2 PA Homeschoolers AP classes, too much?

[sixglides]

AP Language & AP US History? Doable?

[nancy in nj]

It depends. My daughter took AP Engl. Lang. and Econ this year and it was fine. In fact, she wishes she had added a 3rd course because she loved everything about her PA Homeschoolers classes. If your teen is a strong writer & reader, Engl Language will be a relatively easy course--it is more of a practice subject than a study/memorization subject...and there is really nothing you can do to cram for the exam in the weeks leading up to the AP exam other than do a few release MC exam sections and practice a few essays. APUSH on the other hand, will be a heavy on studying/memorization as well as writing, and I imagine that there will be some heavy studying in the weeks before the exam just due to the sheer volume of information.

 

Also, if this is your teen's Junior year, I would think long and hard about the other testing requirements, PSAT, SAT, SAT II subject tests. Econ was a great fit in the Junior year crunch. We are glad that we saved APUSH for senior year when she could enjoy it, in addition to Calc BC and English LIt with PA Homeschoolers and AP Chem at home.

 

YMMV.

 

Nancy

[Brigid in NC]

AP Language & AP US History? Doable?

That is a common combination in 11th grade. The APUSH DBQ (document based question) aligns nicely with the AP Language "synthesis" essay (essay question 1 on the AP Lang exam). The AP Lang argument prompt (essay question 3) has frequently referenced historical/political/philosophical issues -- so students who have been writing APUSH free response essays will have had great parallel practice.

 

If you have a strong student, who is a self-starter, these two APs are a great combination IMO. It is a LOT of writing. So that's something to consider (and could be a pro or con).

 

Good luck with your decision!

Edited May 16, 2012 by Brigid in NC

[Gwen in VA]

If the kid is self-motivated and academic, two is quite manageable.

 

For junior year for highly motivated kids, three AP's is not outrageous.

[homeschoolally]

We have a family friend who took 2 PA Homeschooler's AP's this year with no trouble. I think it is a very reasonable idea--it seems to be pretty common to do 2-3 AP's a year.:001_smile:

[Joan in GE]

AP Language & AP US History? Doable?

 

It depends on study habits and lifestyle of the student, how invested s/he is, etc.

 

My ds3 did Language and Physics B from them while doing Precalc and Calc AB (home-based) in 11th. He was motivated and did not have so many outside things going on....eg no job...Also, he already had a good writing level, etc...

 

Joan

[Allegro]

Definitely doable, if the student is motivated. I just finished AP Lit (pretty similar to AP Lang) and APUSH, and feel quite confident about my exam scores thanks to those classes. To succeed, I found that you need to have good time management skills, or be willing to learn fast! Keeping a planner with all the assignments worked well for me to stay on top of things and break it down all the work into more doable parts. Those two classes definitely consumed about 40% of my school time, but they greatly benefited my writing.

 

Also, I highly recommend Mrs. Inspektor and Mrs. Richman (mother and daughter). They are both extremely organized, encouraging, and helpful.

[RENEEinVA]

My dd just finished both of those courses. Her AP Language exam was yesterday and she is so happy to be done. I pretty much agree with what everyone else has said. As long as your child is motivated, fairly organized, and independent then two AP classes is not a problem. I had no qualms about registering her for 3 APs next year (she chose Physics, Economics, and Calculus AB) based upon this year's performance.