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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]NO.

Also, college admissions these days are CUTTHROAT and scholarships don't even begin to cover the total cost of attendance (a scholarship for a fifth of the cost is considered rare and special).

All it means is that your daughter currently has no academic problems. Is she on the fastest tracks in her school? If she isn't, she's not going to be top of the pack in high school. If there's only one track, then her school isn't up to snuff. She might still develop problems in high school if she chooses [b]advanced/AP courses that she's not prepared for. 
[/b]
I say this in the context of you not having money saved for college. A kid needs to show academic achievement to earn merit aid. Merit aid is a cold calculation on the part of the college as to whether your kid is a flight risk to a rival, slightly better school. So merit aid will be achievable at colleges that are safety choices for your child - ie, less prestigious than those she could otherwise get into sans merit.

I don't know if your income will get her financial aid.

The typical in-state flagship is 30-40K a year, total cost of attendance. UMD and UVA have become VERY competitive. Many high schoolers with a 4.5 weighted GPA and AP courses and solid extra-curriculars, etc, do not get in. Community college then pipeline to 4-year college will be cheaper. She can apply to private out-of-state colleges who might give her enough merit aid to bring it down to in-state costs (because of geographic diversity, if she applies sufficiently far away).

That's the gist. You would not need to be so nitpicky about her grades if there was no financial issue. But here, you do. Also, it's not just grades that matter  - choice of extra-curriculars and how personal and thoughtful the essays are, is also critical. AI can't really help with a truly personal essay (at least, not the AI of today!).

- parent of college and high school kids.[/quote]

Is income inequality in the US the reason why courses like calculus are considered advanced in HS? In many countries around the world, these courses are standard. [/quote]

In many countries in the world schools are not educating every child, we do in the US. In many countries in the world, the kids attending school are the kids who are identified as smart or fit the right political/cultural profile or have the money to pay for their kid to attend school. You don’t have the same diversity of abilities in school. In the US, every child is expected to attend school and schools are expected to teach them, regardless of the child's ability or interest in being there.

Calculus is taken by something like 25% of American students. There are kids, like myself, who have learning issues who don’t make it to Calculus. I still earned a PhD in a field that didn’t require that level of math. We understand that not every child is going to be strong in every area and that is acceptable. I don’t think that same mentality exists in most countries. [/quote]

This is 100000% correct. Refecting back, I realized I was selected into a scientific curriculum and others who could have had the same opportunity did not because of lack of space. Our education system offers the best education only to those who meet certain criteria. Those who are average or whose potential is yet to be seen are dumped into what we call "useless" fields such as literature etc. Math and and science was for the "smart" kids

PP you are so correct. In the US anyone can have a an opportunity to take calculus. In fact I didn't know this was possible some parents here in the US can even override the schools decision and have their kids put into higher classes. [/quote]

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