Son will be going into 9th grade next year and we have a good private school nearby and our state has an excellent boarding school for 11th/12th grade year for which he has a very good chance of gaining admission when the time comes. He is very strong in math and is currently taking (and doing very well in) AoPS PreCalc. He is probably an intermediate programmer in Python, has all A’s this year, speaks, reads and writes Russian well (5th grade level) and is doing well in Spanish 1/2. He is good at soccer/tennis but I have no idea if he would be a starter or not?
Exeter seems an obvious choice given the strength of their math program and they have both Russian and Spanish and it would be great if he could do 2 years of each. Andover seems to be a good fit also. The private school/state school is a very good option so we are only interested in boarding schools that would be better than that option.
Any other boarding schools that excel in math that he should consider? Ideally we are looking for a program that would have a group of kids that are also very accelerated in math. Thanks for any suggestions.
You are on a tight timeline if you are looking for next year!
Many of the BS have great math programs, particularly the ones that have a lot of foreign students (whose quantitative prowess was easier to demonstrate than their verbal gifts in a non-mother tongue when they were applying). For example, George School, which most people think of for its diversity and “culture of kindness” (a hidden gem school, not a HADES) regularly places in the top 20 in math competitions and I think that their “normally accelerated” kids (close to half the class) do calculus junior year. There is typically a pack of kids who do it earlier, and many wait until senior year, but the point is that there are a lot of highly numerate kids and a program to accomodate them at a school that isnt as well known as Exeter or Andover. While George often has a couple of Russian students, it doesn’t teach Russian, so I don’t think it’s a fit for your son but it is an example of how many, many prep schools have terrific math programs, not just the "usual suspects ". Any of the ones commonly mentioned on this board as well as many that aren’t could fit the bill. I might focus on schools with good Russian programs and then check the math programs as Russian might be harder to find.
Exeter does fit the bill. Our daughter loves the Russian program and they also offer a term abroad in Russia. Your son would find many peers in advanced math as well. Good luck to your son and please let me know if you have any questions about Exeter.
Although to @twinsmama 's point, ones that offer even one or two beyond calculus often will set up a group of the really advanced kids in a class that’s not regularly offered that caters to their interests. So of the places that interest you, ask what is offered beyond what’s showing up in the course catalog.
Andover has one full year beyond Calc and additional seminars. There are a few 9th graders in Calc but quite a few in 10th grade. This term DS is doing two independent studies in math. Some of the physics seminars are quite math related. DS advisor is a Russian teacher.
We looked at course catalogs and DS only interviewed at schools that had post-Calc classes listed.
I think this is the primary issue right now. Has your son taken the SSAT? Registering for that would be the first order of business I think. If he registers for the December test he should also be spending some time studying. The January test could also be taken, but I think that I would want to know a score sooner rather than later. With the SSAT you can wait to submit scores until after the scores have been released.
Hopefully you’ve taken a look at the other items that are needed to complete the applications (recommendations, interviews, essays etc.). In addition to that your son can go on the schools’ athletic pages and complete forms for prospective athletes as well as send emails to the coaches to express interest and to try to gauge if he would be a potential varsity contributor.
My child focused on schools that offered a lot of post-calculus math.
It seemed that Andover and Exeter had the most options and other larger schools had at least 1-2 years after calculus. Lawrenceville would have options if you could make Princeton work as an option after being done with math (IIRC, they had a calc-based stats course). However, Lawrenceville was rigid with science and expected all 9th and 10th graders to take the same science which would not have worked for someone with lots of science background. We were looking for at least 2-3 years post-calculus and then maybe independent study as well as science beyond AP level starting in 9th grader and only Andover and Exeter offered that from our research.
I’ve come to believe that the peer situation matters a lot. It is very different to be the only 9th grader in a group of 12th graders taking math x than it is to have a group of 9th graders in a calculus class. I think my kid has benefitted greatly from having lots of kids at the same age and the same level rather than being “that” kid as a 9th grader in a group of 12th graders. Andover had two classes last year of accelerated BC calculus that was mostly 9th graders and has had 9th graders in multivariable calculus and linear algebra. Math placement is by test/level and not by age.
Agree that time is short for next year – good luck!
I don’t know about other schools, but Andover currently has a 4 term and 3 term BC Calculus class (they have so many math classes their catalog can be a little confusing). This might change with the new schedule next year. 4 term will be 10-12th graders, since it starts in the spring. So there will be more limited sections for 9th graders to be in for Calculus. Multivariable/Linear Algebra is a full year class.
You might consider Hotchkiss. There would definitely be other 9th graders in calculus with your son – that’s not uncommon. And while the school doesn’t have a formal Russian program, there is a teacher who does a Russian language class when there’s enough interest in it (which I think works out to be about every other year or so). And also a spring break trip to Russia.