Reply to Benefits of taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade

Forum Index » Advanced Academic Programs (AAP)

Reply to "Benefits of taking Algebra 1 in 6th grade"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]^Also, this seems like another situation where people want it to be a black and white issue, when in reality it isn't.  There's a lot of space between stating that math level doesn't matter at all and math level is the end all and be all.

It should be pretty obvious to anyone who is not pushing an agenda that higher math level is better than a lower one if all else is equal.  How much it matters is very debatable, but a higher math level is undoubtedly a factor that would be in the positive column, among many, many other things.  [/quote]

The argument is that it’s not a gradation and once you get to a certain threshold, the extra math level is not that important. The many, many other things factor more and the differential equations class is in the noise floor.

Since the admission is holistic, it’s hard to tell exactly how much it matters, but we should give some consideration to how colleges say they evaluate applicants. [b]They say they don’t expect above and beyond.[/b] I don’t think they lie, or that it’s a generic statement to encourage applicant so they cash in the processing fee and keep the admissions rates low. I interpret it as looking for other ways for applicants to demonstrate talent.
[/quote]

I interpret it as that they don't expect above and beyond what is readily available at your school.  If your school is TJ, and a lot of kids are taking a lot of very advanced classes, then taking those classes isn't "above and beyond."  It's the norm for that school.  They don't expect kids to seek out college programs if their school caps out at Calculus.  But they do expect kids to take full advantage of what's available at their school.

What is expected vs. above and beyond is highly school dependent.  That's why no one can give blanket advice on what's expected, including the colleges, themselves.  The college counselor for your school or paid ones who are very familiar with your school will have a better understanding of what a kid needs from that school.  [/quote]

You’re going a step further and say they have to take advantage of the [b]math[/b] classes the school has to offer. And if they aren’t, it’s game over.

You keep going back to “everybody knows” and people you talked to, school and private counselors, nothing that can be independently verified.

[b]Sounds like you made up your mind about what matters for college admissions. I’d say there are many ways to demonstrate talent, competency, and passion beyond doing problem sets, and sitting in hours long exams to see who scores the highest. We’ll have to disagree on this one, tbh your world view kind of sucks.[/b][/quote]

Well, MIT flat out says in their application FAQs: "We want you to take the most challenging coursework available to you at your high school".  It sounds like you've made up your mind that they don't mean what they're saying, and they're totally cool with kids slumming it in Calc when their peers at their same school are taking significantly more advanced classes.  Obviously, the best way "to demonstrate talent, competency, and passion" is by neither doing competitions, nor taking advantage of all of the really cool classes offered at your school, but instead taking standard classes available everywhere and not even having any objective metrics to substantiate your competency.   :roll:

For the bolded, maybe you need to take that up with MIT.  They love snapping up the MOP kids, and they certainly love crushing the Putnam each year.  [/quote]

Good luck to all the 6th graders in Algebra 1, for their future participation in Putnam, which btw has absolutely nothing to do with taking high school differential equations.[/quote]

Again, do you really, really not grasp that you are speaking with multiple people in this thread?  I'm the quoted PP, and I've flat out said that I don't really think 6th grade Algebra will matter.  Our point of disagreement is that I believe that 7th grade algebra/ 11th grade BC calc would matter in a school where those are widely taken and many peers would have solid full-package applications with the higher rigor.  You seem to think that when MIT says that they want you to take the most challenging coursework available at your school, they're lying to you.  But hey, keep believing what you wish and throwing out non-sequiturs.  Obviously, the most rational reply when you claim that MIT doesn't care about olympiads, and then I correct you by pointing out that MIT loves MOP kids and wants to crush the Putnam, is to say something stupid about 6th grade Algebra I.  Your intellect is truly dizzying.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics