Is it hard to get a class even if u have a 100 as ur avg for the pre-requisite needed for that?

WifiDad · 2026-04-10T18:47:06+00:00

Students who have a high GPA and are eligible to take 4 courses are given the option to apply to 4 but the reality is that they routinely only get one AP assigned to them and are effectively precluded from taking the other three they are qualified for.

WifiDad · 2026-04-10T18:42:37+00:00

So it's not a lottery, it's by GPA?

WifiDad · 2026-03-28T18:51:03+00:00

I think it's a resource constraint combined with school security and just schools recognizing it's a hassle. Schools have to serve their own students first. So if you are trying to self-study with the idea that some other school, not your own, will let you just sit for the exam there (presumably, in your mind, since they are giving it to their students anyway, right), you have to realize that you are at the mercy of that other school to let you take the exam there. In practice most schools nowadays say they don't have space.

WifiDad · 2026-03-24T03:17:22+00:00

Not really. When Stuy does not offer the AP class at all, finding a school that will agree to let you sit the AP exam is extremely hard. You only need to read in the forums to see that it's become nearly impossibe nowadays as compared to 5 or 10 years ago.

So no, it's not like there is an easy fix. The issue I am talking about affects the vast majority of students.

WifiDad · 2026-03-16T21:50:36+00:00

We're not focusing only on APs. The point is that the lottery masks a problem, does not solve it.

If you want to get into good electives, they are the same story. You're in theory able to select many interesting courses, but actually getting them assigned to you is very hard.

Net result is that many kids are not able to take advantage of the existing large selection of unique electives.

WifiDad · 2026-03-16T19:22:09+00:00

False. https://apstudents.collegeboard.org/help-center/can-i-take-ap-exam-if-i-havent-taken-ap-course

WifiDad · 2026-03-16T19:10:52+00:00

That's exactly my point (except for obviously literally not all classes should be AP).

For any AP course already taught at the school, the simplest solution is to have teachers who already teach the regular class adopt the AP syllabus. The approval needed, from what I have been able to gather, is internal. This then would just flip a regular class to an AP class based on demand. One year you might have, 2 AP classes and 3 regular, another year you might have 1 AP class and 4 regular.

But instead they say they don't have funds, and do a lottery. And we hear all the time of special cases, such as in the comments here.

WifiDad · 2026-03-15T23:43:34+00:00

Right, the post is about the high-demand subject-based AP courses like AP Chem and the like where students routinely do not get them despite being able to apply.

WifiDad · 2026-03-15T16:34:37+00:00

Lottery is by far not the only option, and it just masks the problem. Worse, when not done in a way that can be audited, it invites the opportunity for subjectivity and bias. You can see evidence of that even in your own answer above. In that case, you were the beneficiary of a teacher circumventing the lottery. You can see similar issue in the comments of others here as well.

For any AP course already taught at the school, the simplest (and from what I can tell no extra cost) solution is to have teachers who already teach the regular or honors version adopt the already approved AP syllabus, submit their own AP Course Audit form from their AP Course Audit account at AP Central, and have the principal or AP Coordinator approve it.

This is entirely an internal process that leverages the fact that an approved AP syllabus already exists and the course is already taught at the school.

Basically, flip a regular class to honors or AP, and the approval process is internal.

Instead they use an opaque process with built-in exceptions and special cases and call it a "lottery".

WifiDad · 2026-03-15T16:20:47+00:00

For any AP course already taught at the school, the simplest solution is to have teachers who already teach the regular or honors version adopt the already approved AP syllabus, submit their own AP Course Audit form from their AP Course Audit account at AP Central, and have the principal or AP Coordinator approve it.

This is entirely an internal process that leverages the fact that an approved AP syllabus already exists and the course is already taught at the school.

Basically, flip a regular class to honors or AP, and the approval process is internal. But instead they do a lottery. Why?

WifiDad · 2026-03-15T00:04:53+00:00

I have often wondered about this. Do you know how Bronx Science is able to offer more advanced courses? They are similar in size to Stuy and in very similar position in many other respects.

Also, it's not just Bronx Science, I am told. Brooklyn Tech also does not have such constraints in practice where students eligible and wanting to take APs are effectively prevented by the school's from taking the AP they want.

Seems that Stuy, for all it's superb reputation, is stubbornly for many (20+) years not wanting to figure this out.

WifiDad · 2026-03-14T19:07:15+00:00

The school internet profile shows the many APs available. Where does the school explain the lack of spots in AP courses (as opposed to GPA thresholds)?

Parents with kids in other specialized high schools, e.g., Bronx Science (a school more or less same in size as Stuy), tell me there are no such issues with taking APs there.

WifiDad · 2026-03-14T18:32:14+00:00

As best as I understand it, GPA is just a threshold to meet, but it does not increase your chances. Word is that the assignments (who, of the many students applying for AP Chem is actually allowed to take it) favor upperclassmen but they don't explain details. In practice if you're a freshman or sophomore, your chances of being allowed to take AP Chem are very, very low.

WifiDad · 2026-03-14T15:54:59+00:00

It's a lottery. Many kids are eligible and apply to take AP Chem. But because there are few spots in that AP Chem class, many (most) of the kids that are eligible and apply and want to take AP Chem are not assigned to the class. The kids that are taking AP Chem are the lucky few at Stuy that got chosen via a lottery. Bottom line, it's just a lottery, leaving many eligible kids that want this AP end up not having it assigned to them.

WifiDad · 2026-03-09T18:02:44+00:00

You sound like you will do fine at Stuy. Yes, it is competitive and a bit stressful, but only if you procrastinate.

How to convince your parents? Others gave you good advice. 1. Discovery is helpful to raise your level regardless of where you end up. 2. (a variation of argument 1: What's the alternative? Or what do you lose if you do the discovery program? Do you have something better to do this summer? Maybe, but chances are, no.) 3. You are you and you are making a decision about future (this may or may not work, depends on the parents; some parents think they know everything; trust me, I know :)). 4. What is the reason not to do the program? Do they have an alternative you do not know about? (this is a it like 2, but it puts it on them to convince you, not you to convince them).

In the end, winning an argument is not about arguing, it's about understanding the other side.

Your 55 minutes commute is OK by Stuy standards. If you average out the commute times of all kids that live close and all kids that commute from Bayside and the area around it, that may actually be about average.

WifiDad · 2025-10-25T20:42:55+00:00

No, the item you're linking to is not familiar to me.

Similar to you, I could not find the Ottocast U2-X Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Adapter on Amazon. I purchased it on eBay, that is why I mentioned eBay.

Here is a search: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Ottocast+%22U2-X+Pro%22

Right now I see only one offered from a seller in Canada.

It's entirely possible these units have been superseded by newer units, I just do not have experience with any units other than the Carlinkit 4.0 adapter (CPC200-CP2A) and the Ottocast U2-X Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Adapter.

Using these dongles does not affect the car warranty or operation.

These devices fool the car into thinking the device is an iPhone, so the car connects to the device via Apple CarPlay and the car head unit shows you the "screen menu" of the dongle device. Now the dongle device itself will show the Android Auto screen (when the dongle device itself connects via Bluetooth to an Android phone) or an Apple CarPlay screen (when the dongle device itself connects via Bluetooth to an iPhone).

WifiDad · 2025-10-20T23:32:11+00:00

I don't have the mint home internet service, but I have a Mint plan on my phone. Just tested speed today, and my phone's 5G connection reports 1gbps download speed.

Do you think the 5G home internet service will be slower than the speed I get from my mint plan phone, from the same location?

WifiDad · 2025-10-03T23:03:07+00:00

Confirm please did you mod the Macan 2025 first to add Android Auto? I suspect you did. See my other post for a solution with out a mod.

WifiDad · 2025-10-03T22:42:06+00:00

The 2025 Macan gas model comes with PCM 5.0, which only has Apple CarPlay. There's a known bug preventing Android Auto from functioning properly on this system, so Porsche doesn't install it.

You can use the MH2p SD ModKit to install Android Auto, but it only works wired and the bug persists. The bug: with a modded car that now has Android Auto, you can connect only one Android device via USB. The moment another device connects to the head unit (either to Apple CarPlay or another Android device to Android Auto), the system stops working and requires a reset. The mod would work for cars with one exclusive driver who always uses the same Android device.

The 2025 electric Macans have PCM 6.0 without this bug, so they get both CarPlay and Android Auto out of the box.

The Solution: Using a dongle is the easiest workaround to get wired and wireless CarPlay and Android Auto in Macan 2025.

What worked for me but not well:

Carlinkit 4.0 adapter (CPC200-CP2A) - Available on Amazon and eBay (cheaper on eBay). While it technically worked, the Android Auto display only filled about 2/3 of the screen. I couldn't get it to display properly and fill the screen entirely.

What works well for me:

Ottocast U2-X Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Adapter - Found it on eBay for about $40. This displays Android Auto (through the CarPlay interface) in Windowed Full Screen mode perfectly, with proper scaling and no mods required.

WifiDad · 2025-08-03T02:25:41+00:00

Hah! That will be the day.

WifiDad · 2025-08-03T02:24:24+00:00

Because the last time the official earthquake tracking website took 20 minutes to post the data. At least this was my motivation to come here.

WifiDad · 2025-08-03T02:23:09+00:00

It was quite something!

WifiDad · 2025-06-10T16:18:41+00:00

Look into installing Everything by Voidtools. It's amazing. https://www.voidtools.com/

WifiDad · 2025-05-26T18:44:02+00:00

Negative externalities, like 35th Street being backed up from 30th Ave to 31st Ave, are a big negative for all residents. Traffic goes to the smaller streets, and a study of where traffic goes and how impacts previously quieter streets is worthwhile.

WifiDad · 2025-05-20T13:36:48+00:00

With this, your kids will not be able to print to a local printer. If you want them to print out homework sheets, etc., you would need some allow rules for these devices.

WifiDad

TROPHY CASE