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> So they have an actual class dedicated to teaching you about this, and that class fails to enumerate all of your options? Two thoughts: (1) such courses are

> So they have an actual class dedicated to teaching you about this, and that class fails to enumerate all of your options? Two thoughts: (1) such courses are often opt-in and don't necessarily have tons of free time for off-topic discussions; and (2) many schools with such courses do in fact have robust CC-tracked options that all-honors students are not exposed to. 1. A class like this was offered by my high school (years and years ago...) I didn't take it. However, from what I remember talking with friends, our school's course was explicitly for people who were planning on going to college. So it'd be kind of weird to discuss alternatives. That would be like mentioning in a Biology course that Physics or English are also legitimate fields of study. You'd think such a course would be wishy-washy and have plenty of time for discussing alternatives, but actually it was quite a serious thing.. Most of the students who took the course thought they were on-track for ivy league applications and then got a dose of reality in the form of a below-average standardized test score. They had a couple months to learn how to pattern-match and flash-card their way into the 90th percentile starting from the 50th percentile. I distinctly remember more than one person dropping AP Calc so they could focus on the college prep course... (In other news, grade inflation and subjective grading are harmful because they are sparse & deceptive reward signals!) 2. Community college was very much not looked down upon; in fact, we had a robust partnership with the regional CC system and many students would spend junior and senior years splitting their week between HS and CC. However, if you were honors/AP/college-tracked, then you wouldn't really know that those students even existed unless you socialized with those students. I only knew about these programs because of my friend group. At a recent reunion, I talked with some guys who I recognized from my AP courses. They were complaining that our high school didn't offer non-college-tracked options. I mentioned the various programs my friends had made use of and they were shocked and swore up and down that those programs didn't exist when we were in school. I wonder if either of these two things is true for OP. IME it's fairly rare for an entire high school -- let alone an entire school district -- to not have robust options for CC-tracked students. Maybe in super-affluent areas? > Sounds like my sex-ed class in Georgia which never even discussed birth control. Yeah... state law. Same for me. I had a teacher who risked her job to give us good info. If that was the case for anyone else reading this, consider looking up that teacher and sending a gift card or something their way. Doing so is a huge personal and professional risk.

CamTin 8y ago
IME the idea of "tracks" is totally foreign to most urban school districts. We know about "honors classes" and the "vocational students" from movies, but the whole school system only exists to get students to pass state minimum requirements in whatever sketchy, technical way they can, or else house them until they turn 16 and can drop out. The "advisors" presumably exist to check a box on some state form: they certainly don't offer any actual assistance or advice in applying for school beyond being the office where you sign up for ACT or SAT test dates and handing out FAFSA forms. The idea that a high school would have anything to do with preparing you for post-secondary education, or advising you on what type of institution to get it from, is totally foreign in districts like this.
theLotusGambit 8y ago
OP here: You're on the right track in that I go to boarding school. Definitely not super-affluent (it's Louisiana after all!), but not an average high school either. We've got very good teachers and a wide selection of advanced classes, so it makes more sense that college is pushed hard here. But regarding the first point, the program is mandatory. As for the second, I haven't heard of any other options and I doubt they exist, but as you point out it may just be the circles I interact in. And of course attending boarding school is a choice, though I can't speak for what the situation is at the other schools. > I distinctly remember more than one person dropping AP Calc so they could focus on the college prep course... This comment really made me smile. I wonder how much that was actually motivated by wanting to focus on college and how much was just wanting an excuse to get out of AP Calc. AP Calc sucks.

CamTin 8y ago

IME the idea of "tracks" is totally foreign to most urban school districts. We know about "honors classes" and the "vocational students" from movies, but the whole school system only exists to get students to pass state minimum requirements in whatever sketchy, technical way they can, or else house them until they turn 16 and can drop out. The "advisors" presumably exist to check a box on some state form: they certainly don't offer any actual assistance or advice in applying for school beyond being the office where you sign up for ACT or SAT test dates and handing out FAFSA forms. The idea that a high school would have anything to do with preparing you for post-secondary education, or advising you on what type of institution to get it from, is totally foreign in districts like this.

theLotusGambit 8y ago

OP here: You're on the right track in that I go to boarding school. Definitely not super-affluent (it's Louisiana after all!), but not an average high school either. We've got very good teachers and a wide selection of advanced classes, so it makes more sense that college is pushed hard here. But regarding the first point, the program is mandatory. As for the second, I haven't heard of any other options and I doubt they exist, but as you point out it may just be the circles I interact in. And of course attending boarding school is a choice, though I can't speak for what the situation is at the other schools. > I distinctly remember more than one person dropping AP Calc so they could focus on the college prep course... This comment really made me smile. I wonder how much that was actually motivated by wanting to focus on college and how much was just wanting an excuse to get out of AP Calc. AP Calc sucks.