Reply to Behind in Math Courses - how does that affect College Admissions down the road?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP, this is difficult because your son is young and you offer no glimpse into what you think he may/may not want to study (ok, he may have no idea yet) nor what your expectations are for him, if any yet, for the type of college he will attend.  If he was likely going to major in art, communications, English, history, etc., I would say it would make no difference and let him enjoy the summer.  Same is true if he is not seeking entrance to highly selective schools.  And if he hates math, that answers it too.  [b]But if he seems to like math and wants to keep options open, then I would consider the summer. [/b] Another consideration is that in my experience high schools are better at teaching basic calculus than many colleges.  You will have a real teacher in high school; in college you may have a prof or at TA or someone whose first language is not English and is difficult to understand.  My first child regretted passing up the offer to take geometry in the summer to accelerate a year.  It did not hurt admissions -- he's a very top university -- but many (maybe most) of the kids taking calculus in these colleges already studied it in high school and that impacts the grading curves common in STEM classes.   [/quote]

I would argue exactly the opposite: that such a kid needs a firm foundation in math that is unlikely to be established by a 6-week summer course.

I think there are a variety of viewpoints on whether it is better to take calculus in high school or not. Obviously, students who take calculus twice (in high school and then again in college) can have an advantage over those who are seeing it in college for the first time. OTOH, the fact that many STEM programs require students to take calculus in college (even if they already took it in high school) suggests that many colleges don't agree that high schools are better at teaching calculus.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1685460-no-calculus-before-graduation.html
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