Which AP exams to focus on

[vonfirmath]

My son is in 8th grade and starting to register for 9th grade.  They seem to assume the advanced kids will take a LOT of AP exams over their high school years -- more than I took in HS.  And I am concerned both about his slow writing/composing speed and about him burning out with so many AP Exams.

 

For Example, they have them in AP Geography in 9th grade -- is that one of those APs that is a good starter AP for younger kids? to give them a taste of what to expect work load like, etc?

 

Then currently in 10th grade he's got on his plan AP Statistics, AP Biology and AP World History  -- so a jump up to 3.

Then they jump into AP English 3 and 4 in 11th and 12th grade, at the same time they are recommending they take these APs called "Seminar" and "Research" (I've never heard of these)  AP Physics both years and AP Calculus BC his senior year. AP US History in 11th and AP Government/AP Economics in 12th.

 

One thing I want to consider is backing off the AP courses. Prioritizing some and taking the easier course for the rest -- even though the school only offers AP as the "honors" option.

Edited February 28, 2021 by vonfirmath

[mathnerd]

Does he have any ideas on what major he would like to do in college? Depending on that, he should drop AP's irrelevant to it. For a STEM major, prioritizing AP Calculus BC and AP Comp Sci A should be the goal. If he is capable of taking those earlier, then, he can spend some time doing Post-AP-level courses (categorized as Seminars and Research in some schools) in those subjects which is helpful for admissions into competitive colleges. I don't see a foreign language AP nor AP Chemistry mentioned. Are they not offered?

Edited February 28, 2021 by mathnerd

[vonfirmath]

8 hours ago, mathnerd said:

Does he have any ideas on what major he would like to do in college? Depending on that, he should drop AP's irrelevant to it. For a STEM major, prioritizing AP Calculus BC and AP Comp Sci A should be the goal. If he is capable of taking those earlier, then, he can spend some time doing Post-AP-level courses (categorized as Seminars and Research in some schools) in those subjects which is helpful for admissions into competitive colleges. I don't see a foreign language AP nor AP Chemistry mentioned. Are they not offered?

Foreign language APs are offered. But not if you only take 2 years of the language -- you have to have more years of language and his schedule is pretty full already.

 

As for what he wants to do -- he doesn't know. It is not currently STEM though he's very good at math and science. He's also taking classes in Agriculture and Construction to give some hands on practice in those fields. He is choosing AP Biology because he wants to study crops and ways to help those in developing countries have a more steady food supply.  And AP Physics because he loves Physics.  

 

Because of the mismatch between the things he likes I'm thinking he may well change what he wants to do by the time he gets to college.

[mathnerd]

Got it. If he plans to go into a Biology intensive field, Chemistry is the most important supporting science course that he will need to take in high school. So, that is some thing to consider, but, he has time to make modifications along the way in high school. One thing to keep in mind is that, these days, every one benefits from having a good background in Computer Science no matter what major they pursue in college. Maybe he and you should set up a meeting with the High School Counselor or Adviser to figure out what the graduating requirements are (for e.g. where I live, it is 3 years of Foreign Lang and 3 years of HS math etc) and what he needs in order to pursue his college path.

Edited March 1, 2021 by mathnerd

[daijobu]

20 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

For Example, they have them in AP Geography in 9th grade -- is that one of those APs that is a good starter AP for younger kids? to give them a taste of what to expect work load like, etc?

Then currently in 10th grade he's got on his plan AP Statistics, AP Biology and AP World History  -- so a jump up to 3.

Then they jump into AP English 3 and 4 in 11th and 12th grade, at the same time they are recommending they take these APs called "Seminar" and "Research" (I've never heard of these)  AP Physics both years and AP Calculus BC his senior year. AP US History in 11th and AP Government/AP Economics in 12th.

 

Skip AP geography and AP world history or any AP history class unless he has a particular interest in history.  If he wants a "starter" AP class, then AP CS A is an easy one to start with, especially for a STEM student with some experience with coding.  I would choose from the subset of AP bio, chem, physics C, CS A, calculus AB or BC or statistics.  If he has an interest you can throw in a history or English or one of the others, but I think it's a waste of time to take AP level coursework in such a wide range of subject areas, especially if those particular courses have a lot of homework.

 

 

[Janeway]

One thing I found with the AP courses is that there is less writing. This is true with our high schools anyway. They are so focused on test prep that they seem to only to timed essays. These are short essays. They learn a specific type of essay that is used for the tests and don't do anything else. I would prioritize APUSH and at least one science AP exam, the English ones, and at least one math one. AP government is also wise to have. Anything else is frosting and good to have, but I would specifically do the ones I just listed. It can be nice to have a foreign language AP exam, but not all colleges require foreign language, especially if going in to an engineering degree. 

[SanDiegoMom]

I would think AP geography would be also related to his interest -- its focus is on the impact of geography on communities and I think it addresses things like food production, pollution, etc.  I might be wrong, but I would definitely not take it off the table. 

APUSH, AP English, World History, etc are pretty standard.  AP stats is supposed to be pretty easy. Seminar and Research I think are all about constructing your own research topic, doing the research and presenting it.  I have only heard of it being implemented poorly and with little depth of learning. 

Our last school district was all about the gold seals on the diplomas, and the counselor's were aghast that my daughter chose not to take chemistry at all, thereby getting only a standard diploma rather than an advanced.  She still got into a top school even if she didn't follow the prescribed path.  

My daughter did 10 AP's.  None in 9th grade, 1 in 10th, and 4 each in her junior and senior years.  It was a heavy workload those years, BUT it was mostly humanities and she is a humanities kid.  She loved it and those were her favorite high school years.  She also chose classes based on teachers, and the best teachers taught AP.  

[SDMomof3]

AP geography or Computer Science Principles were recommend for my dd when she started 9th. They are considered easier and a intro to the course load.

[Sherry in OH]

Seminar and Research are the AP Capstone courses.   A student who takes those courses/exams and scores at least 3 AND scores at least 3 on four additional AP exams  is granted an AP Capstone Diploma.  It is sometimes compared to the IB diploma.  If your son does not want to take at least 6 AP exams, he should not plan to take seminar and research.  

My son's school requires AP English and AP Literature, they are the 11th and 12th grade English courses.  AP Capstone is recommended but not required. Students who opt in must take both courses.  Juniors and seniors may then select one or two additional AP classes per year.  Some students self-study for additional AP exams, but most find 3-4 per year to be plenty.  

Freshmen and sophomores are permitted up to two AP classes per year.  My son took no APs freshman year.  He wanted to take one, but the classes were either full or had prerequisites.* He has requested two AP classes for sophomore year.  His plan has four each for junior and senior year (including Capstone), but he may not take that many.  If, for example, he decides to take DE courses (a senior year option), he will have fewer AP slots available.    

* The school requires that students take biology and chemistry before taking AP biology, chemistry, or anatomy and physiology.  The school does not require physics, but those students who want AP physics must take the school's regular physics course first.  This is not a universal requirement.  My nephew's school allows students to jump directly into AP courses.