Math path and college acceptances

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which is better Calculus AB or BC? Both are not needed, correct?

Depends on the school and their schedule. My teen had to take both, but they were ahead enough that they also were able to take MVC in 12th

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about this path for a stem major?

Algebra 1 honors - grade 7
Geometry honors - grade 8
Algebra 2 honors - grade 9
AP pre- calculus BC - grade 10
AP Calculus BC or AP statistics - grade 11
multi variable calculus linear algebra - grade 12

You need calc. You can’t skip calc and take AP stats junior yr instead then try to take MCV as a senior. If you want AP stats, then take it concurrently with calc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which is better Calculus AB or BC? Both are not needed, correct?

BC is more advanced than AB

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about this path for a stem major?

Algebra 1 honors - grade 7
Geometry honors - grade 8
Algebra 2 honors - grade 9
AP pre- calculus BC - grade 10
AP Calculus BC or AP statistics - grade 11
multi variable calculus linear algebra - grade 12

You need calc. You can’t skip calc and take AP stats junior yr instead then try to take MCV as a senior. If you want AP stats, then take it concurrently with calc

A stem major would have multiple STEM DE/AP classes per year. My kid is taking MV calc, AP physics C and AP stats this yr.

Must take Calc BC prior to MV!

[Anonymous]

Take highest available as your school. If that is Calc BC take that, if MvC take that.

[Anonymous]

It 100% does not matter at all what math class they reach.
If you are in an easier class you have free time to challenge yourself to go beyond the basics or pursue a different subject.

What matters if the student challenges themselves to learn and achieve as much as they healthily can.

[Anonymous]

Something to ask before committing to this pathway if you are unsure how successful your kid will be with it: does the grades for 6-8th grade high school level math classes go on high school transcript and get configured in their high school GPA? Different districts handle this differently. Some don’t count it, some do but you can petition to remove it, some do put you can retake for better grade at any point. And some, like ours, put it on transcript and configure it in GPA and it is there to stay. You cannot have it removed with petition or even if you retake that class in high school. Now- that may not matter to colleges from a GPA point of view since they will likely reconfigure with just 9-12 grades. But it could have impact on their class ranking- again if that would matter to you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FCPS now has an option for Algebra 1 honors in 6th grade for a cohort of students. Better to take this “hardest” math path with possible lower grades, vs stronger grades but will be behind some peers? Which do colleges prefer? Realize this is ridiculous question since only in sixth grade, but have to make a choice.

There are 2000 colleges and universities in the US. Many of them will be happy to take a kid that isn’t on the most rigorous math pathway and/or doesn’t have perfect grades.

"Most rigorous pathway" means "honors" not accelerating years ahead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If from a decently resourced public school, AP Calc BC by sophomore year is recommended. Many of the replies are from private school parents who are ignorant of the gate-keeping of public school students to Ivies. A public school student at a middle or upper-middle class high school has to be 10X the scholar a private school student has to be.

The majority of Princeton's non-hooked students took math above Calculus BC. At MIT, more than 50% of unhooked public school students had math higher than BC.

I am fairly sure that basically zero kids at Stuy, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Tech, etc. do calc as sophomores, and I don't think many even do it as a junior. And they do fine with college acceptances and once they get to college.

Colleges want kids who do the best with what is offered. So the schools don't need to offer these things to keep up with each other. Parents are being bamboozled. But the damage is done and it isn't being changed. So now you are forced to do it. Which is dumb.

Wrong. Dozens take it each year. So your "fairly sure" basically meant you were guessing.

Not sure why you are so angry about this. Especially since you are wrong. My kid was accepted to one of these schools and almost attended (chose to go to private). I have toured all three and know many kids at all three. There are some who do it as a junior. But not a huge number. And they are not necessarily the students with the best college outcomes.

But you sit in your exurban DMV house with the minivan in the driveway and tell me how NYC schools work.

You bunch are arguing over nothing. "Dozens per year" out of 700-2000 students at 1-3 schools is the same as "basically zero". You're all throwing around arbitrary numbers

[Anonymous]

This is all going to be very school dependent. But in general, the suburban public schools tend to be much stronger with math and science. Not a lot - if any - Sidwell, GDS, and NCS students are accepted to schools like MIT or any significant engineering program anywhere. They are not competitive.

But for other students, go for the highest available math at the high school. For a good school like Georgia Tech or Stanford, if the high school offers BC or MV, you should plan on taking it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is all going to be very school dependent. But in general, the suburban public schools tend to be much stronger with math and science. Not a lot - if any - Sidwell, GDS, and NCS students are accepted to schools like MIT or any significant engineering program anywhere. They are not competitive.

But for other students, go for the highest available math at the high school. For a good school like Georgia Tech or Stanford, if the high school offers BC or MV, you should plan on taking it.

If you are just referring to DMV, then maybe yes. Lots of us NYC folks here. As discussed in other posts, SHSAT school kids (plus Hunter) are superstars at math. They are not hyper-accelerated but being hyper-accelerated isn't the only sign of math aptitude. Though all of the suburban DMV parents whose kids are taking MV in the womb will argue to the grave that their little snowflake is smarter than all of the Stuy kids because of this. Whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would say GPA matters the most…

Nope GPA AND rigor.

Top colleges want both.

Just spoke with the AD at a top 20 school, and he talked about why they went back to test required. In that convo he mentioned kids who take 15 AP classes but then only score 3s on most of them. Grade inflation is rampant.

Make sure your kid actually gets the math. Too many schools push their kids through rote learning, and the kids get to real math in high school and can’t perform.

If you want your kid to really get math, have them do RSM. AOPS is okay but not as rigorous.

Starting at what age?

[Anonymous]

Have they pushed AP Calc BC to middle school yet?

It started off as being super rigorous to take it in 12th grade. Now Asian kids are taking it in the 9th and competing who can beat that and take it in 7th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have they pushed AP Calc BC to middle school yet?

It started off as being super rigorous to take it in 12th grade. Now Asian kids are taking it in the 9th and competing who can beat that and take it in 7th.

And where does that get them in life? No thanks - hard pass.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have they pushed AP Calc BC to middle school yet?

It started off as being super rigorous to take it in 12th grade. Now Asian kids are taking it in the 9th and competing who can beat that and take it in 7th.

And where does that get them in life? No thanks - hard pass.

+1

Race to nowhere.