Question about grades

I would suggest students take their appropriate level courses for their academic level.  IE, the most challenging courses they can achieve an A.  Colleges view grades differently.  Weighted or unweighted GPA's are specific to the institution.  

Spend some time/money insuring his ACT/SAT scores are high.  Straight A's and high ACT/SAT scores open a lot of doors.  

at our high school, honors classes get an extra 5% weighting in GPA, and AP gets 10%. They are encouraged to take the hardest classes they can manage to prep for college.  For instance, my son is taking a math class at honors level and a grade ahead for the challenge and has a B, when he could have an A if he took the regular course. The honors class will be noted on his transcript and will actually be recorded as a B plus due to the weighting.  It hurts GPA a bit but the theory is the harder course will help once he takes SAT/ACT.  He has As in his other honors courses so also benefits from the weighting in those too (becomes A plus) so that helps offset the B too.  

Thank you.  He consistently gets A's in honors courses, albeit the sample size is middle school and first semester of high school.  His current grades are all 95+.  So, I'm going to push him.  I'm just trying to find out how hard.  He is a three sport athlete and time is at a premium, as I know each of you know.

p.s. AP courses at his school generally aren't available until 11th grade

With those grades, I would have your son take as many AP classes as possible.  At minimum 2 per year, starting sophomore year, as most HS don't offer freshman year.  From a recruiting perspective you should have mostly honors to go along with those. Goal should be at least 10 honor/AP classes

If your son is interested in a HA school and doesn’t have a baseball opportunity, I would say nearly 100% of his classes should be either honors or AP.  FWIW, my daughter graduated with 10 AP classes and is graduating from college in 3 years.

My son will be playing for a HA D1 and has half the number of AP classes, but had baseball to help.

wildcat posted:

at our high school, honors classes get an extra 5% weighting in GPA, and AP gets 10%. They are encouraged to take the hardest classes they can manage to prep for college.  For instance, my son is taking a math class at honors level and a grade ahead for the challenge and has a B, when he could have an A if he took the regular course. The honors class will be noted on his transcript and will actually be recorded as a B plus due to the weighting.  It hurts GPA a bit but the theory is the harder course will help once he takes SAT/ACT.  He has As in his other honors courses so also benefits from the weighting in those too (becomes A plus) so that helps offset the B too.  

Weighted GPA means nothing to colleges. There isn’t a standard. If academics are going to make a difference unweighted GPA and academic rigor will be considered. 

However, two teammates of mine had sons recruited at a D1 P5 HA without taking any honors or AP classes in high school. The program was ranked. They were top 50 PG recruits. They were both ultimately high draft picks. 

I'm going to be devil's advocate (what else is new) and give a slightly different viewpoint.  MANY HSs are moving away from AP classes.  People say how many AP courses they take (parents and kids) as if it is some kind of a badge of honor.  I heard something along the recruiting path that will pass on -- there is no honor in honors!  I know this goes against most advice on here so it will be VERY dependent on your situation. 

If you go to an extremely rigorous HS (not always privates, but many private and prep schools would slot in here), then the HS college advising office is well acquainted with colleges and those colleges know the rigor of the school; they know the reputation.  Having a higher GPA then matters.  Your school may have a one page summary that they send to colleges that summarizes their program, their offerings, the percentage of kids that go on to colleges etc.  Look to see where your son fits in without overloading them with honors and AP courses.  HS is hard enough when you balance an athletic commitment(s) and eke out time for recruiting.  Better imho to be well rounded and have time to enjoy other activities/clubs at the school.  

And some schools do not weight for honors and AP classes.  It is all dependent on your son's situation.

Someone inevitably asks the million dollar question that gets asked at every admissions event ever -- is it better to take AP History and get a B or regular and get an A?  And the admissions people will say, better to get an A in the AP course.  They have to say that.

We hear anecdotally about kids not getting through admissions at X college because their ACT/SAT score was not high enough or their grades were too low.  Have you ever heard of someone not getting through because they only took 3 APs and not 6?  

I am not saying academic rigor does NOT matter; it does indeed.  But balance it with the ability for your son to succeed and be happy.  And get recruited, if that is a goal. 

real green posted:

I would suggest students take their appropriate level courses for their academic level.  IE, the most challenging courses they can achieve an A.  Colleges view grades differently.  Weighted or unweighted GPA's are specific to the institution.  

Spend some time/money insuring his ACT/SAT scores are high.  Straight A's and high ACT/SAT scores open a lot of doors.  

Straight A’s and high ACT/SAT scores open a lot of academic monies as well. 

BTW, real/proper honors, AP courses also better prepare a student for the standardized tests. By real/proper, a complaint I hear from counsellors is that some advanced courses teach roughly the same material and just assign triple the homework. What I understand locally, is AP math and english are at the top of the list to better a student, while AP history/social studies do the least. Sciences in the middle. 

Just an opinion. 

I think it depends on your kid's ability to manage a tough academic work load with sports and other extra curricular activities. My son is a high achiever and has often wanted to take all Honors/AP (he's a junior). I talked him out of it for this year because he also plays music and there just aren't enough hours in the day. I would try and find the right balance between rigor, sanity, and sleep. High academics do open a lot of doors. AP credits are pretty universally accepted and could give your student credit for first year general education requirements, etc. Honors classes also help the weighted GPA which High Academic schools will ask about.

Twoboys posted:

I'm going to be devil's advocate (what else is new) and give a slightly different viewpoint.  MANY HSs are moving away from AP classes.  People say how many AP courses they take (parents and kids) as if it is some kind of a badge of honor.  I heard something along the recruiting path that will pass on -- there is no honor in honors!  I know this goes against most advice on here so it will be VERY dependent on your situation. 

If you go to an extremely rigorous HS (not always privates, but many private and prep schools would slot in here), then the HS college advising office is well acquainted with colleges and those colleges know the rigor of the school; they know the reputation.  Having a higher GPA then matters.  Your school may have a one page summary that they send to colleges that summarizes their program, their offerings, the percentage of kids that go on to colleges etc.  Look to see where your son fits in without overloading them with honors and AP courses.  HS is hard enough when you balance an athletic commitment(s) and eke out time for recruiting.  Better imho to be well rounded and have time to enjoy other activities/clubs at the school.  

And some schools do not weight for honors and AP classes.  It is all dependent on your son's situation.

Someone inevitably asks the million dollar question that gets asked at every admissions event ever -- is it better to take AP History and get a B or regular and get an A?  And the admissions people will say, better to get an A in the AP course.  They have to say that.

We hear anecdotally about kids not getting through admissions at X college because their ACT/SAT score was not high enough or their grades were too low.  Have you ever heard of someone not getting through because they only took 3 APs and not 6?  

I am not saying academic rigor does NOT matter; it does indeed.  But balance it with the ability for your son to succeed and be happy.  And get recruited, if that is a goal. 

 

 

This isn’t necessarily wrong. It depends what the student is trying to accomplish. It depends where he’s trying to get accepted. It depends if the college gives college credit for passing AP tests.

The OP asked what is needed for HA schools.  For those who haven't gone through the college application process, IT IS EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE.  Any I never use all caps.  

It will be very difficult getting into HA without a high number of honors/AP classes, unless you're a special athlete.  OP son consistently has a 95+ average.  He's an AP student, and should be pushed in the classroom just as much as he is on the field.

HSBBW theorem no 8:

AR = [if ActV >90] then  AR = 90 + (sqrd val (99 - Act V)) - [0.1*GPA]; if ActV < 90 then AR = 100* GPA - (90-ActV*10)

In simple terms academic rigor (AR) is inversely proportional to the velocity of pitcher. 

Take the classes that your peers will be taking at the schools you are targeting, don't over think it, work hard, do the best you can and the combination of grades and ACT/SAT test scores will determine where the player fits. Getting cute and thinking that you can take a few less AP or IB classes are not going to make a difference in the long run. If a student is Ivy or borderline Ivy, (or fill in the blank for the academic level) it will be self evident by the end of his Jr year. 

JMO.

My son's school strongly suggests only 2 aps per year and says so in the school profile that is sent to colleges with the admissions packet. Twoboys is correct on the fluctuating nature of admissions offices opinion of APs. Do what's right by the kid.

RJM above made a good point -- many HA schools do not give credit for AP classes; they help place you in a higher class though.  Look into where your son may be applying to know if AP exams will matter in terms of getting any credits or not.  

CTBalldad, I respectively disagree.  It depends on your school situation -- many schools no longer are offering APs or honor classes.  And many schools offer rigor without these labels too.  Plus, it takes way more than top scores and top grades (with rigor) to get into a HA school if you are not an athlete.  Nowadays you have to cure cancer or run for office or do something else fantastic or have another hook in order to have a chance at a competitive school.  Scores and grades alone will not do it on their own.

CTbballDad posted:

The OP asked what is needed for HA schools.  For those who haven't gone through the college application process, IT IS EXTREMELY COMPETITIVE.  Any I never use all caps.  

It will be very difficult getting into HA without a high number of honors/AP classes, unless you're a special athlete.  OP son consistently has a 95+ average.  He's an AP student, and should be pushed in the classroom just as much as he is on the field.

It all depends on the definition of HA. There are plenty of HA schools where 4 APs a year aren't necessary. There are HA schools where you can get in with a combination of standard and honors courses and good test scores. Obviously not IVY schools, but there are plenty of good small schools in the northeast where an A/B mix and scores can get you in without a sport. 

Our son is also a 2022. After a long talk this summer with his HS VP and guidance counselor, we decided the best route was to go with Dual Enrolled courses the our local Community College (starting Soph. yr) We’re pretty fortunate that the CC has developed a good program for HS students to be able to get many first year college courses out of the way. In fact, if a couple of online summer courses are taken each year, students can graduate HS with an AA in hand. 

We were advised that less colleges each year are awarding credit for AP as they have in the past. 

I post this not to discourage but to inform..I believe that knowledge is always a good thing when entering a situation because you can be sure that there are other parents who are well aware and so should you..If you are a private school student, the college application will be put in one pile...a public school student's in another, and a third pile is for legacies and potential big donors who are identified and courted by the school's regional rep at fancy restaurant lunches..each pile with it's own criteria for admission..this applies to many, many HA schools...not all..baseball helps...HS guidance counselors know this but won't say such because it's devastating...I know as I have many family in academia for generations who know the inside workings first hand..the world of college admissions is not as altruistic as we wish it were in these matters..assess what pile you may be in, be realistic, have a backup plan and do your best is my advice.

Just for clarification, yes, the majority of schools do not take AP credits.  Many State schools do, but most privates do not.  But class rigor is considered during the admissions process.  So, if AP/honors are offered and you do not take them, you'll go into another pile.

We have one son currently at a HA private college, and one at well-regarded public university. Both kids took lots of AP and IB courses.  (honors courses are meaningless to colleges BTW)  Our kids' experience was, yes, the public school gave lots of credit for our son's IB work, which has been a great help.  And yes, the private school gave our other son zero credit for his AP work, but there was still a beneficial effect. Taking, for example, AP Calculus, prepared him well for harder Calculus courses in college.

Leaving baseball and even admissions criteria aside, there's but one important question about HS curricula: Is the course work going to prepare him or her to thrive academically in college?