College admissions really does start in middle school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The biggest thing is math placement. If you don’t get into an advanced track early on, you probably won’t be able to take AP calculus in high school, which is a problem if you want to major in STEM.

It also matters when it comes to extracurriculars like sports, music, or STEM competitions. It’s extremely hard to do well in those activities if you don’t start early well before high school

It was something like third grade that my sons math teacher recommended accelerated for the next year. I had no idea that determined what science class he would take in 9th. Think of parents who didn't help their third grader with math homework and they were just on the borderline, so went on level, or one lower in 9th grade.

One thing. Colleges offer algebra and calculus. It doesn't need to all happen in high school, unless you want those few slots in the most selective schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest thing is math placement. If you don’t get into an advanced track early on, you probably won’t be able to take AP calculus in high school, which is a problem if you want to major in STEM.

It also matters when it comes to extracurriculars like sports, music, or STEM competitions. It’s extremely hard to do well in those activities if you don’t start early well before high school

Yes, but my son played sports prior to HS because he liked the sports and being part of a team, applying to college wasn’t part of it.

Hard to get a kid to commit to a sport for any reason than their enjoyment of it.

+1 and even if they could get a sports commit- often the academics don’t match up, e.g., Ivy level stats/scores but T100 recruit or a d3 small school.

In our case, kid went to the Ivy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest thing is math placement. If you don’t get into an advanced track early on, you probably won’t be able to take AP calculus in high school, which is a problem if you want to major in STEM.

It also matters when it comes to extracurriculars like sports, music, or STEM competitions. It’s extremely hard to do well in those activities if you don’t start early well before high school

Yes, but my son played sports prior to HS because he liked the sports and being part of a team, applying to college wasn’t part of it.

Hard to get a kid to commit to a sport for any reason than their enjoyment of it.

+1 and even if they could get a sports commit- often the academics don’t match up, e.g., Ivy level stats/scores but T100 recruit or a d3 small school.

In our case, kid went to the Ivy.

Yep. In our case, kid is going D3 so he can continue to play . . . he's over the moon about it.

[Anonymous]

It actually starts before middle school in DCPS because if you aren't on track for math in 5th then you don't get the higher placement in 6th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sty most kids done with all APs in 10th. Most only take those on a full schedule across all classes then it is off to IB. They steal all your Cornell slots. NYU slots. U Chi spots. Williams spots. Columbia slots. Wake up! You lost the game not being born in the right city.

The kids from the DMV public magnets do pretty well too. Thomas Jefferson has been one of the top 10 feeder HSs for Harvard over the last 15 years.

This is verifiable b.s. TJ sent 6 out of 500 students to Harvard in 2024, barely 1% and hardly impressive when the Harvard admission rate is 4%. All the NYC top privates send at least 10% to Harvard every year. polarislist.com

Way to completely misunderstand and misuse statistics!! 🙄

Harvard accepts 4% of students who apply to Harvard from All high schools. Not 4% of the total seniors in ANY particular high school.

Let’s say 60 TJ seniors applied to Harvard last year, and Harvard accepted 6 of them. That’s a 10% acceptance rate for TJ.

But you said “TJ sent 6 out of 500 students”. Are you saying all 500 students APPLIED to Harvard that year?? And that every student accepted by Harvard that year chose to attend??

There are three different numbers in play in your example: The number of TJ students who APPLIED to Harvard, the number of students ACCEPTED by Harvard, and the number of students who chose to ENROLL in Harvard.

So let’s do the math:

If 90 TJ seniors applied, Harvard accepted 9 of them, 3 chose to go to other schools (Princeton, Stanford, MIT), and 6 enrolled at Harvard (as you said), that means Harvard accepted 10% of TJ applicants that year.

(I have no personal stake in this, by the way. I live in the Midwest. Just annoyed by your butchered hypothetical.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The best thing is to have parents who aren't obsessive stress cases. Which seems to be 90% of the parents on DCUM.

What are you talking about? A lot of kids genuinely get mad if they can’t pass tryouts in high school or can’t get into their dream colleges

Here’s the thing, unless your kid is a recruited athlete, sports as an EC is, at best, average. Elite colleges are not looking for well rounded kids, they are looking for kids that meet the academic standards and stand out in some way from the mass of kids that meet the academic standards.

If your kids has the talented and skill to be recruited chances are they have always stood out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The key is not to push your kid in any way when they are that young. If that's going to be their path, let them accomplish those things because they have a passion for it at a very young age not because they were pushed. My DS, in public schools, exceled in math took Algebra 1 in 5th grade and in middle school took Trig by eighth grade. No extra push by his parents to advance like that but he just loved it. He also had a love for basketball and played traveling ball starting in 5th grade. He is currently a freshman Engineering major at a top engineering school.
Point is to let you kid be who they are going to because it's their passion not because a parent pushed them at such a young age.

agree, they are either going to be on that path cuz they have the aptitude, or they are not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The biggest thing is math placement. If you don’t get into an advanced track early on, you probably won’t be able to take AP calculus in high school, which is a problem if you want to major in STEM.

It also matters when it comes to extracurriculars like sports, music, or STEM competitions. It’s extremely hard to do well in those activities if you don’t start early well before high school

It was something like third grade that my sons math teacher recommended accelerated for the next year. I had no idea that determined what science class he would take in 9th. Think of parents who didn't help their third grader with math homework and they were just on the borderline, so went on level, or one lower in 9th grade.

It’s not all or nothing in elementary or middle school.

DD joined double accelerated math in fifth grade, two years after the original cohort.

Other classmates joined them later, including a couple freshman year and a few more sophomore year, after catching up over the summer.

Some of this cohort stayed on the honors track and took Calc BC junior year. Others took AB that year instead. Similarly, some of the BC kids went on to take MV senior year while others took AP Stat and Physics C.

Again, nothing is as fixed as some parents want to believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The key is not to push your kid in any way when they are that young. If that's going to be their path, let them accomplish those things because they have a passion for it at a very young age not because they were pushed. My DS, in public schools, exceled in math took Algebra 1 in 5th grade and in middle school took Trig by eighth grade. No extra push by his parents to advance like that but he just loved it. He also had a love for basketball and played traveling ball starting in 5th grade. He is currently a freshman Engineering major at a top engineering school.
Point is to let you kid be who they are going to because it's their passion not because a parent pushed them at such a young age.

agree, they are either going to be on that path cuz they have the aptitude, or they are not.

+100

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The key is not to push your kid in any way when they are that young. If that's going to be their path, let them accomplish those things because they have a passion for it at a very young age not because they were pushed. My DS, in public schools, exceled in math took Algebra 1 in 5th grade and in middle school took Trig by eighth grade. No extra push by his parents to advance like that but he just loved it. He also had a love for basketball and played traveling ball starting in 5th grade. He is currently a freshman Engineering major at a top engineering school.
Point is to let you kid be who they are going to because it's their passion not because a parent pushed them at such a young age.

What public school system offers algebra in 5th grade as an advertised option for students? The kids I've seen who have taken it in 6th grade have had to have parents who showed extra testing that demonstrated they could take algebra in 6th grade, or have had off the charts standardized tests due to exposure to higher level math outside of school. (i.e. they are not getting to Algebra in 5th without a parent having pushed them at a young age).

Sorry this blows your mind but my kid's school. Wasn't advertised. We didn't push a lick. Also, he was going to our high school while in middle school for the higher math. We didn't push him. He has a passion for it. Also, played traveling basketball in middle school and varsity basketball all 4 years of high school. Sorry, but this is a true story. He's still happy at a Top 4 Engineering School and doing well.

DP - but the point is very very few kids get these opportunities. Algebra 1 in 6th is rare; it's exceedingly rare in 5th. I believe you that you didn't "push" your kid, but someone at his school identified his potential and offered him a very advanced pathway. The vast majority of students don't get that, or don't have transportation to their high school to take the advanced classes. It's still impressive what he accomplished, and a kid WITHOUT that aptitude and drive isn't going to get there just by parental pushing, but it's not like "passion" alone allows any kid who wants it to access that kind of education in high school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of these super advanced MCPS kids do not impress admissions people. It is perfectly fine to take Calc as a senior. Once again it is the stupid DMV bias here. Get out of your bubble.

Oh. I must have missed the part where MCPS kids are banned from elite universities and don’t excel in NMSF and win national awards.

Some kid who takes calculus in the womb in DMV is not seen as being any better than a kid who takes it as a senior, all other things being equal. Yet so many people here get their panties in a bunch because their kids aren't taking calc and physics and whatever soon enough. Doesn't matter.

Stuy, Bronx Science, Dalton, Trinity, Horace Mann, Scarsdale, Millburn kids don't do any of this.

Don’t do any of what? Top NYC HS families are most certainly obsessed with mad cancer track math placement and recruitable sports since middle school

Nope. Most kids at these schools take a normal academic track. Usually calc as a senior, occasionally as a junior. And most of them are smarter than your kids. But they and their parents don't wear it on their sleeves and compete to see who can accelerate more. Acceleration is really not that exciting. The schools are doing you a disservice.

And no, all kids at top NYC privates are not getting into top colleges just because of money. Lots of super smart kids there (mixed in with some money).

And to the other poster, if you have never heard of Scarsdale or Millburn then you really need to leave your DMV bubble. Two of the top publics in America. Rather than saying "never heard of them," look them up.

So many people advertising their lack of global knowledge here. Lots of know-it-alls without any experience.

LOL You are so clueless.

Scarsdale and Millburn are similar to and lower rated than many NOVA public HS's.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sty most kids done with all APs in 10th. Most only take those on a full schedule across all classes then it is off to IB. They steal all your Cornell slots. NYU slots. U Chi spots. Williams spots. Columbia slots. Wake up! You lost the game not being born in the right city.

The kids from the DMV public magnets do pretty well too. Thomas Jefferson has been one of the top 10 feeder HSs for Harvard over the last 15 years.

This is verifiable b.s. TJ sent 6 out of 500 students to Harvard in 2024, barely 1% and hardly impressive when the Harvard admission rate is 4%. All the NYC top privates send at least 10% to Harvard every year. polarislist.com

In two sentences you made a dozen errors in statistics, basic understanding of private schools and college admissions. LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The key is not to push your kid in any way when they are that young. If that's going to be their path, let them accomplish those things because they have a passion for it at a very young age not because they were pushed. My DS, in public schools, exceled in math took Algebra 1 in 5th grade and in middle school took Trig by eighth grade. No extra push by his parents to advance like that but he just loved it. He also had a love for basketball and played traveling ball starting in 5th grade. He is currently a freshman Engineering major at a top engineering school.
Point is to let you kid be who they are going to because it's their passion not because a parent pushed them at such a young age.

Everyone knows you are a tiger parent who pushed your kid. You did good, no need to embellish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of these super advanced MCPS kids do not impress admissions people. It is perfectly fine to take Calc as a senior. Once again it is the stupid DMV bias here. Get out of your bubble.

I talked to an admissions officer at a large flagship VA state school who had an open house a few weeks ago about this.
His words: for the students applying to competitive engineering majors (aerospace, but also CS) they do look for that post-BC Calc III course when reviewing applications, provided the school (or local CC) offers it. I found that intriguing and contrary to wisdom sometimes spilled here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All of these super advanced MCPS kids do not impress admissions people. It is perfectly fine to take Calc as a senior. Once again it is the stupid DMV bias here. Get out of your bubble.

Oh. I must have missed the part where MCPS kids are banned from elite universities and don’t excel in NMSF and win national awards.

Some kid who takes calculus in the womb in DMV is not seen as being any better than a kid who takes it as a senior, all other things being equal. Yet so many people here get their panties in a bunch because their kids aren't taking calc and physics and whatever soon enough. Doesn't matter.

Stuy, Bronx Science, Dalton, Trinity, Horace Mann, Scarsdale, Millburn kids don't do any of this.

Don’t do any of what? Top NYC HS families are most certainly obsessed with mad cancer track math placement and recruitable sports since middle school

Nope. Most kids at these schools take a normal academic track. Usually calc as a senior, occasionally as a junior. And most of them are smarter than your kids. But they and their parents don't wear it on their sleeves and compete to see who can accelerate more. Acceleration is really not that exciting. The schools are doing you a disservice.

And no, all kids at top NYC privates are not getting into top colleges just because of money. Lots of super smart kids there (mixed in with some money).

And to the other poster, if you have never heard of Scarsdale or Millburn then you really need to leave your DMV bubble. Two of the top publics in America. Rather than saying "never heard of them," look them up.

So many people advertising their lack of global knowledge here. Lots of know-it-alls without any experience.

Yup, never heard of those public schools, despite growing up in New York and attending Ivies for undergrad and grad school.

But I had plenty of university classmates from the public magnets Stuy and Bronx Science, and it's enough to know that you have no idea what you're talking about when you say students there aren't accelerated in their math programming. You might try reading their web pages to educate yourself rather than spouting off misinformation.

Yep. Stuy was the original school that pushed kids into vastly accelerated math tracks early on. You used to (not sure anymore) have to take a test that placed you in one of many math tracks, and they used to also use middle school test scores to determine if you could be placed into AP science classes as a freshman.