Ever feel like you are losing it?

[ProfLiebstrom]

they aren't are they? Im fairly certain they aren't.

[stgiles16]

IF you go to college or university , you get a degree, for vocational qualifications, you go to a techincal college. How old are you when you start this A level stuff? How many years have you been in school when this starts? Everyone here must do Kindergarten -12 then apply to go to a college or university if they want to.

[stgiles16]

Jen is correct, I looked it up. Your  A Levels are the same as our Junior and Senior year of high school. Then you guys can go on to university,,,,,, just like over here.
Interesting reading,,,,,, I learned something new today.

[ProfLiebstrom]

Ah thats it. Our university = your college

A-levels are different to what you do though at junior/senior high school. Same age though.

[stgiles16]

I dont know prof, my son is 16 and is taking AP classes (advanced placement) that means that they are the equivalent of college courses and he must take a huge test at the end of the year to get credit. Sounds similar to me.

[JenSinclair]

Indeed, the curriculum is somewhat different -- but it's the same idea inasmuch as it is preparation for university (or for a job, depending what kind of school you attend here/what A levels you do there).

Having attended high school here (in the US) and university both here and in England, I do indeed know the drill.

Jen

[ProfLiebstrom]

I think what you have is what they were on about changing to over here. After high school you come out with a diploma dont you ?

I'll ask one of my friends he has all this stuff written down the difference between Aus, UK and US

How many subjects do you do in junior/senior high school ? I think you do more subjects than us but don't go in to as much depth on some things (With A-Levels you go in to ridiculous depths on things)

[stgiles16]

MY Son is a junior and covers 7 subjects (8 if they are not AP) a year. Yes, they recieve a diploma after 12th grade (senior year).

[three_screws]

Well in Aus we do years 11 an 12 (college) and during those years you qualify for a tertiary entrance score which will get you into uni, however the amount of points needed is different for every subject. Like for med you need bio, physics, chem, english etc etc and a score of 95 out of 100 or so as well as a good score on a medical undergraduate test to get in. The Pre requisites are different for every course. It sounds like it's a little different everywhere you go. The only thing i do know is that this International Baclaureate is the same in every country and that entitles you to get into alot of uni's around the wolrd. It's all very confusing. The thing i think is stupid though is that you have to make your LIFE decisions when you are 16-17. I mean life is stressful enough without trying to decide what you wanna do for the rest of your life without that!! Oh well enough harping on
Pip

[stgiles16]

IN the US, you do not have to make that decision at 16 or 17. You can go into university with an undeclared major and choose what you want to do later on. You just start out taking the basics if that is the case.

[ProfLiebstrom]

MY Son is a junior and covers 7 subjects (8 if they are not AP) a year. Yes, they recieve a diploma after 12th grade (senior year).

Yeh thats what they are planning on changing it to here. We do go in to stupid detail on some things at mo. Things that are of no use to anyone unless they do a specific job. For example we are doing 2/3 months on soil which no one wants to do including most teachers around the country.....it would be better if we had more choice in what we learnt.

[stgiles16]

There are certain subjects that are required here but the kids also get to choose some subjects. My son leans toward the sciences. Most kids would choose an easy subject but for some reason, he sees science and advanced history courses as easy. Hopefully, it will help him in college.

missy

[JenSinclair]

Missy:
It will help in college apps...admissions reps like to see advanced sciences particularly, and also that kids aren't taking the easy route in general.  College admissions are becoming more and more competitive as time marches on.  A school that would have accepted someone 20 years ago with barely breaking 1000 on the SATs and having a B-C average isn't going to look at that same kid today.

If your son isn't in a private school, or a public with a REALLY good college counseling department, you might think about getting a private consultant.

Peace,
Jen

[stgiles16]

Jen, my son is in a very good public school. He has a 3.98 GPA but with his huge class, that still puts him in only the top 30%. I dont think that it is horrible but that majic top 10% keeps coming up. Some of those kids in the top 10% may be taking crip courses like team sports whereas my son is into the more difficult stuff. He did much better than 1000 on SAT and took the ACT last weekend (he thinks it kicked his butt) . He has 4 yrs of Spanish (only 2 are required) and much more history and science than he actually needs. What brings his GPA down is that he takes so many hard classes,,,, never wants an easy A. UGH,,,, just one or two would not kill him.LOL. He does all that while still holding down a part time job (he played soccer up until recently and then chose to work instead, long story, horrible coaching) Anyways, I think that he will get into the school that he wants, I just hope that he gets a few scholarships, this place is expensive. A funny thing about that majic top 10%....... there are only 16 kids in his AP US History class,,,,,,,, all of the rest took the easy class (that I hear that they sleep thru and still get an A).
Wish us luck during this application process

missy

[blackbeltgirl]

Missy -

You may want to check with your son's HS.  A lot of schools factor difficulty level into class ranking.  For example, at my HS, if you took honors or AP, they added 5 points to your final grade (we got actualy % grades, not letters).  So a 90 in AP History was equal to a 95 in regular history.  It helped balance things out for those who chose the harder route.  If your HS doesn't do it for standard class ranking, they may still have a similar program for the data they send to colleges.

Good luck with the scholarships.  I know that without those, I would not have attended the private college I chose (and LOVED).

Jess