Some thoughts on AP vs Community College Courses...

[outtamyshell]

I spoke with an admissions officer recently who makes me wonder if we are making a mistake using the CC courses for dual enrollment rather than taking AP courses through PA Homeschoolers. I thought I'd share what I've learned with the rest of you.

 

This particular school (BYU) recalculates your GPA counting only accredited courses taken in highschool (unweighted). For homeschoolers they ignore the GPA and weigh the test scores higher. She said she thought it was easier for homeschoolers to get in because they don't have to worry about a GPA weighing them down. They just need the test scores. Average GPA there is well above 3.5.

 

But now I'm a little concerned that the CC courses are going to make it more difficult for DD to get accepted because she doesn't get straight A's there. I think it's impressive enough for an 11th grader to have a 3.5 unweighted GPA for the CC. But her college GPA is going to be compared to the highschool GPAs of her public school counterparts.

 

and there's the rub... This woman in the admissions office said they don't give any bonus points for community college courses (or local University courses). They do, however, give bonus points for kids taking AP courses. She was very excited about the idea of her adding an 'accredited' AP course to her transcript. I wish I would have known this going into Jr year. It's too late to find an accredited AP course that she can take prior to completing her college apps.

 

I also recently heard a college coach mention that colleges look at AP courses as Sophmore level courses. So perhaps that explains why this admissions gal thought ranked AP courses higher than CC courses.

 

Obvoiusly, each school is different, and everyone says to check with the school. But very few of us know which colleges we're interested in when planning 9th & 10th grades. Had I known this earlier we would have chosen to include an AP course before Sr year and not just Community College courses.

[Nan in Mass]

This might be a stupid question, since I haven't looked into AP at all, but can she just take an AP test, rather than a course? If it was in something she had already studied, maybe she could do some test prep between now and whenever the test is given, rather than a full course? That way, she could do it in her own time.

[Gwen in VA]

AP exams are only offered in May, so if you miss taking the exam spring of junior year you can't really do anything about it that will affect admissions.

 

I'm a pro-AP person, but I think it all just depends. AP's are right for some people and not for ohers.

 

Talk to your kid about what he/she is interested in. Talk to the colleges your child might possibly attend. Hang out on collegeconfidential.com to find out what kinds of things applicants to your student's college of choice are doing.

 

I had no idea that when I homeschooled my kids in high school I would spend far more time reading up on guidance counseling stuff than I would spend on teaching!

[Miss Marple]

You're probably right to diversify - maybe some AP and come CC/university. However, my son's experience with CC and regular university courses was what helped him get a "full tuition plus" scholarship. I don't know that he would have gotten that with just AP courses. Our counselor wanted to see that this homeschooler could stand the rigors of college work/life. AP courses may show ability to learn, but not the ability to work within the university setting.

 

My son is in the Honors dorms where he and one other student are the only ones *not* National Merit. My son is doing much better in his courses than his wing-mates, IMO, because he has had the experience of college work/life. His room mate is failing his government course, and his other classes are B's and C's. He is, IMO, dealing with some hard facts of life. He was a big fish at his school (National Merit, won all the math competitions, etc.), but he cannot schedule his life - plays computer games late into the night and cannot get out of bed in the morning. He preferentially studies those courses he likes and crams for those he doesn't. Yes, he had a lot of AP classes, but he hadn't experienced the lifestyle of a college student. I would think this is probably fairly typical for many freshmen; thankfully, as a homeschooler we can do things differently and add in those college classes as well as some AP classes.

 

We didn't do AP, and I don't know that we will, but I think a student would probably look much more well rounded to do some of each.

[FloridaLisa]

There are pros and cons of AP vs. community colleges. Each may affect both admissions and/or college credit differently. Our state universities much prefer AP, though the legislature now requires that they add a point for dual enrollment community college classes just like they do for AP/IB classes.

 

Is your dd a current junior? If so, there are several one-semester AP courses that she could finish before her senior year -- 2 economics courses and 2 government courses. While PA Homeschoolers offers them only as full-year courses, they are most often offered as one-semester courses in public/private schools. Florida Virtual School has all of these classes but it's pretty expensive if you're out of state.

 

HTH,

Lisa