Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion AP scholar importance

Just an additional thought...

DD has a friend who became a National AP scholar somewhat early, either after sophomore or junior year, I can’t remember. This is unusual in our school because of the inflexibility and rigidity of both the administration and the scheduling, so she must have either self-studied or taken outside classes, or some combination.

At any rate, she was disappointed with college admission results. She is currently at a very well-regraded university, but it was not a top choice for her. DD sort of assumed that her applications were transparent in that she was super-focused on gaining admission to a particular school (of course, an ivy) and that her high school years, and probably earlier years as well, were all very calculated to achieve this. Because of taking many AP exams early in high school, she didn’t take several of the most well-taught classes at the school. She ended up taking no science or math courses her senior year, for example. And she picked up a new (to her) uncommon extracurricular activity in high school, which just so happens to have a presence at several elite colleges. All of which could have been normal, curious exploration and changing interests. Or they could have been viewed as calculated, orchestrated plans. A shame, as she is a wonderful, talented girl, who happens to have some crazy-aggressive parents with lofty expectations.

Bottom line is that it’s anyone’s guess what they are looking for, and I believe kids are doing themselves a disservice trying to fit themselves into someone else’s categories or boxes. But I do understand.