<p>I got 800’s on SAT Math (reg sat and subject tests). I also got a 5 on the AP Calc BC. </p>
<p>I also got a “B” in 8th grade math.</p>
<p>Your son will be fine. I have several students who did not do particularly well in math – either in the classroom or on the SAT – and guess what? They got into top flight schools. Sure, any grade in a high school class is important, but to worry over one math grade is silly. He needs to continue to do well in all his subjects as well as his SAT and put together a nice groups of ECs … and he will have no trouble getting into some great school.</p>
<p>The algebra I and geometry will likely appear on the kid’s high school transcript; my son took geometry as an 8th grader and that and algebra I (which he skipped) both are on his high school transcript, as is Latin I, which is also a high school course and which he took in 8th grade.</p>
<p>That said, I’m with those who think the first post has to be a joke or that the OP and her son need to gain some perspective. A B is soooooo not going to wreck the kid’s college opportunities!</p>
<p>My eyes glaze over when some folks discuss high school grading. (Earlier this week I read a post from someone who said a 78 would be a D - maybe even an F? - in their school system, so there you go.) If a boy is getting high B-pluses in high school courses while still an 8th grader, he’s far from doomed. </p>
<p>It’s interesting that he’s drawn to engineering. You mention that he misses a point here and a point there in an accelerated math class. That suggests that he could improve his grades by learning a few test-taking skills to maximize his scores. He obviously understands the material if only a few points separate him from A territory. </p>
<p>Easier said than done - my d had top standardized math scores but inhabited B-plus territory throughout her hs years in math. My husband calls her a “big picture person,” so it wasn’t easy for her to attend to every little detail. It didn’t prevent her from being accepted at a very selective college. What will matter to your son is what he can offer schools in addition to his GPA and SAT scores. Don’t give up hope - I have the feeling that, four years from now, you’ll be telling us that he’s choosing between some great schools.</p>
<p>What’s important is that he understands, appreciates and enjoys math.</p>
<p>One Saturday morning last summer, my son’s summer between 8th and 9th grade, son had nothing on his schedule so I thought it might be fun to do a tour of a large local college whose campus we had been on occasionally for various reasons but we had never “toured.” I honestly thought he might find it a bit entertaining! seriously!</p>
<p>It was a very long tour. He did not like doing a college tour. And it turned him off this very nice local college. In retrospect, I should have waited til 10th grade to even bring up the possibility of THINKING about looking at colleges. (He thinks about colleges only when reading the sports pages of the newspaper.) </p>
<p>Too soon to be thinking about college admissions. And, as the other posters have noted, you don’t need straight A’s on your application for admissions - not for Harvard or Yale, not for your favorite college.</p>
<p>What is most disturbing is that the OP claims the child thinks he is doomed for college. This is more tragic than funny that a 14 year old child is even thinking about college. My 8th grader likes to get good grades and is a tad bit competitive about it, but he’s more concerned about getting on the Blue baseball team instead of the Yellow team right now.</p>
<p>We’re fortunate to live relatively close to Boston. We took our kids to visit colleges in the Boston area when they were very young but we just walked around the campuses, visited the libraries and sometimes checked out the classrooms. They just liked going to them to have fun but I did get in short lectures on what happens in colleges.</p>
<p>Why don’t you help him with his math instead of all these doom talks - will take much shorter time. You do not need any background, just take his math text book and ask him what he got wrong and what he does not understand, find appropriate material in a book, read it and sit down wtih him. I have done many times, however, I only did it when my D. admitted that she neede my help. Algebra and geometry are very elementary and easy if you just read material carefully, which kids do not do in many cases.</p>
<p>Ummmmm. . . to the OP–I take it this is your oldest? I agree that I’d be way more concerned about my son’s mental health. Is he honestly fretting about college at 14? This does not bode well for his happiness in high school. Tell him to take a break, go outside, and shoot some baskets.</p>
<p>How is your blood pressure? Do you sleep well? Do you scream at your cat?</p>
<p>Just chill lady.</p>
<p>Everyone knows the most important factor in college admissons to Division I schools is how well the kid plays football.</p>
<p>thanks so much for all your support… i think he got caught up in his friends’ sibs’ dramas
i showed him your posts and he feels much better (and so do i!) he does not enjoy basketball or baseball but he enjoys lacrosse so that is a good outlet for him… and no he is not on the a or aa or aaa team!!</p>
<p>we spend so much time with him showing him how to organize his time and notes …and then he didn’t check his test the other day so he could get a jump on his homework (i had to laugh!).i’m sure other people will have the same stories: didn’t show his work, left his homework in his locker etc etc… it really helps to hear that these things happen and life doesn’t end!!</p>
<p>thanks again!!</p>
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<p>Eh. Some kids don’t have a very good sense of perspective. When I was 12 I thought that I was doomed for getting into the local math/science magnet program because I “only” got a 630 (not having yet taken algebra) on the math section of the SAT. I was sure that they would look at that and laugh. I was crushed. My parents thought I was completely insane. 
I grew out of it.</p>
<p>And I don’t see how it’s at all wrong or unreasonable for a 14 year-old to be thinking about college. To think that he’s doomed for ever getting into a decent school because he got a B, yes, that’s unreasonable. But just thinking about it, considering it? That strikes me as completely normal and fine.</p>
<p>Anyway, to the OP, I got several Bs in high school math and got into six of the US News Top 20. Tell him that he’s not doomed, he’s doing fine, he doesn’t need to worry so much.</p>
<p>i agree… i think a lot of young teenagers may over react and i am so thanksful to you for giving him ( and me!) some much needed perspective…</p>
<p>Organization + 8th grader is an oxymoron. Ask any 8th grade teacher. They can barely get the boys to sit still let alone stay organized. To top it off they are hormonal messes. Some of them are 4 ft. tall and still little boys, some of them are 6 ft. tall with size 12 shoes. 8th grade is insane.</p>
<p>At this point, OP, I think you should be more concerned about not ruining his mental health than you are about him not getting into the presitgious college of your choice. </p>
<p>This is unbelievable.</p>
<p>it is unfortunate that he is so far behind already and that univ of md is big on class rank and gpa when his is blown in 8th grade…</p>
<p>i’m trying to be supportive and teach him that little things add up "
Well, letting a 12 year old boy think that he is DOOMED is hardly what I would call being supportive. Do your self and your son a favor and relax. An organized 12 year old male is rarer than hen’s teeth. What he does now will have minimal impact on his chances of acceptance at colleges 5 years from now.</p>
<p>above should have read 14 year old</p>
<p>This is concerning., if it is not a joke. The process for him should be to learn to develop as a person, pepare himself for life. It won’t matter what college he goes to if he can’t cope. Yes grades are important in HS but this pressure is too much for older kids let alone an 8th grader. STOP THE MADNESS! I wondered if I should have been more on my D. now I got my answer. NOT IN A MILLION YEARS!</p>
<p>kayakmom:</p>
<p>Glad that your son his recovering his good spirits!
We had a math-loving son (still loves math!). He did not enjoy taking easy classes where he did not think he would learn much. As he considered taking classes that were very advanced, we told him that as long as he was comfortably in the middle of the class (meaning getting Bs and B+s) and was enjoying it, that was all that mattered.
Not all colleges look at courses taken in middle school, no matter how advanced. In fact, some colleges don’t even look at 9th grade grades, knowing that it is a period of transition and adjustment.
Look at it another way: if your son is currently taking Algebra II, he will be ready to take pre-calc in 9th grade, Calculus in 10th grade and college level classes in 11th and 12th grades. That will be far more impressive than the Bs he got in 8th grade!
But the most important issue, and indeed the only one that should matter, is whether your son enjoys the class and whether he feels he is learning in the class. If he feels stressed, he should slow down; if not, then he is doing just fine.</p>