Pre-AP course questions (Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park: credit, middle school, universities)

[rmap1]

Does anyone have insights/feedback for new Austin area resident on quality of Pre-AP coursework at Four Points Middle School and Cedar Park Middle School? Thanks in advance.

I also would appreciate any insight on Harmony Charter School (Round Rock area)- quality of academics and after-school activities, if any?
Thanks in advance!

[neddy]

I have heard that the parents have a love/hate relationship with Harmony. Love the size,academics hate how disoriginzed that the school is...son goes to Wiley another LISD middle school. Good luck.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by rmap1

Does anyone have insights/feedback for new Austin area resident on quality of Pre-AP coursework at Four Points Middle School and Cedar Park Middle School? Thanks in advance.

...

I think the more basic question, regardless of school is, "is there any reason a capable college-bound student should NOT take Pre-AP and AP courses in High School?", and the answer is "no".

AP Students are more sought after by college recruiters, having proven their ability to complete college level work and demonstrated a willingness to be challenged. A college would rather see an AP "B" than a standard course "A", and in fact the AP "B" helps the GPA more than a standard "A".

It would be a grave error, with possible tuition cost implications later down the road, to have a child not take AP classes, assuming the child aspires to attend college.

Steve

[blakely]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

A college would rather see an AP "B" than a standard course "A", and in fact the AP "B" helps the GPA more than a standard "A".

The AP "B" doesn't always help the GPA more than a "standard A" at all schools.

Some schools don't apply a multiplier. Some schools apply big multipliers (20%) while others much smaller ones (7%). It's wise to look at each school individually before making generalizations about how AP courses can or cannot affect GPA.

I don't disagree that if your child is interested and capable, it's worth pursuing advanced courses. However, at some schools there is a tendency to sign up for them "because everyone else is" rather than applying a standard for placement. I would recommend OP talk to the school about how the standards and expectations in the pre-AP/AP courses differ from the school's grade level courses.

[G Grasshopper]

My son had quite a few AP courses going into college. His college did not accept them as substitutes for requirements, but they did count as general credit. As a result, when he got to his senior year, he had plenty of credits, and only had to take a part time course load. We got a couple thousand back in tuition and he had time enough to work. In short, the AP courses saved us quite a bit of money.

[robino2001]

I know it's derailed from the original question, but just another thing many parents often aren't aware of. Unless your kid is dead set on leaving the state, I think the dual-credit courses are much more valuable than AP (plus slightly easier). I went to HS in SA, not Austin, so I don't know the specifics here (whether it's at every high school) but I know ACC is partnered up with at least some of the schools as ACCD was with most of the schools in SA. Yeah, I took my AP classes/tests, etc but also did dual credit and left high school with 8 or 9 college courses out of the way. No cost to do it, no test at the end (that you have to pay for)... it's essentially a win-win and is HUGE if you go to an in-state school as all publics take the credit (and a lot of the privates will too).

[mimimomx3]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

I think the more basic question, regardless of school is, "is there any reason a capable college-bound student should NOT take Pre-AP and AP courses in High School?", and the answer is "no".

AP Students are more sought after by college recruiters, having proven their ability to complete college level work and demonstrated a willingness to be challenged. A college would rather see an AP "B" than a standard course "A", and in fact the AP "B" helps the GPA more than a standard "A".

It would be a grave error, with possible tuition cost implications later down the road, to have a child not take AP classes, assuming the child aspires to attend college.

Steve

Fewer and fewer colleges are taking AP credit, they have figured out that the College Board is getting the $$ that would have come to them in the form of tuition. I'm not impressed by AP classes. They are formulaic, and the teachers are forced to teach to the AP test, leaving very little room for creativity or depth.

[GreenPlastic]

St Stephens no longer offers AP courses for some of the reasons minimom cited. Not sure if the other privates will follow but it will be interesting to see if a trend develops.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by mimimomx3

Fewer and fewer colleges are taking AP credit, they have figured out that the College Board is getting the $$ that would have come to them in the form of tuition. I'm not impressed by AP classes. They are formulaic, and the teachers are forced to teach to the AP test, leaving very little room for creativity or depth.

Do you have some specific examples? Which colleges?

I have a freshman in college and when she was deciding which college to attend, all of her final pool (Baylor, Trinity, SMU, USC, TCU) gave direct credit for core courses based on the AP test scores.

She ended up going to TCU and, in her second Freshman semester, already has credits that make he the equivalent mid-term sophomore. The college won't be losing out on tuition because there is no discount for lighter classload (same price for 12-18 hours, and she can't drop below 12 per the scholarship requirements).

What AP did for her is allow her to start college in 3rd year Honors Spanish as a Freshman, and receive full credit for the first two years of college Spanish. And it prepared her at a level such that the class seems "easy" for her. She's decided to minor in Spanish and will be doing study abroad in Spain at some point. Taking plain high school Spanish would not have put her in this position. Not even close.

The other value of coming into college with excess core credits is the ability for the student to explore other classes and topics of interest. She's able to take Jazz Ensemble and continue her love of singing, and a Film class she wanted, because she's not strapped down to taking English I, Government and World Geography, etc., because those were handled in High School via AP class and testing.

So, I've got one in the pipeline and another in 9th grade. I think I have a pretty good handle on how all this college stuff works. I'm going to stick with my position that there is no good reason, none at all, for a capable college-bound child to not take advantage of the benefits afforded by taking AP coursework and the AP tests in high school, or starting with Pre-AP in Middle School.

Steve

[centralaustinite]

The private liberal arts school I attended did not give credit for any AP classes period. If you had a score of 5 you could get out of taking an intro level class but that is it. This was a long time ago. It is fairly standard for rigorous, "highly selective" private colleges and universities. Often it is not stated directly but is enacted through requirements that nearly all credits for graduation be taken as a resident student.

The college still liked to see AP coursework and AP tests etc of course but it would not shorten the time to graduation.