Math track at TJ and college admissions
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Anonymous
| Does higher math track at TJ = better college admissions? |
Anonymous
| Not necessarily. But if applying to top colleges for STEM majors you are going to be competing against a very large pool of top track math kids- too many to admit. The only kids getting into these spots that aren’t in a top math track are at high schools that don’t offer, first gen, URM, or some super interesting and unique accomplishment. The top math track alone won’t get you in though |
Anonymous
Who do you think has better admission chances for a STEM related major? Applicant 1: Calc AB Vs. Applicant 2: Calc AB & BC + Multivariable + Linear + Differential + AMT + AP Stats |
Anonymous
The relevant comparison is Application 1: Calc BC. Once a student does well in Calc BC (A in class and a 5 on the AP exam), colleges know the student can handle rigor and is a strong student in math. What additional classes the student did in math is not going to play a role at T20. This is something like scoring a 1580+ in SAT. They dont care if you got a 1600 or 1580, they know you are strong academically if it is in line with GPA. The focus then shifts to other parts of the application. It is not like Multi + LV + Diff student is going to beat out a Calc BC student or a 1600 SAT student is going to beat out a 1580 student. Once a bar is cleared in academics, the focus shifts to EC. You are getting too stuck in acadamics and that is not what T20 are looking for exclusively. |
Anonymous
Yes. "Most rigorous" curriculum is very important. |
Anonymous
This. Maybe for a math major, but even then you’ll be competing with kids doing Olympiad math, kids that have original published research, national level extracurriculars, so doing linear algebra at the community college won’t add much. It’s nice to have, maybe it helps a little, but it’s not the deciding factor for Top 20. There are many magnet students who took MV and more ending up at UMD, or even getting rejected there. For coursework, it’s better to take high level sciences and a rigorous assortment of humanities rather than going all in with math. |
Anonymous
There is no need to double up on math to get there but most TJ students have calc BC class on their transcript when they apply so there is a reason to try and have that by the end of junior year. |
Anonymous
They will have the first semester grade in the transcript, but not the AP exam score. Colleges care more about the grade. It’s helpful, but it’s not make or break. It does give some flexibility on when to take physics C, but again there are may ways to demonstrate academic rigor. |
Anonymous
NP: Majority of TJ students have calc bc done by the end of junior year, so the full grade is there. |
Anonymous
I was arguing this point with someone else on a thread about fast tracking of Alg 1 HN in 6th grade and they were swearing up and down that colleges ONLY care about Calc BC because they say so on their website.  What a fool that person is! Advanced math coursework matters beyond Calc BC matters ... there's no way around it!
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Anonymous
If it’s on a website it’s bc so few kids able to do the accelerated rigor like see at TJ- for not least of reasons that higher classes aren’t offered at most other schools to same extent as offered at TJ (so one of the benefits to TJ is they can fill classes of advanced math). |
Anonymous
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What matters is that your child took hard classes that were available at their school, that is going to be different based on the school and the school district. FCPS is unusual in that it allows kids to start HS math in 7th grade, now testing 6th grade. Most places in the country see Algebra 1 in 8th grade as the accelerated track, very few places in the US allow for a regular pathway to Algebra 1 in 7th grade. Colleges are developing and posting baseline standards to take into consideration the norm across the country. The norm across the country is to complete Calculus as a senior, BC being the most rigorous Calc class. As much as people on this board and in this area complain about the schools, kids at FCPS have access to many more classes and programs then their counterparts across the country. Colleges know that and are taking that into consideration when reviewing an applicant from TJ or McLean or Langley or South Lakes or Lewis. They know what is on offer and it is above the baseline that exists for most schools in the country.
That said, at schools where there are other options, like pretty much every HS in FCPS, a strong math student is expected to have taken Calc BC but the strongest math students, the ones who took Algebra before 8th grade, are expected to have multi-variate and linear algebra when applying to top STEM programs because they are available at the school. A student applying to a top school who is interested in the humanities is likely fine with Calc AB and or AP Stats. A student who took Algebra 1 in 7th grade and is interested in the humanities should have both, they don't need multi-variate calculus because they are not interested in engineering or other STEM programs. They need more APs in English, Social Studies, History and the other humanities. All of the kids applying to top schools need AP History, English, Social Studies, and Science classes on top of the math classes. A STEM kid doesn't need every AP History/English/Social Studies class but they do need at least one in each category and then AP Science and Math classes across the board. |
Anonymous
There’s not a lot of evidence for it. Multivariable and Linear Algebra at TJ and other magnet schools are high school elective classes, won’t even get the same credit as community college courses. Students that take Multivariable and linear algebra usually have higher GPA, work harder, have better extracurriculars, which make them stronger applicants. It’s not the light version of these classes that get them in. There are numerous posts every year of students with 15+ AP and DE classes shut out of top 20. If these classes were that important they get in, but that’s not happening. |
Anonymous
So colleges are straight up lying on their websites? Gtfoh. |
Anonymous
They are also competing against students with similar profiles for a small number of spots at any given college. The pool of applicants looks reasonably similar, including taking multi-variate calculus and linear algebra, either at their school or a community college or at a college in the area. There are kids who don't have those classes that are accepted but they are most likely coming from an area with fewer options for kids and they are not expected to have those classes. Some of those kids applying for Engineering programs, which are even smaller in number and more competitive, won't be accepted at the school while a kid applying for a humanities program at the same selective school will be accepted with Calc BC. I have yet to see any data that shows that a kid taking Calc BC is more likely to be accepted into the engineering program at MIT then the kid from the same school with multi-variate calculus. More importantly, kids strong in math who like math should be taking the higher level classes because it challenges and stretches them and not just to get into MIT or Cal Tech. DS is taking geometry in 8th grade because he is strong in math and enjoys it. I expect that he will take more advanced math classes because he loves math. He might not get into MIT but he will go to a strong college because he will have good grades and will have taken many challenging classes in HS. It would be great if he attends MIT but it is a long shot, even if he has A's in all of his classes and takes a full load of APs/IBs/DE. It comes down to a small number of spots and a lot of people wanting those spots. |