Math at MC

[Anonymous]

My kid will need to go to MC next year for their math class. Just not enough kids at our school to offer a higher level math. He has no desire to take a math filler class just to meet the MCPS graduation requirements. So now I'm considering full time dual enrollment because a 4 credit math class at MC just does not work nicely with a HS schedule.

But on the college forum people say that for a T20 school, to show rigor, you need to show AP classes. He can take all the "AP" level classes at MC and have 4 or 5 classes rather than 7. Kid is currently in 10th grade so will need MC math for 2 years. School offers humanities AP classes, just not the STEM ones. I know it sounds silly but could he take the classes at MC and then go back to the HS and sit for the AP exams?

[Anonymous]

If you send your kid full time they will be in the Early College program. My kid is currently an EC math major. Is that what you are envisioning?

[Anonymous]

In answer to your question yes, you can take AP exams at your home school but I think you have to pay for them.

[Anonymous]

You might consider if any of the math classes are online if you don’t want to move to MC full time. My kid’s differential equations class this semester is online.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you send your kid full time they will be in the Early College program. My kid is currently an EC math major. Is that what you are envisioning?

I suppose. He's interested in Physics but I didn't see that as a major for early college but there's always a good chanced I glossed over it. How does your kid like it? Are you concerned about college admissions?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You might consider if any of the math classes are online if you don’t want to move to MC full time. My kid’s differential equations class this semester is online.

Is it through MC or another school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid will need to go to MC next year for their math class. Just not enough kids at our school to offer a higher level math. He has no desire to take a math filler class just to meet the MCPS graduation requirements. So now I'm considering full time dual enrollment because a 4 credit math class at MC just does not work nicely with a HS schedule.

But on the college forum people say that for a T20 school, to show rigor, you need to show AP classes. He can take all the "AP" level classes at MC and have 4 or 5 classes rather than 7. Kid is currently in 10th grade so will need MC math for 2 years. School offers humanities AP classes, just not the STEM ones. I know it sounds silly but could he take the classes at MC and then go back to the HS and sit for the AP exams?

To show rigor, your kids need to take the hardest available course in their school. So if there’s no magnet or other special programs in your DC’s school, dual enrollment at MC is considered hardest available. That doesn’t conflict with taking other AP classes (e.g., in ELA or social study or arts, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid will need to go to MC next year for their math class. Just not enough kids at our school to offer a higher level math. He has no desire to take a math filler class just to meet the MCPS graduation requirements. So now I'm considering full time dual enrollment because a 4 credit math class at MC just does not work nicely with a HS schedule.

But on the college forum people say that for a T20 school, to show rigor, you need to show AP classes. He can take all the "AP" level classes at MC and have 4 or 5 classes rather than 7. Kid is currently in 10th grade so will need MC math for 2 years. School offers humanities AP classes, just not the STEM ones. I know it sounds silly but could he take the classes at MC and then go back to the HS and sit for the AP exams?

To show rigor, your kids need to take the hardest available course in their school. So if there’s no magnet or other special programs in your DC’s school, dual enrollment at MC is considered hardest available. That doesn’t conflict with taking other AP classes (e.g., in ELA or social study or arts, etc).

It doesn't in the sense that they could take AP Lang at the HS. However, transportation and logistically, it becomes a bit of an issue trying to match the times AP Lang is offered at the HS with the times MV/DE is offered at MC. And of course colleges don't always offer classes at the same day/time each semester. It's not that he can't take AP humanities at the HS; it's just logistically really challenging. He also doesn't have his license yet which adds another layer of complexity. MCPS offers bus transportation but it's at set times so again, it's not that it can't be done, but on a practical level, it's challenging.

Another PP suggested looking at online offerings. That maybe a solid option.

[Anonymous]

Lots of conflicting info on college admissions and DE. I don't think sitting for an AP exam does anything. I also think its silly to cater towards T20 admisons since that's a crapshoot to start with.

FWIW my kid took 2 years of math past calculus. 4.0 UW along with 12 other AP classes and was waitlisted or rejected at all T20. Do what you think has the best learning environment for your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you send your kid full time they will be in the Early College program. My kid is currently an EC math major. Is that what you are envisioning?

I suppose. He's interested in Physics but I didn't see that as a major for early college but there's always a good chanced I glossed over it. How does your kid like it? Are you concerned about college admissions?

My kid loves it. We aren’t concerned about college admissions, but she also isn’t targeting any T20 programs. She is focused on bigger state flagships and applying to schools that have STEM cohort to PhD programs. I am nearly certain her academic/test score/EC collection could get her into a T20 but that isn’t her interest.

Oddly she’s found a lot of middle school magnet kids at early college. She’s a middle school magnet kid herself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might consider if any of the math classes are online if you don’t want to move to MC full time. My kid’s differential equations class this semester is online.

Is it through MC or another school?

The differential equations class is through MC. Most classes are in person but I think by happenstance she ended up in an online class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid will need to go to MC next year for their math class. Just not enough kids at our school to offer a higher level math. He has no desire to take a math filler class just to meet the MCPS graduation requirements. So now I'm considering full time dual enrollment because a 4 credit math class at MC just does not work nicely with a HS schedule.

But on the college forum people say that for a T20 school, to show rigor, you need to show AP classes. He can take all the "AP" level classes at MC and have 4 or 5 classes rather than 7. Kid is currently in 10th grade so will need MC math for 2 years. School offers humanities AP classes, just not the STEM ones. I know it sounds silly but could he take the classes at MC and then go back to the HS and sit for the AP exams?

To show rigor, your kids need to take the hardest available course in their school. So if there’s no magnet or other special programs in your DC’s school, dual enrollment at MC is considered hardest available. That doesn’t conflict with taking other AP classes (e.g., in ELA or social study or arts, etc).

It doesn't in the sense that they could take AP Lang at the HS. However, transportation and logistically, it becomes a bit of an issue trying to match the times AP Lang is offered at the HS with the times MV/DE is offered at MC. And of course colleges don't always offer classes at the same day/time each semester. It's not that he can't take AP humanities at the HS; it's just logistically really challenging. He also doesn't have his license yet which adds another layer of complexity. MCPS offers bus transportation but it's at set times so again, it's not that it can't be done, but on a practical level, it's challenging.

Another PP suggested looking at online offerings. That maybe a solid option.

People have all kinds of opinions about DE vs AP, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with having 20 DE classes on your college app including writing, history, etc. That is still more in total than you are likely to do as AP’s at your HS. I think colleges understand that these types of program require tradeoffs. You get farther in math but you do it with DE humanities instead of APs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid will need to go to MC next year for their math class. Just not enough kids at our school to offer a higher level math. He has no desire to take a math filler class just to meet the MCPS graduation requirements. So now I'm considering full time dual enrollment because a 4 credit math class at MC just does not work nicely with a HS schedule.

But on the college forum people say that for a T20 school, to show rigor, you need to show AP classes. He can take all the "AP" level classes at MC and have 4 or 5 classes rather than 7. Kid is currently in 10th grade so will need MC math for 2 years. School offers humanities AP classes, just not the STEM ones. I know it sounds silly but could he take the classes at MC and then go back to the HS and sit for the AP exams?

To show rigor, your kids need to take the hardest available course in their school. So if there’s no magnet or other special programs in your DC’s school, dual enrollment at MC is considered hardest available. That doesn’t conflict with taking other AP classes (e.g., in ELA or social study or arts, etc).

It doesn't in the sense that they could take AP Lang at the HS. However, transportation and logistically, it becomes a bit of an issue trying to match the times AP Lang is offered at the HS with the times MV/DE is offered at MC. And of course colleges don't always offer classes at the same day/time each semester. It's not that he can't take AP humanities at the HS; it's just logistically really challenging. He also doesn't have his license yet which adds another layer of complexity. MCPS offers bus transportation but it's at set times so again, it's not that it can't be done, but on a practical level, it's challenging.

Another PP suggested looking at online offerings. That maybe a solid option.

People have all kinds of opinions about DE vs AP, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with having 20 DE classes on your college app including writing, history, etc. That is still more in total than you are likely to do as AP’s at your HS. I think colleges understand that these types of program require tradeoffs. You get farther in math but you do it with DE humanities instead of APs.

Thank you for this. You hit the nail on the head. It's the tradeoffs. He's much more a STEM kid. At MC, he could take Waves and Optics, Organic Chem, Logic---those are the classes that excite him. Modern World History sounds like a painful slog to him

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid will need to go to MC next year for their math class. Just not enough kids at our school to offer a higher level math. He has no desire to take a math filler class just to meet the MCPS graduation requirements. So now I'm considering full time dual enrollment because a 4 credit math class at MC just does not work nicely with a HS schedule.

But on the college forum people say that for a T20 school, to show rigor, you need to show AP classes. He can take all the "AP" level classes at MC and have 4 or 5 classes rather than 7. Kid is currently in 10th grade so will need MC math for 2 years. School offers humanities AP classes, just not the STEM ones. I know it sounds silly but could he take the classes at MC and then go back to the HS and sit for the AP exams?

To show rigor, your kids need to take the hardest available course in their school. So if there’s no magnet or other special programs in your DC’s school, dual enrollment at MC is considered hardest available. That doesn’t conflict with taking other AP classes (e.g., in ELA or social study or arts, etc).

It doesn't in the sense that they could take AP Lang at the HS. However, transportation and logistically, it becomes a bit of an issue trying to match the times AP Lang is offered at the HS with the times MV/DE is offered at MC. And of course colleges don't always offer classes at the same day/time each semester. It's not that he can't take AP humanities at the HS; it's just logistically really challenging. He also doesn't have his license yet which adds another layer of complexity. MCPS offers bus transportation but it's at set times so again, it's not that it can't be done, but on a practical level, it's challenging.

Another PP suggested looking at online offerings. That maybe a solid option.

People have all kinds of opinions about DE vs AP, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with having 20 DE classes on your college app including writing, history, etc. That is still more in total than you are likely to do as AP’s at your HS. I think colleges understand that these types of program require tradeoffs. You get farther in math but you do it with DE humanities instead of APs.

Thank you for this. You hit the nail on the head. It's the tradeoffs. He's much more a STEM kid. At MC, he could take Waves and Optics, Organic Chem, Logic---those are the classes that excite him. Modern World History sounds like a painful slog to him

This may be where I burst your bubble. Early college is cohorted so you don’t get to choose your classes. For my math kid they got to choose two electives for spring of senior year, but that was all. And the options were limited to where they had met the pre-requisites.

I don’t know how it is with other majors but I’d encourage you to have a very realistic view of how much exploration of passions, beyond their major in general, will be part of their program. Even the science is preselected, so while DD would have preferred Physics she is chugging away in Chemistry instead.

As an alternative to early college I believe MCPS will pay for two DE per term which you can choose. But beyond that I think you have to pay (I assume paying yourself is permitted and the credits go on the transcript but it is not something I’ve asked about).

[Anonymous]

Timing/schedule is a huge issue with MC which is why some kids don't do it. I don't know how it works but some kids at our HS go to another HS for math/other classes but I think the parents/students are responsible for their own transportation.