Will my child who is bad at math, be able to get into any highly rated colleges

[Anonymous]

Tiger parents on forums grossly over-inflate the "edge" high-level ap calc/mv calc nets your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It really depends on your race and gender. The math-track distributions by race and gender are as follows.

White boys:

Freshman: Algebra II
Sophomore: Pre-Calculus
Junior: AP Calculus
Senior: AP Stats or Multivariable Calculus


White girls and Asians:

Freshman: Geometry
Sophomore: Algebra II
Junior: Pre-Calculus
Senior: AP Calculus

Latinos and black boys:

Freshman: Algebra I
Sophomore: Geometry
Junior: Algebra II
Senior: Pre-Calculus

Black girls:

Freshman: Pre-Algebra
Sophomore: Algebra I
Junior: Geometry
Senior: Algebra II

I hope this clears everything up.

That's not correct. For both Asians boys and girls:

Freshman: Pre-calculus
Sophomore: AP Calculus
Junior: AP Stats or Multivariable Calculus
Senior: take courses at NVCC in preparation for colleges and Universities.

- Signed from a parent of an 8th grader Asian at LMS who is taking Algebra II.

[Anonymous]

OP - please don't despair. My child got into UVA, UCLA, Michigan and UNC this spring and has started at one of the above schools this fall.

DC struggled with Math throughout high school. Case in point - DC just took placement exam at college and only placed into Pre-calculus. So this should give you an idea of how Math was the Achilles heel. However, DC's English/reading/comprehension scores were always strong in high school and for the college placement tests. ACT English scores were consistently 6 points higher than Math. I think DC's English scores, strong essays and recommendations led to good college admissions. I'm not saying the public ivies listed above are the top schools in the U.S. but they were what DC aimed for and got into.

[Anonymous]

OP -- my terrible at math student was just sent off last month to a top 20 school. He only got to trig his senior year and is placed into pre-calculus at college.

His essay was about his math struggles and had great recommendations.

In fact, he got into all 5 schools he applied to and all are listed in the top 50.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP - please don't despair. My child got into UVA, UCLA, Michigan and UNC this spring and has started at one of the above schools this fall.

DC struggled with Math throughout high school. Case in point - DC just took placement exam at college and only placed into Pre-calculus. So this should give you an idea of how Math was the Achilles heel. However, DC's English/reading/comprehension scores were always strong in high school and for the college placement tests. ACT English scores were consistently 6 points higher than Math. I think DC's English scores, strong essays and recommendations led to good college admissions. I'm not saying the public ivies listed above are the top schools in the U.S. but they were what DC aimed for and got into.

Not enough information. What specific math classes did she take in high school, what were her grades in them, and what were her SAT scores?

[Anonymous]

PP - DC did IB with Math as a standard level subject. Grades were average. The equivalent of a B. DC didn't take SAT because there are two Math sections. DC did ACT instead and highest Math score was 28. In fact we think that was a bit of a fluke since the two other times DC took the ACT, Math was only 24/25. Reading was consistently around 32/33 so much higher.

Maybe the determining factor is that DC did the IB and that helped with college admissions. Regardless DC was able to get into the top public universities with average to slightly below average Math.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - DC did IB with Math as a standard level subject. Grades were average. The equivalent of a B. DC didn't take SAT because there are two Math sections. DC did ACT instead and highest Math score was 28. In fact we think that was a bit of a fluke since the two other times DC took the ACT, Math was only 24/25. Reading was consistently around 32/33 so much higher.

Maybe the determining factor is that DC did the IB and that helped with college admissions. Regardless DC was able to get into the top public universities with average to slightly below average Math.

Full pay? Athlete? URM?

[Anonymous]

Only 1 out of the three. Full pay. Caucasian non-athlete.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - DC did IB with Math as a standard level subject. Grades were average. The equivalent of a B. DC didn't take SAT because there are two Math sections. DC did ACT instead and highest Math score was 28. In fact we think that was a bit of a fluke since the two other times DC took the ACT, Math was only 24/25. Reading was consistently around 32/33 so much higher.

Maybe the determining factor is that DC did the IB and that helped with college admissions. Regardless DC was able to get into the top public universities with average to slightly below average Math.

This is exactly why I asked the question. A 28 is the 91st percentile, hardly average, and in fact is within the 25/75 for UVA. Only on DCUM is this "average." Don't give false hope to the OP . . .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP - DC did IB with Math as a standard level subject. Grades were average. The equivalent of a B. DC didn't take SAT because there are two Math sections. DC did ACT instead and highest Math score was 28. In fact we think that was a bit of a fluke since the two other times DC took the ACT, Math was only 24/25. Reading was consistently around 32/33 so much higher.

Maybe the determining factor is that DC did the IB and that helped with college admissions. Regardless DC was able to get into the top public universities with average to slightly below average Math.

Your child got into UNC out of state?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Only 1 out of the three. Full pay. Caucasian non-athlete.

Full-pay is a significant hook at an OOS flagship.

[Anonymous]

For applicants from this area who go to the top privates and Arlington/Montgomery Country high schools, a 28 in the ACT is below average. A 28 would likely be in the 25% range for UVA which also means it is below average. There is no way that 28 ACT is 50th percentile for UVA or UCLA.

I'm grateful that we were a full-pay family as it may well have contributed to the admissions. Similarly, the IB diploma could also have been a factor. Either way, I think people who told OP that her child had no shot at the schools she mentioned were doing her a disservice. While it may be difficult, strengths in other areas can compensate for mediocre Math scores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For applicants from this area who go to the top privates and Arlington/Montgomery Country high schools, a 28 in the ACT is below average. A 28 would likely be in the 25% range for UVA which also means it is below average. There is no way that 28 ACT is 50th percentile for UVA or UCLA.

I'm grateful that we were a full-pay family as it may well have contributed to the admissions. Similarly, the IB diploma could also have been a factor. Either way, I think people who told OP that her child had no shot at the schools she mentioned were doing her a disservice. While it may be difficult, strengths in other areas can compensate for mediocre Math scores.

The whole reason schools report the 25/75 range is because they recognize that test scores are an axe and not a scalpel. If your daughter is in state Virginia, a 28 on the Math SAT and a 33 on the English is plenty, plenty good and NOT below average

[Anonymous]

Out of state for Virginia.

DC also got into UMD which is in-state for us but I didn't include that in my initial post since it is perceived as being less competitive.

The only public that DC was rejected from is Berkeley.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For applicants from this area who go to the top privates and Arlington/Montgomery Country high schools, a 28 in the ACT is below average. A 28 would likely be in the 25% range for UVA which also means it is below average. There is no way that 28 ACT is 50th percentile for UVA or UCLA.

I'm grateful that we were a full-pay family as it may well have contributed to the admissions. Similarly, the IB diploma could also have been a factor. Either way, I think people who told OP that her child had no shot at the schools she mentioned were doing her a disservice. While it may be difficult, strengths in other areas can compensate for mediocre Math scores.

The whole reason schools report the 25/75 range is because they recognize that test scores are an axe and not a scalpel. If your daughter is in state Virginia, a 28 on the Math SAT and a 33 on the English is plenty, plenty good and NOT below average

No, it isn't. The median percentile composite score of the entering class of 2017 (entering stats are lower than accepted stats) is a 33; median is a 32; and the bottom 25th median percentile is a 29. The math scores are 35 for top quartile; median at 33 and lower 25% of the class at 30. A 28 is bottom of the entering class at UVA, which might work if OP's student was a URM, low-income, first-generation, international or superstar, but still unlikely. http://research.schev.edu//enrollment/B10_FreshmenProfile.asp
. The scores for entering class of 2018, when available, are reported to be even higher.