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AP's do require a lot of reading and writing, but your daughters schedule is probably similar to what the other top students in her grade are taking. It can be done, just hang in there!
Dd's problem is that she has skated through school half paying attention and gotten A's up until now. This is the first time she's had to study and she doesn't know how. As a parent, I know this is good for her but she's stressing over her grades. I can't offer her any comfort when her counslors are telling her she can't afford C's in her AP classes.
She needs to learn time management and how to study effectively. She's just never had to before. Now she needs skills she never developed. Study takes longer for her than her peers because she's not effective at it. (I know the feeling with grading papers, lol) What's sad is this is what she needs and this will make her a better student but colleges frown on C's. If she wants to go away to school, she needs go get scholarships.
She's not a freshman. She's a sophomore (with enough credits to be a junior). She should be a freshman. She skipped 4th grade and started taking high school classes in 7th grade. She's been pushed two years ahead. She'll graduate with 6 AP classes and having completed the calculus series at the local community college plus one more course. Too bad colleges don't consider that. Part of me is wishing we'd never let them push her ahead now but she wants to go to med school and if she doesn't learn effective study now, she'll die on the vine later.
There should be some websites that offer tips and constructive information on study skills and how to improve. She probably excelled before having to push herself this semester. I had a couple children w/ those issues...One had to struggle to make C's the other never had to crack a book and got B's and A's...They get a bit lazy and have a false sense of security. This is a good teachable moment for you as a parent. Find some resources to help her w/ her study skills...This is the best preparation for college. Here are just two, among many links offered using the search words "study skills improvement resources"
Hope they get you on the right track.... Study skills articles and study tips, improve study habits, teaching tips Study Skills | Howtostudy.org - When you hit the books - and they hit back.
Well, we succeeded in pushing dd#2 up to the level of her incompetence, which is, really a good thing because the girl has never learned to study because she never had to study. Unfortunately, it's a bad thing because, to quote her, she's learning to study "when grades count".
She has two AP classes (AP world history and AP lit), honors chem, plus pre calculus and French 4 this year (she's in 10th grade). It's looking like her GPA for this semester will be something shy of 3.0. Does this blow her chances of getting into a good college and of getting scholarships? She can drop the AP classes for second semester but there's nothing we can do about first. We had hoped she'd pull up in time. While her grades are improving, she got off to a dismal start so her chances of getting even a B in her AP courses is slim. I've heard that C's in AP classes is the kiss of death. Is there anything we can do here or is she just sunk?
If I had known how heavy the work load was for AP world, I would have nixed the second AP class. That class alone would teach her to study out of necessity. I can't go back and fix that mistake. What can we do to help her? Early testing indicates she should score around 30 on the ACT when she takes it as a Junior. If she doesn't, we'll put her through a prep program and have her retake until she does. She has the capability of scoring, at least, that high.
It should be noted that she's also grade accelerated. She should be a 9th grader but she's a 10th grader taking 11th and 12th grade classes. We finally got her in over her head so she has to learn to study but the price she's paying in her GPA is heavy.
I've put this in the education forum, instead of the parenting forum, because I need feedback from educators and counselors (particularly, college counselors).
I think this is too much unnecessary stress for a young child. There are thousands of colleges in this country that can provide your child with an excellent educational experience to help prepare her for life's experiences.
A 3.0 isn't the kiss of death. The degree is only part of the equation. Life experience, choices, personal motivation, and balance are equally important to success in life.
No, her sister is going to CC. She was planning on going away to school.
Well I don't think having a C (or 2) will ruin an otherwise good academic record in high school. As long as she is not targeting the very tippy top schools she should have no trouble getting into college with one or 2 Cs on her transcript. Getting a scholarship might be difficult but even that is not impossible.
I wold not have her drop down a level because the best learning occurs through struggle. The damage has already been done to her GPA, but it's not that big a deal when you consider her whole high school career. She has plenty of time to recover and to acclimate herself to the demands of AP classes.
I offer you the following anecdote because it might help. My son took AP Calculus his senior year. His teacher covered the material in one semester like they do in college so that the kids could get a feel for the pace of a college math class. She used the second semester to prep for the AP exam. Early on in the semester he wanted to drop the class. We said no and got him a tutor instead. He got a B- both semesters, which was the lowest grade on his transcript (and not all that different from a C+).
He took the AP Exam and scored a 5 despite his struggles in the class. He is now a math major at Case Western and he took Calc 2 his first semester. So far he has scored over 90% on every test/quiz he has taken (he has his final this week). I think that his struggles with Calculus in the beginning really forced him to learn the material in a way that provided a foundation that is making the more advanced classes easier for him.
I would not let her drop to a lower level. Get her a tutor. Help her organize her time better. Support her in ways that make her time management easier. She already has let the grades slip. She might as well get the satisfaction of mastering the material and learning how to manage a heavy course load.
How have her grades changed from the beginning of the semester to now? I seriously never studied a day in my life until 11th grade AP US history. it kicked my butt, her counselors should not be telling her she must do better. I was in my guidance counselors office everyday for a month begging to be pulled from the class but she continued to push.
As helpless as you may feel now it should get better, AP class is a big jump I know.
As I mentioned before, does she have a review book ? If not I STRONGLY SUGGEST ONEHow does she "not study"
What I did last year was sit in my room, and shut off ky phone, (I focus with music so I had that) and have my HW and my review book together, my review book looks like chewbacca ate it and spit it out from yhe amount of writing and use. One thing I've found helpful is snacking on someyhing like crackers. World history is a tough course and if she really gives up maybe you can move her down to an honors level.
Also, colleges absolutely consider CC classes! They like to see ambition, ( or so I've been told lol) maybe she needs ti stay late with the teacher and collectively address the questions she has and hiw she can better prepare herself.
What are her study habits? How much time is committed to extracurricular activities?
What does she miss that is bringing her grades down? Is she losing points for late assignments? Not finishing tests? Not proofreading papers?
Is it the complexity of the subject or the quantity of the material? If it is the complexity, extra instruction may help or studying with a classmate who has a better grasp on the subject. If it is the quantity, she will just have to spend more time on it.
One of the easiest things to do is review all of the stuff that will be on the next exam every night. Ideally, she should have class notes or a syllabus that will include everything she needs to know. Waiting until the night before the test to cram and try to learn facts will not work.
You need to be aware that medical school involves mastering large amounts of complex material, much of which involves sheer memorization. Be sure medical school is truly her goal, not just yours.
AP's do require a lot of reading and writing, but your daughters schedule is probably similar to what the other top students in her grade are taking. It can be done, just hang in there!
She doesn't have time for reading books right now.
What are her study habits? How much time is committed to extracurricular activities?
What does she miss that is bringing her grades down? Is she losing points for late assignments? Not finishing tests? Not proofreading papers?
Is it the complexity of the subject or the quantity of the material? If it is the complexity, extra instruction may help or studying with a classmate who has a better grasp on the subject. If it is the quantity, she will just have to spend more time on it.
One of the easiest things to do is review all of the stuff that will be on the next exam every night. Ideally, she should have class notes or a syllabus that will include everything she needs to know. Waiting until the night before the test to cram and try to learn facts will not work.
You need to be aware that medical school involves mastering large amounts of complex material, much of which involves sheer memorization. Be sure medical school is truly her goal, not just yours.
Not my goal at all. It's hers. I wish it weren't her goal right now.
The fact she wants to go to med school is what has me thinking that this is all for the best because this is forcing her to develop good study habits. The problem is, she's tanking her grades while she learns and she may not get into med school as a result. I'm trying to get her to pick alternate career goals. Right now she has two. Pediatrician or plastic surgeon (she wants to be able to work with doctors with out borders). She needs a plan B because her plan A is fading fast. C's in 2 AP classes will kill her chances. She just doesn't realize that is the case. Her counselor says she can't recover from this. C's in AP classes don't mesh with getting accepted to med school. Maybe she can go to nursing school.
She has, simply, never had to crack a book before. This is ALL foriegn to her. Showing up to class and half listening has always gotten her B's before and minimal effort A's.
How have her grades changed from the beginning of the semester to now? I seriously never studied a day in my life until 11th grade AP US history. it kicked my butt, her counselors should not be telling her she must do better. I was in my guidance counselors office everyday for a month begging to be pulled from the class but she continued to push.
As helpless as you may feel now it should get better, AP class is a big jump I know.
As I mentioned before, does she have a review book ? If not I STRONGLY SUGGEST ONEHow does she "not study"
What I did last year was sit in my room, and shut off ky phone, (I focus with music so I had that) and have my HW and my review book together, my review book looks like chewbacca ate it and spit it out from yhe amount of writing and use. One thing I've found helpful is snacking on someyhing like crackers. World history is a tough course and if she really gives up maybe you can move her down to an honors level.
Also, colleges absolutely consider CC classes! They like to see ambition, ( or so I've been told lol) maybe she needs ti stay late with the teacher and collectively address the questions she has and hiw she can better prepare herself.
She has review materials. When we first realized this class was going to kick her butt, that was the first thing we bought.
I'm being told that colleges do NOT want to see C's in AP classes. That she's just not going to get in to begin with because of these grades. She an go to a community college. They don't care about C's.
Her grades are coming up. They're just not coming up fast enough. She got a D on her first test in AP History (I Understand she had a lot of company but that won't get colleges to look favorably on her application) She has a low C in her AP history class right now and a solid C in her AP lit class (with 4 weeks to go in the semester). She has B's in everything else just because she's struggling to keep up. Even a 3.0 may be out of reach this semester.
I think I"m going to have her counselor talk to her and let her know that med school needs to be taken off the table. It's, simply, not going to be an option for her. Her counselor says that schools do not want to see C's in AP classes. She says they'd rather see a student getting A's in easier classes.
Sadly, if we had left her alone and not let them push her ahead, she, probably, would have graduated with a 4.0. You think you're doing the right thing by letting a bright child be promoted ahead and the next thing you know, you find you've just killed her career dreams because she was pushed too far ahead. I thought learning mattered but it appears only grades matter... The fact that she's, finally, having to learn to study is lost on two C's.
Who knew. We should have been chasing grades not learning opportunities. I guess I should have known. I see it all the time in the parents of the kids I teach. Learning doesn't matter. Just grades. Turns out they're right. I'm the idiot to think that pushing he until she has to learn to study was a good thing.
Last edited by Ivorytickler; 12-08-2012 at 12:13 PM..
Your daughter most definitely does not have to give up her dream of med school. She needs to get her act together, get into the best college she can, and then, rather than chance being rejected by med school, get a masters degree in something in line with her final goal. A masters in public health can be a great path to med school.
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