Laura in CA Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Has anyone had any luck? I know it's a complicated exam. I'm posting for someone in the Bay Area (northern California). Many local high schools, both public and private, offer the AP Chinese exam (to their own students), but even if they welcome homeschoolers to take other AP exams with their students, they specifically exclude "outsiders" from the language tests, because of how involved the testing process is. I'll suggest that she ask at the local Saturday schools, and try schools in the various Chinatowns ... Perhaps somewhere in LA offers it to outsiders? She might be willing to travel. I'd appreciate any advice or leads. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Try this company. They do AP exam registration and administration for a bunch of schools in San Diego County. I know they also have other areas that they cover. I was referred to them by a school in the San Diego area and they were able to find me a couple seats for AP Comparative Government. http://aptestservice.com/ I was told by one private school that was willing to test my kids that they didn't let outsiders do foreign language exams that had to use the computers for the exam. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 The Saturday schools who prep for AP chinese that I know of in south bay are not test centers. The kids take at their public/private schools. Bay Area might be harder because of the high number of chinese students in schools. Have she tried Quarry Lane in Dublin? It's probably the listening component that is hard to accommodate. Good luck to your friend in finding a test site. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JenneinCA Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 She might try Legend College Prep. I think I remember someone having good results there with hard to find AP tests. They are in Cupertino. legendcollegepreparatory.com 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Sebastian, Arcadia, and JenneinAZ -- I will pass on these ideas to my friend. Thank you SO much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sebastian (a lady) Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I will add that I had to just cold call schools last year and this year. One thing I did if someone said no was to ask them for recommendations. If their recommendations had already turned me down I said so and asked if they had other suggestions. One school.last year wasn't eager to say yes but was willing to help if I found no where else. In the end the kids tested there and they were quite hospitable. In Hawaii I ended up.referred to the state AP coordinator who in turn referred me to the dean of a big deal private school and said I should say she had referred me. That school proved very helpful. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 Sebastian - very useful advice. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Update: After calling 40 schools, she finally found a welcoming school -- a top public high school in San Francisco that is majority-Chinese, with three Nobel-laureate graduates. (That should ID it for locals :) -- I don't think I'll name it here, but I'd be happy to PM anyone who wants the name.) Thanks again to everyone who helped! 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Glad that high school is welcoming, a friend's nephew attends that school. California has 97.8% scoring 3 or higher for AP Chinese in the 10th Report to Nation. Good luck to her child! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ivyhuipan Posted February 18, 2016 Share Posted February 18, 2016 Update: After calling 40 schools, she finally found a welcoming school -- a top public high school in San Francisco that is majority-Chinese, with three Nobel-laureate graduates. (That should ID it for locals :) -- I don't think I'll name it here, but I'd be happy to PM anyone who wants the name.) Thanks again to everyone who helped! Hi, I am looking for the welcoming school in CA, it's quite difficult. Would you mind let me know the name of the school? Appreciate that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JadeOrchidSong Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Laura, how long has dd studied Chinese? Did she take classes or have a tutor? What textbooks has she used? Unfortunately dc are Chinese dropouts. Dh, however, self taught Chinese for two years and is fluent. He can also read and write. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 (edited) Hi, I am looking for the welcoming school in CA, it's quite difficult. Would you mind let me know the name of the school? Appreciate that! I don't know which school my friend ended up using ... The school I posted about is called Lowell. But I got an email from her later that said "PS. Just to let you know that Lowell High AP Chinese exam did not come thru for me; on the phone, the coordinator had agreed to take my son, but then did not send me any info to proceed nor return my calls. I had to do the calling again and found another public high school in SF. It was not a fun experience but I am glad to have it worked out eventually." I don't see her much, but if you'd like, I can email her and find the name of the school. Of course, this was last year, and policies keep changing, so there's no guarantee this school would work out this year. There is no denying that this is a labor-intensive process for homeschooling parents (but the payoff is so big, it is worth it). ETA: I PM'd you ;) Edited March 3, 2016 by Laura in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 Laura, how long has dd studied Chinese? Did she take classes or have a tutor? What textbooks has she used? Unfortunately dc are Chinese dropouts. Dh, however, self taught Chinese for two years and is fluent. He can also read and write. If you are addressing this question to me, it was my friend I was posting about, who was looking for AP Chinese for her son. He went to Chinese school (3 hr/wk) from age 3, then spent 3rd grade in Taiwan. When he came back to the U.S. he kept up Chinese on his own. He got a 5 on the AP exam. As always, it's essential to look at the released AP exams from earlier years. Can your husband, or a tutor, help your children prepare? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hailing Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Laura, could you ask your friend for the school's name? I am desperately looking for AP Chinese test site for my son whose school does not offer the test. Thank you very much! I don't know which school my friend ended up using ... The school I posted about is called Lowell. But I got an email from her later that said "PS. Just to let you know that Lowell High AP Chinese exam did not come thru for me; on the phone, the coordinator had agreed to take my son, but then did not send me any info to proceed nor return my calls. I had to do the calling again and found another public high school in SF. It was not a fun experience but I am glad to have it worked out eventually." I don't see her much, but if you'd like, I can email her and find the name of the school. Of course, this was last year, and policies keep changing, so there's no guarantee this school would work out this year. There is no denying that this is a labor-intensive process for homeschooling parents (but the payoff is so big, it is worth it). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in CA Posted March 1, 2016 Author Share Posted March 1, 2016 (edited) Laura, could you ask your friend for the school's name? I am desperately looking for AP Chinese test site for my son whose school does not offer the test. Thank you very much! Yes - sorry I didn't see this until now. I've emailed the person and asked her. All I know is that it was a public high school in SF ... I'll let you know as soon as I find out! I do know that she called many, many schools. ETA: I PM'd you :) Edited March 3, 2016 by Laura in CA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanlon Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 (edited) Hi, hopefully your class is going to go through practice/preparation, but since I'm self-studying for the test (am native speaker), I came across these few websites that might prove helpful. Btw, the Ap chinese course started by Hanbridge Mandarin seems good. Good luck on it!! Edited March 10, 2016 by Kanlon 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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