|
AP Classes
|
 
2010-05-11, 12:39 AM
Loose Wrote:So... these are classes with topics you don't normally see in average High School classes? More advanced stuff? It really depends. Our school doesn't offer a NORMAL calculus class but only AP calc. Most AP classes are a "better," fast-paced and harder (so I've heard) version of normal classes. They grade on a scale of 5.0, which means 5.0 factored into your GPA for an A grade. 
2010-05-11, 12:39 AM
Let me just put it this way: you need a college degree to get any decent job in this country. If you don't have one, good luck trying to survive - the U.S. minimum wage has been proven time and time again to not be high enough to support a family above the poverty line. However, you say you despise school and love video games as a "escape from stress."
Goals, I have a lot of respect for you as a person and think you're very smart, so understand that while the next critiques I give are harsh and blunt, they're only such because I would hate to see you fail in life. You need to get your act together and figure your life out. Take it from practically anyone on this site, video games are wonderfully fun and enjoyable, but they're not a cop-out from real life. Sooner or later you have to actually do something to survive. Now the way this nation works is by giving children the opportunity to receive a quality education, the one requirement for success in any career path. By saying you don't wish to be at school, you're essentially saying you don't want to have a future life. I get that the K-12 school system in the United States needs reformation, and believe me, I'm spend my free time working with political organizations to create this reformation, because no one should hate going to school. But you have got to realize that unless you find a way to deal with things you may not like and make a conscious effort to find things you DO like in some situations, your future life is going to be extremely difficult. Like Will said, academics first, entertainment second. It's not being an overachiever, it's caring about your life and your future. Don't want to? Then I suggest you find a way to move to South Korea so you can try your luck at making money playing Starcraft, and even then I hope you understand how ridiculously difficult it will be to make a living playing video games. 
2010-05-11, 12:39 AM
Loose Wrote:So... these are classes with topics you don't normally see in average High School classes? More advanced stuff? Its faster, but not always advanced. I think the Language ones equate to <Language> 4 or something, and I know there's reg Chem, US and World History along with AP. Like the link says, college leveled. HS on Hard mode sums it up pretty well. @Goals Oh, they weight grades? Didn't know that....
2010-05-11, 12:43 AM
Hazzy Wrote:Its faster, but not always advanced. I think the Language ones equate to <Language> 4 or something, and I know there's reg Chem, US and World History along with AP. HS on Hard mode is a decent analogy. And different schools do different thing. My school graded on a 4.0 scale, but for any "weighted" class (including all APs), the scale was a 5.0 for As as compared to 4.0s (and then 4.0 would be a B, etc.). It helps with having a really nice GPA for college apps. 
2010-05-11, 12:51 AM
So, you guys actually have a choice? That's pretty nifty.
Do the AP Classes, man. Nothing wrong with pushing yourself and start getting used to college level classes. 
2010-05-11, 12:52 AM
Goals Wrote:Well probably because I want to prevent myself from failing if I suddenly become lazy. During middle school I took hard classes in the 8th grade and failed horribly.Think that did it for me and hard classes. I am always intimidated by any ADVANCED label When things look hard, don't be intimidated by it. Keep trying and pushing until you succeed. No one is perfect, things will be rocky on the path to success. "The road to hell is always paved with good intentions"
2010-05-11, 12:54 AM
FrozNlite Wrote:Let me just put it this way: you need a college degree to get any decent job in this country. If you don't have one, good luck trying to survive - the U.S. minimum wage has been proven time and time again to not be high enough to support a family above the poverty line. However, you say you despise school and love video games as a "escape from stress." In quote WillDaSnail Wrote:When things look hard, don't be intimidated by it. Keep trying and pushing until you succeed. No one is perfect, things will be rocky on the path to success. Hey, I'm not packing my schedule full of AP classes next year, but 1... or 2 is an improvement right? TBH, even AP gov and econ intimidates me a little, but the vast majority say its and easy course. Note: I didn't intend the thread to turn into a debate about how AP classes will help me out, etc. I simply wanted to know if AP classes affect college application. It worries me that colleges would pick a candidate with AP classes over one without. :[ 
2010-05-11, 01:07 AM
Heya Keith ;]
You're still way too young to know what you want in the future. Don't worry too much about it and focus on graduating. I never took any AP Classes but I did finish my IB Diploma. In many ways I regretted it because of all the time I invested and it didn't pay off as much as it would have if I just did regular classes. It was a great experience so I'm glad I took part in it but grades/scholarship wise it wasn't the best of choices. (I didn't have weighting just because the classes are a little harder than regular, and the same goes for my friends that did AP) Don't even get me started on Theory of Knowledge, some 4k+ word Extended Essay, and 200 Creative, Action and Service hours..... The content you learn in AP classes does help with college but what's more important is your work ethic. As long as you have that, you'll do just fine AP or otherwise and I guess all the people with good work ethic take AP. I really don't recommend you use your AP classes as credit for 1st year classes because the transition is rough for some people and I heard lots of stories about people who did skip 1st year classes and bombed the 2nd year classes. 
2010-05-11, 01:09 AM
[COLOR="Magenta"]Goals, don't let these guys push you around. I'm proud of you for even considering to take one or two.
If I'm kind of analyzing correctly, your best bet would be one or two AP classes. You don't want to be gnawing at your nails at the amount of stress these classes cause. Trust me. I took five this year. I want to die. In answering your questions, not you do not HAVE to take AP classes for college. While they're "recommended" and "good-for-you" sort of thing, I know students who have been accepted into the UC system with no AP classes on their transcripts. Overachieving is a little bit of an overstatement in my opinion. While I like to have fun learning and gaining knowledge, I wouldn't call it overachieving. Actually I feel like brown-nosing teachers is overachieving. Try not to focus so much on the whole "achieving" part of it and more so on the, "what do I have to do to get here." When you apply for UC make sure you have a KILLER essay, make EVERYBODY read it. UC also loves to see community work, remember, ITS NOT JUST ACADEMICS ANYMORE its community service, and any outside-of-school impact you make in the world. Don't be afraid to go out during the summer and clean up some highways, or help in the soup kitchen. You'll feel good about yourself, and it will certainly make you stand out from the usual book worm students. Its shows you aren't afraid to go out there and get a little dirty to make a difference. Also, Its OK if you don't know your major yet, or what you want to do in life. Seriously, its A-OK. In fact my cousin, put undecided on her application for University of San Fransisco, and she was accepted. If you ask me, that's huge. Just keep it easy, and remember its your SENIOR YEAR, your last year you must enjoy it! I wasn't able to enjoy my senior year and I deeply regret it. Taking one AP Class just to "test the waters" is a great idea for you, and I suggest you take it. Also, don't be afraid to go up to your counseling office and bother them for local scholarships. Local scholarships are your best bet for money, as well as national ones. I can tell you from personal experience, that scholarships truly make the difference in regards to paying for college. Even if its just $100 or $200 there, it REALLY helps. Sorry if this seems a little rushed, I'm super tired and really wanted to tell you as much as I could as quickly as I could lol @_@[/COLOR] 
2010-05-11, 01:19 AM
Delicae Wrote:[COLOR="Magenta"]Goals, don't let these guys push you around. I'm proud of you for even considering to take one or two. I'm really glad someone is on my side about this. While I did say I hate "school" but I love learning!! I learned tons this year because it was a laid-back year. I even enjoyed preparing for the SATs by taking a six-week course. That was about the only extra effort I spent outside of my LOL 0-30 minutes of daily homework. I can't fully agree with you on Community Service, though. It's hard to find someone I care about. @.@ But again its due to personal issues. I would love to help kids on the autism spectrum though (no oppurtunities). Go figure why. :S Thank you very much for the encouragement! Kevo Wrote:Heya Keith ;] OMG hey Kevo! I guess I don't have work ethic necessary for AP classes. Work and learning should be done in class only, not at home. It's weird for me to even spend more than an hour on homework daily lol. Ty also for being encouraging, Kevo. Seems like you're always there for that purpose. F3
2010-05-11, 01:44 AM
[COLOR="Magenta"]Well, ask around your community or google how you can volunteer to help autistic children. There is more than likely an organization nearby when you can hang out with the kids and do whatever.
Community service isn't as bad as it sounds  You don't have to put 890432890 hours of your life to make someone else's life amazing. I just donated like 2-3 hours every few Saturday mornings to help pack food at the community food bank.Google be your friend put multiple keywords for something you might be interested in volunteering, and don't forget to emphasize that you're a high school student. "People like to see dem kids with they rap music be helpin da worldz" (lol jk)You're very much welcome Goals <3[/COLOR]
2010-05-11, 01:46 AM
Just to clarify, the respect I have for you is not that in which I feel superior or pity or any other crappy, exclusive emotions. I respect you for your choices, and believe that, for the most part, you make wonderful ones, Keith, but that as a friend I want to raise the red flags where they should be raised. Please don't think I'm sitting here trying to push you around or bully you; my only intention is to ensure that video games don't control someone's life like they did mine. I still did well in school and am attending a phenomenal university, but to be honest I was lucky, and if I could do it all over again I wouldn't pick up MS or equate video games with academics like I did. It's a very dangerous mixture of priorities, and again, my warnings come from personal experience and a desire to not see the same happen to friends.
But here's the bottom line: Goals Wrote:It worries me that colleges would pick a candidate with AP classes over one without. :[ I'm sorry, but that's how it works. You shouldn't be worried, because the basic concept is that if you do more work than someone else, you get more credit. However, like many have said (esp. Delicae's wonderful post), college admissions officers look for so much more in a candidate these days than simply academic merit. If you earn straight As in the colloquial "regular" classes, but show you spend your free time doing something worthwhile (ie. not video games), then you stand just as much of a chance as others. Basically, colleges these days look for students they feel would be a "best fit" for the university, and considering so many more people are going to college now than in the past, the criteria for determining a "best fit" student extends out to how you spend your time as compared to just grades. Erefore, if you're applying to a school whose motto revolves around service to the global community (ex. Princeton), and your application shows that you've spent all your free time reaching Lv. 200 in an online video game, they're not going to consider you a "best fit" for the school. It all comes down to where you want to apply, and making yourself the best candidate for that particular school. If you want to go to the absolute top schools, I'm sorry, but you are essentially required to take AP classes. However, if you have your eye set on in-state schools such as the UC system, you stand an excellent chance with what you've accomplished. Oh, and keep in mind that in-state public schools such as the UC and UW systems of California and Wisconsin are required to accept a certain quota of students from the state, so just living there gives you a huge edge over others. P.S.: College admissions horror story: I knew of two guys who applied to Princeton, one of whom was the valedictorian of their school, and the other the salutitorian. The salutitorian was captain of the Varsity swim team his Senior year, and participated in a number of extra curricular organizations and community service programs, while the valedictorian simply focused on his studies. The two were essentially in all of the same classes, but of course one edged out the other in GPA by the end of the year. When they got their letters from Princeton that April, the valedictorian had been accepted, while the salutitorian was denied. Case in point: Some schools still use GPA and evidence of an intense academic schedule as the ultimate deciding factor for admissions. It proves that you worked harder and studied harder than others, and in the end every school's "best fit," #1 criterion is to ensure their students are the best of the best academically, willing to work hard and challenge themselves. No school wants to waste the time and resources on a lazy student who is just going to skip class to play video games, and ends up flunking out.
2010-05-11, 01:59 AM
So since I live in-state and have a decent GPA, I stand a chance for UC schools? Cuz honestly, I didn't even think about the "absolute top schools" as you put it.
2010-05-11, 02:03 AM
[COLOR="Magenta"]^ Yes. Research what UC looks for. Go to their website and look around. More than usually they post on the admissions part what GPA they're looking for.
I can say, that UC denied me because I lived out-of-state. So yes, you have a huge edge like Froz said.[/COLOR]
2010-05-11, 02:22 AM
Delicae Wrote:[COLOR="Magenta"]^ Yes. Research what UC looks for. Go to their website and look around. More than usually they post on the admissions part what GPA they're looking for. This. And this is honestly the case with any school: all colleges and universities accept their largest amount of students from within the state itself (with Harvard/Princeton/etc. top schools potentially the only exceptions), and all schools post data regarding incoming freshman GPA to help applicants see where they stand. In the end, it's research and smart preparations that will get you in. 
2010-05-11, 02:35 AM
Here's the advice I feel like I ought to give, which also happens to be what I firmly believe (though I don't follow it to the letter myself, it might be more applicable to you).
Take an AP class if you're really interested in the subject matter, or if you feel like you need more of a challenge in that particular area and are willing to live up to it. It doesn't matter whether you might not be using it in the future. Colleges want to see passion - ideally. They look at numbers because it's easy to compare quantitatively and say that Student X has better standardized testing scores than Student Y. Less so with matters of personal character. Most colleges, barring the top ones, don't have the resources to sift through the other stuff as extensively even if they wanted to, so they put too much weight on the numbers. However, you still shouldn't care, because passion and motivation will get you miles further than scores or credit-hours or any particular admission letter. And someone will notice eventually if you take something to heart. It sounds from your posts that you value gaming above your future. Think about this. What do you really want? Then go from there. But if you really don't think school is worth it, then don't force yourself. ~ But my actions betray my thoughts. I take APs in subjects that I hate, and I wouldn't be able to give a satisfactory answer as to why. Except perhaps that the alternative is a joke, and that bothers my conscience.
2010-05-11, 06:50 PM
Goals Wrote:In quote @ Bolded: I think you just simply overstretched what I said. What I meant was that you can take any # of AP's you want (as long you can handle it). The key point here is to get good grades in those courses (and good scores, preferably a 4 or 5). Take as few or many as you want. However, taking (and completing) even as few as 1-2 AP by end of your junior year does make you stand a bit out in the admissions process. But taking your first APs senior year...that's a bit too late there son. =\
2010-05-11, 06:52 PM
WillDaSnail Wrote:@ Bolded: I think you just simply overstretched what I said. What I meant was that you can take any # of AP's you want (as long you can handle it). The key point here is to get good grades in those courses (and good scores, preferably a 4 or 5). Oh cool. That is all I wanted to know.  |
|
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »
|
