Summer Precalculus for Multivar?

[Anonymous]

The two kids I know who are heading to MIT this fall took Calc BC as a senior (and Calc AB junior year).

For my own kid, they thought that Precalc was a really challenging class, but set them up well for Calc BC.

[Anonymous]

Precalc is HARD. My teen took it over one semester, 16 weeks in middle school as part of special program and it was a lot. It is very hard material and the problems are extremely time consuming. If he is taking it over 12 weeks, the time he will spend to get through all the homework will be astronomical. Add in if he comes to a challenging spot and drops his daily homework pace, it can be hard to catch back up. I think this is going to set him up for a terrible summer and he will struggle in calc BC

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m confused. How can you:

Be in the camp that your kid should be enjoying his high school summer and also

Have your kid do summer programs, study for the SAT, sports. and do research and possibly a college class?

Ds applied for his summer program/research program on his own, and is the one asking about taking a college class, so if anything I'm asking him if its really a good idea.

[Anonymous]

I'd suggest your son avoid getting too far ahead in math as a high school student. In particular, the gateway course to college-level mathematics, linear algebra, would be better reserved for the four-year college of your son's choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: He is gunning for T10 schools

- OP

Top 10 Engineering schools or just Top 10?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Precalc is HARD. My teen took it over one semester, 16 weeks in middle school as part of special program and it was a lot. It is very hard material and the problems are extremely time consuming. If he is taking it over 12 weeks, the time he will spend to get through all the homework will be astronomical. Add in if he comes to a challenging spot and drops his daily homework pace, it can be hard to catch back up. I think this is going to set him up for a terrible summer and he will struggle in calc BC

2nd this. I’d do it for prep but not for a full replacement class. Bc is also challenging. Mine did it in 9th.

[Anonymous]

Precalc is not hard at all for mathy kids. Students that are at a level that leads to getting to Multivariable calc senior year should have no trouble with precal.
OP does your student’s school have a group who progress to mulitvariable by senior year(ie BC cal in 11th), without taking summer math to skip ahead? Is that a path for the top students each year? If so, consider why your student was not placed on that path in 5/6/7th grade. Maybe they are not one of the top math students and would truly risk a poor grade by doing precal quickly in the summer.
If no students in the school do that path then it is NOT needed because even T10 only expects the highest math path offered by the school. We know kids who pushed ahead when the school did not place them there and it was a mess. The ones placed in the track for Multi still did not all get into T10, though no stem kids got in to t10 without it. It is necessary from some high schools, but not sufficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Precalc is not hard at all for mathy kids. Students that are at a level that leads to getting to Multivariable calc senior year should have no trouble with precal.
OP does your student’s school have a group who progress to mulitvariable by senior year(ie BC cal in 11th), without taking summer math to skip ahead? Is that a path for the top students each year? If so, consider why your student was not placed on that path in 5/6/7th grade. Maybe they are not one of the top math students and would truly risk a poor grade by doing precal quickly in the summer.
If no students in the school do that path then it is NOT needed because even T10 only expects the highest math path offered by the school. We know kids who pushed ahead when the school did not place them there and it was a mess. The ones placed in the track for Multi still did not all get into T10, though no stem kids got in to t10 without it. It is necessary from some high schools, but not sufficient.

It is hard. It’s hit or miss on who gets into what school.

[Anonymous]

I wouldn’t accelerate at this point. It would have been easier to advance earlier with Geometry in the summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Precalc is not hard at all for mathy kids. Students that are at a level that leads to getting to Multivariable calc senior year should have no trouble with precal.
OP does your student’s school have a group who progress to mulitvariable by senior year(ie BC cal in 11th), without taking summer math to skip ahead? Is that a path for the top students each year? If so, consider why your student was not placed on that path in 5/6/7th grade. Maybe they are not one of the top math students and would truly risk a poor grade by doing precal quickly in the summer.
If no students in the school do that path then it is NOT needed because even T10 only expects the highest math path offered by the school. We know kids who pushed ahead when the school did not place them there and it was a mess. The ones placed in the track for Multi still did not all get into T10, though no stem kids got in to t10 without it. It is necessary from some high schools, but not sufficient.

Disagree. Taking a full precalc course over summer, which is 12 weeks max, would be hard for anyone- if that class is truly following the scope and sequence to set a student up for success in calc BC.

[Anonymous]

Taking BC senior year is not going to be a reason that a student gets rejected from T10s. Better to get good grades and use the summer to do something not academic, even if it's just a job.

[Anonymous]

From a working engineer and my sister teaches university math. Pre-calc is very very important. It's the foundation of many things that build on it. Early engineering coursework and physics is mostly pre-Cal based.
She can tell who breezed through it to get to calc and then have issues in Diff Eq and beyond. I would not do it as a summer class.

[Anonymous]

My non-URM kid got into Michigan engineering and Columbia engineering this cycle with only calculus AB.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Precalc is not hard at all for mathy kids. Students that are at a level that leads to getting to Multivariable calc senior year should have no trouble with precal.
OP does your student’s school have a group who progress to mulitvariable by senior year(ie BC cal in 11th), without taking summer math to skip ahead? Is that a path for the top students each year? If so, consider why your student was not placed on that path in 5/6/7th grade. Maybe they are not one of the top math students and would truly risk a poor grade by doing precal quickly in the summer.
If no students in the school do that path then it is NOT needed because even T10 only expects the highest math path offered by the school. We know kids who pushed ahead when the school did not place them there and it was a mess. The ones placed in the track for Multi still did not all get into T10, though no stem kids got in to t10 without it. It is necessary from some high schools, but not sufficient.

OP Here, at kiddos school you had to take a test in 6th grade to get placed into Algebra 1 in 7th (Multi senior track), but that year was the COVID year. So there is a group of 30-60 kids in Precalc/calc as a sophomore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From a working engineer and my sister teaches university math. Pre-calc is very very important. It's the foundation of many things that build on it. Early engineering coursework and physics is mostly pre-Cal based.
She can tell who breezed through it to get to calc and then have issues in Diff Eq and beyond. I would not do it as a summer class.

OP Here,

This is my thought. Building a foundation for math is better especially for strong math skills later in the harder college-level math courses.