Emmie Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Does anyone have experience with their child jumping straight in to multiple AP courses? Of everyone I know, the child has tended to start out with just one AP and then graduate to three or four the next year. My daughter wants to take AP psychology, AP calculus AB, AP history - either european, world, or U.S. - and AP English language and Composition, but this will be her first year doing the AP's (next fall). I was wondering if anyone else's child has done something similar and still did well with the amount of coursework? By the way, Hi! I am new to the boards, and I have written two previous topics. I started homeschooling my daughter in 8th grade after issues with the school system, and she is currently a junior that is preparing for the ACT! Other than math, she attends an online school, Laurel Springs. Even with most of her courses coming from LS, we still utilize a lot of homeschool curriculum for extra courses. P.S. She ALSO wanted to take AP biology from Thinkwell, but has pretty much decided against it since she will be taking Physics and already wants to take the other 4 AP's. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luckymama Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Ds took AP Calc, AP Physics C (mech), AP English Language, and AP US History his junior year. Students at his high school were not allowed to tske APs earlier than that. Senior year he took AP Stats, AP Physics (e &m), AP Enviromental Science, AP English Lit, AP US Government, and AP Psych. Dd19 started with just one, AP US History, following her school's guidelines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjbucks1 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 I think it depnds on your daughter's schedule. My ds took two in 9th grade (AP Chemistry and AP Computer Science), and two this year (AP Latin and AP Physics B). He will take two more next year (AP Physics C (Mech and Elect/ Mag) and AP Calc AB). Each AP course usually takes 10-12 hours/week. My ds is a competitve swimmer, practicing at least 15 hours/week (not including swim meets). He is also in a speech and debate club which takes up a good amount of time as well. For him, two is all he can handle. However, if your daughter has more time, it would probably be doable. I have heard AP Psych is not too terribly difficult, so that might help as well. It sounds like your daugher is motivated to take the classes, which is also another positive (I would never make a child take an AP class in a subject in which the child had little interest). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 My daughter did the following: 10th grade: AP US History 11th grade: AP Latin as well as AP Comparative Politics and Government 12th grade: AP Statistics Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlemommy Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Senior year he took AP Stats, AP Physics (e &m), AP Enviromental Science, AP English Lit, AP US Government, and AP Psych. Luckymama, Can you tell me if AP Statistics was a lot of work? Does it require 10 to 12 hours of work each week like the other AP's? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atilla the Mom Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 My youngest took AP Human Geog in 9th grade, is taking AP Biology and AP World History this year, and will take AP American History, AP English Literature and probably College Algebra next. AP classes are demanding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atilla the Mom Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 << AP Statistics was a lot of work? Does it require 10 to 12 hours of work each week like the other AP's? >> It requires a lot of work, but not as hard as AP Calculus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Does anyone have experience with their child jumping straight in to multiple AP courses? Of everyone I know, the child has tended to start out with just one AP and then graduate to three or four the next year. My daughter wants to take AP psychology, AP calculus AB, AP history - either european, world, or U.S. - and AP English language and Composition, but this will be her first year doing the AP's (next fall). I was wondering if anyone else's child has done something similar and still did well with the amount of coursework? If she were going to be taking all of those AP classes with PA Homeschoolers, I would say that the course load would be too much. PAHS classes are rigorous and prepare the kids exceptionally well for the AP exams, but they are a lot of work. I would ask what the typical weekly commitment each class requires with the provider you plan on using. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 If she were going to be taking all of those AP classes with PA Homeschoolers, I would say that the course load would be too much. PAHS classes are rigorous and prepare the kids exceptionally well for the AP exams, but they are a lot of work. I would ask what the typical weekly commitment each class requires with the provider you plan on using. Snowbeltmom, after looking at your signature, I have to ask: Was your son one of the "lucky ones" today that took AP English Language this morning and then turned around and took AP Statistics right afterwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowbeltmom Posted May 9, 2014 Share Posted May 9, 2014 Snowbeltmom, after looking at your signature, I have to ask: Was your son one of the "lucky ones" today that took AP English Language this morning and then turned around and took AP Statistics right afterwards? He was supposed to be one of those "lucky ones." Unfortunately, he had Tommy Johns surgery last month and hand writing is still a struggle. The guidance counselor at our public high school was able to get his English exam rescheduled for the late test date, but he was not able to get any additional accommodations - ie keyboarding. My son came out of the stats exam saying that his wrist and elbow started throbbing 1/3 way through the FRQ on the stats. At this point, I think he may be skipping the AP English Language exam this year. I hope his grade in the class will be enough outside validation for the adcoms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Does anyone have experience with their child jumping straight in to multiple AP courses? Of everyone I know, the child has tended to start out with just one AP and then graduate to three or four the next year. My daughter wants to take AP psychology, AP calculus AB, AP history - either european, world, or U.S. - and AP English language and Composition, but this will be her first year doing the AP's (next fall). I was wondering if anyone else's child has done something similar and still did well with the amount of coursework? By the way, Hi! I am new to the boards, and I have written two previous topics. I started homeschooling my daughter in 8th grade after issues with the school system, and she is currently a junior that is preparing for the ACT! Other than math, she attends an online school, Laurel Springs. Even with most of her courses coming from LS, we still utilize a lot of homeschool curriculum for extra courses. P.S. She ALSO wanted to take AP biology from Thinkwell, but has pretty much decided against it since she will be taking Physics and already wants to take the other 4 AP's. :p Do you mean that she will be a senior next year? That *is* a very ambitious courseload, and as noted above, the PA classes are a lot of work, but since she's a senior, perhaps she's ready for the challenge? My son started with (two) AP classes at age 13, but an older teen may be able to handle more. And if she doesn't need/want the AP scores for college apps, just the class grades, I'd say she could always drop one if it seems too much work. My son, in fact, dropped AP Macro this past fall (we "downgraded" the course from AP to regular) because his commute to a local four-year college for dual enrollment was taking too much out of him. He kept his AP German and AP US Gov classes. Snowbeltmom, after looking at your signature, I have to ask: Was your son one of the "lucky ones" today that took AP English Language this morning and then turned around and took AP Statistics right afterwards? Oh, I'd forgotten! My son was one of the "lucky ones" last year -- ugh! He did fine, but I was sure glad that they were in that order (Lang, then Stats) -- writing is much harder for him than doing math :) He was supposed to be one of those "lucky ones." Unfortunately, he had Tommy Johns surgery last month and hand writing is still a struggle. The guidance counselor at our public high school was able to get his English exam rescheduled for the late test date, but he was not able to get any additional accommodations - ie keyboarding. My son came out of the stats exam saying that his wrist and elbow started throbbing 1/3 way through the FRQ on the stats. At this point, I think he may be skipping the AP English Language exam this year. I hope his grade in the class will be enough outside validation for the adcoms. Oh, that's rough! I hope his healing wasn't set back too much ... I guess I should list my son's APs ... gr. 9 : Calc BC, Comp Sci A gr. 10 : Comp Gov gr. 11 : Lang, Chem, Stats gr. 12 : US Gov (taking German but didn't want to test -- at this point he doesn't need the AP scores for college admissions, just placement or credit, so he can discriminate) I will say that for younger kids, taking one or two the first year is a nice way to learn the ropes. Just the testing environment (at the local public school, or in some cases a far-away public school, or a far-away private school!) is new and potentially unsettling for a homeschooled kid. Also, after the first year, my son felt comfortable with the format of the tests, what they're looking for, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 My son is a junior, has taken no AP classes and will not take any AP classes. OP - is your daughter ready for college level work? That's what AP is (or is supposed to be) - college level work. Is that something you want to pressure her with at her age? Four AP classes is a lot - that's a full college load plus whatever else she is taking for her high school courses and whatever else is going on in her life. Remember, she'll never be a high school senior again, but she can be a college student as long as she needs to be. I highly recommend that you see the documentary "Race to Nowhere" - it gave me a lot to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elisabet1 Posted May 12, 2014 Share Posted May 12, 2014 Is she a junior? My daughter is in public school and did 3 or 4 APs junior year. This year, she did 6, but is only sitting for 3 tests. Last year, she sat for 3 tests also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emmie Posted May 12, 2014 Author Share Posted May 12, 2014 Thanks to all who commented! Yes, she is currently a junior and is planning these courses for her senior year. She keeps jumping back and fourth between wanting AP history and no AP english, to wanting both (plus the psychology and calc.), to not wanting the history and wanting the English... Hopefully she will figure this out soon! She will not be taking them with PA homeschoolers- she is taking AP calc. through think well and most likely her other APs will come from Laurel Springs school. She is extremely ambitious so I am not against her having such a heavy course load, but she was interested in knowing whether anyone else had followed a similar schedule. If she knows of someone who has 'been there, done that' than she knows she can work hard enough and accomplish the same thing, too. ;) I think her main desire for the AP's is wanting to show college admissions that she is challenging herself more and more each school year.... Once again, thanks, and I will take in to account everyones comments! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.