Likelies/safeties for math-oriented majors

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, your kid is advanced in math!

Those in the know---does this type of math acceleration (and let's say the kid has great grades) help with elite school admissions? Or is it pretty commonplace? This is the equivalent of taking Algebra 1 in 5th grade.

In truth, with the exception of schools like MIT, this kid will be no more likely to get into an elite schools like Ivies than a student who does exceptionally well on a more traditional AP or IB path. This is a very exclusive track that the vast majority of students don’t even have access to, and those that do, are groomed and prepped from a very young age to be prepared for it.

I am not trying to discredit the accomplishments of the OP’s kid in any way. They are definitely very talented and advanced in math. I am just saying that this is not usually a thing that is even an option to kids who have the capability.

Agree with this. Colleges will not value this track differently than an honor/ap track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about schools like RPI, Case Western, or Purdue?

RPI is almost all applied math now. If you son wants to take more pure math classes RPI is not the place for him. My DC just graduated from there last month as a Math major and learned the hard way.

Good to know, thank you for sharing this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oops. 10 kids out of 550. not 19. Lol

They offer it to more kids, but some decline. All of mine did. Personally not a fan of 10th grade Calc. My kids had a couple of peers who kind of burned out after BC in 10th.

I burned out after BC in 11th, flunked my senior year multivariable/linear sequence, and then turned around sophomore year of college and became a math major after accidentally registering for (and then earning 100% in) Abstract Algebra I. For kids going into pure math or CS, the type of thinking and kind of work in math classes really changes after proofs are introduced. I'm also not sure how many high school math teachers are able to teach any college-level math well, let alone anything after multivariable/linear.

Thanks for sharing that. It is not a race, and putting your kid in a super advanced math track just because you can is a mistake IMO. There are some kids who are ready for (and hunger for) that level of learning. But I think that is the 1/1000 or 1/2000 student, not the 1/500 or 1/200 ones.

Thanks for answering. I'll keep plowing ahead with deeper problems rather than advanced sequences since it seems like we'd have to move for a math class and that's not a possibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow, your kid is advanced in math!

Those in the know---does this type of math acceleration (and let's say the kid has great grades) help with elite school admissions? Or is it pretty commonplace? This is the equivalent of taking Algebra 1 in 5th grade.

In truth, with the exception of schools like MIT, this kid will be no more likely to get into an elite schools like Ivies than a student who does exceptionally well on a more traditional AP or IB path. This is a very exclusive track that the vast majority of students don’t even have access to, and those that do, are groomed and prepped from a very young age to be prepared for it.

I am not trying to discredit the accomplishments of the OP’s kid in any way. They are definitely very talented and advanced in math. I am just saying that this is not usually a thing that is even an option to kids who have the capability.

Agree with this. Colleges will not value this track differently than an honor/ap track.

Not true.
I have seen kids like this get into exceptional schools the past several years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about schools like RPI, Case Western, or Purdue?

RPI is almost all applied math now. If you son wants to take more pure math classes RPI is not the place for him. My DC just graduated from there last month as a Math major and learned the hard way.

I can guarantee they now find themselves at said exceptional school with 90 plus percent classmates who did not take this track.

[Anonymous]

Bumping this thread. DC is now a junior - crazy how time flies! In the last year and a half, DC has continued the same trajectory outlined in my OP, but now has a bit more focus in that pure math as a major is no longer under consideration - DC is now hoping to study applied math and CS, whether a double major, a major and a minor, or a major in one and then a co-terminal degree in the other. As parents, we're still trying to manage expectations and help DC find a couple likelies/safeties that he could love in addition to the super reaches. Parents of applied math and/or CS majors, how are your DC liking their schools?

[Anonymous]

Really depends on his GPA and scores. With your legacy status, HYPS may not be out of the question.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really depends on his GPA and scores. With your legacy status, HYPS may not be out of the question.

Stellar grades and test scores, but those schools are still lottery schools and I’d really rather DC focus elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

What about WVU?

[Anonymous]

Depends - Harvard as example takes like 25% of legacy kids. That’s a better shot than some of these schools unhooked.

[Anonymous]

Minnesota

[Anonymous]

OP. DC has first "real" meeting with college counseling office coming up, and I'd love to hear from any parents of applied math and/or CS majors as to how are their DCs are liking their schools (especially if they are *not* T20). Thanks in advance!

[Anonymous]

My kid had a similar trajectory through high school. He wanted a smaller school and landed at St. Olaf. He absolutely loved it there. Similarly, his focus changed from pure math to more applied. He double majored in math and a hard science, did research in that science department, had great mentors, summer internship opportunities. But he came in with a ton of computer science knowledge already. Never wanted to major in it, just wanted to apply it to harder questions. So I'm not sure about their CS department? Might be worth a look. I think it would be a true safety that would offer really good merit aid. And a huge number of students there study abroad, which could broaden his options, course-wise, if he's worried about that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My dc also took AP Calculus BC in 9th grade. He was very interested in math competitions and progressed up the AMC/AIME/USAMO ladder, achieving USAMO in junior year. MIT loves students who qualify for USAMO. Dc's GPA was not high enough for MIT, but he ended up at Carnegie Mellon, which was a perfect fit. He did well at the Putnam competitions (the CMU Putnam coach is also the coach for the US team that goes to the IMO), and now has a job he loves. I don't know if your child is the math competition type, but this was a path that worked well for my dc.

DP

Can I ask what job he does that he loves? Private sector or government?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry for hijacking the thread:

Can I ask where your kid went to high school in the DC area? I have a younger kid that is either on that track or close to it. I've been holding him back for the past three years because there's nothing like that or close to it in my county (PGCPS). Did your high school offer those options or did you just do dual enrollment?

Another parent with a kid like that - mine went to Montgomery Blair High School - they do have former college faculty teaching those math courses. Earlier, he had permission to go up the street from his elementary to attend math classes at the middle school math/science magnet.

I have a kid who did not have that option but should have. Wasted years in unchallenging math classes.