3 Tips for Choosing Classes for Next Year

by Derrick Raphael on Apr 29th 2011

Here are my top 3 tips for success in choosing classes during the second semester of your sophomore or junior year:

• Always approach the process with the most knowledge possible which means you need to get advice from older students, teachers, guidance counselors and other advocates who want you to excel.

• Make sure that you are taking classes which give you the best opportunity to get an “A,” and avoid like the plague teachers who take pride in giving low grades or those who tend to flunk students. If there is a notoriously hard Advanced Placement (AP) Biology teacher at your school who never awards “A’s” to strong students, and you are not pre-med, then there is no reason to take that class if there are other “easier” AP classes offered which you can take instead.

• Also remember that you should take as many college-level classes (AP / Honors) over those “regular” classes where you can get an “easy A” because admissions officers take into consideration the quality of your high school curriculum. Make sure to get the highest GPA possible at the end of your junior year so that it will be on your transcript when you apply to colleges. Colleges care about the class rank you have when you applied to their institution; so do what you can to be the strongest candidate possible at the end of junior year.

What classes are you planning to take next year? How did you go about choosing the right classes to build your transcript?

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Top Tips for a Great Second Semester

by Derrick Raphael on Apr 8th 2011

One of the easiest things you can do in order to improve your grades is to prepare during your downtime, which includes the summer, winter, and spring break. Consider using break as a time to get ahead. When your classmates are pressing down the brakes and letting off the gas you can be gaining an advantage. I would not suggest reading ahead in a math or science class where a teacher’s explanation would be quite helpful if not mandatory, but this is a great method for your AP English Literature class or an Honors U.S. History class.

In addition to reading early for your classes you should take extensive notes on whatever you are reading so that you can easily refer to the notes during the semester. Also make sure to get the syllabus from your teacher as early as possible so that you can plan accordingly. If you know your teacher will make everyone give a presentation during the class, and it is open to you to choose when to present, always take the initiative to go first. Teachers are usually more lenient on the first presenter because they braved the storm first. So, go out there and make a great impression and go above and beyond what is asked while making sure to get permission first with what you are going to do!

Following this tip will make your semester a lot less stressful and way more enjoyable, providing more time for extra-curricular activities, as well as harder courses such as AP Calculus.

What are your favorite times to catch up on work? If you’re taking AP exams this May, how have you made time to prepare for them?

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Changes to 2011 AP Exams

by Kaplan on Mar 22nd 2011

By: Devon Wible

Every year, over 1.8 million students take 3.2 million AP exams, seeking to challenge themselves academically, to better prepare for the curriculum they will encounter in college, and to possibly earn college credit or improved placement. Although these tests provide great opportunities, many students and teachers have complained that the exams require too much memorization, instead of focusing on a deep conceptual understanding of the content. To address these concerns, the College Board – the company that creates the AP tests and the SAT – plans to redesign its AP courses and exams to “focus on promoting a rigorous curriculum that aligns with best practices in teaching and learning.”

The changes will not only focus on test design, but also on classroom instruction. As part of the revision, the College Board will create a detailed set of learning objectives for each course, and will update the exam to reflect these changes. This ideological shift requires students to demonstrate a much deeper conceptual understanding of the content, instead of focusing on memorizing mundane names, dates, and facts. This also means that many content-heavy subjects – like Biology and US History – must pare back the amount of material covered. Fortunately, teachers can now put more emphasis on critical thinking skills, a much-coveted goal when preparing high school scholars for college. High school educators and college professors alike are excited for these changes because, if done well, the curriculum will more effectively provide students with the tools and skills necessary to excel in college.

The changes mentioned above will be progressively phased in, beginning in the 2011-2012 school year with AP French, AP German, and AP World History. On queue for the 2012-2013 school year are AP Biology, AP Latin, and AP Spanish Literature and Culture. And, finally, in the 2013-2013 school year, AP US History will follow. To learn more about these changes and the timeline for subsequent change as well as read course descriptions and frameworks, visit the College Board website:

http://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/overview

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