her own design that combines artwork and research, etc. Mostly, I'm just realizing how quickly even a couple of DE courses can check transcript boxes, and I'm starting to consider the possibilities DE opens up. Any advice from those with older students would be welcome! Thank you!

Edited to get to the point. 🙂 I have English plans in place for this coming year (tenth grade), but I am considering SSS for the upper grades. Would two years of Level C be too easy for 11th and 12th grades, or can I just scale up/tweak the demands of the assignments to suit my daughter's skill set at that point? (I ask because it seems like Level C is ideally meant for 9th and 10th grades, but it does say 9th grade +, so I’m hoping it might be a good fit anyway?) I would love to hear any feedback anyone might have about SSS, as I am brand-new to IEW. Thank you so much!

Thank you for responding; I appreciate it! I feel better now; I think it should be fine. The CollegeBoard website says students who don't have a school ID need to bring a government-issued photo ID. The TIPIC, as far as I can tell, meets that criteria. (It is government-issued and I now know it has a photo, lol.) I was so concerned initially because I didn't think it had a photo. Thanks again!

Oh, yay! Thank you so much for letting me know! Okay, that's so good to know. (She'll get her permit in December, so I'm sure the official ID will arrive in the mail by May. Well, I hope, lol!) Thank you!

We don't happen to have passports, but I will keep it in mind as an option - thanks!

Thank you for chiming in! Appreciate the good ideas!

Context: My oldest daughter just turned 15 and will be taking her first AP exam this coming May. Are TIPICs (Temporary Instruction Permit Identification Cards - an Ohio driver's permit) an acceptable ID for an AP test? Do they have a photo? (I grew up in and learned to drive in NY state, so I don't know much about Ohio permits. In New York when I was a teenager, driving permits were just a yellow piece of paper; there were no photos or official cards.) Anyway, my issue: Awhile back, I asked here if students need a formal ID for AP testing. The consensus was that your student does need a photo ID. I went ahead and got both my daughters official Ohio state ID cards (oldest was still 14 at the time). I thought I was all set. But then today I was reading up on when she can get her driver's permit. The Ohio BMV says she can get one when she turns 15 and six months (this December), but that you have to surrender your Ohio ID card when you get one. So, I just went to all the trouble of getting the official ID card, but now it looks like she has to give it up in order to get her permit. So, she'll have a permit, but she won't yet have her official license before the AP test. Does anyone have experience with this? (Special thanks to any Ohio people who can clue me in!) Thank you!

Yes, she is taking the course through PA Homeschoolers! (AP Art History.) Thanks for this info; so helpful!