Advice needed for a rising 11th grader during 2022 Summer

Parents Forum
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Hi Parents,

My wife and I are expats without much college admission background and we live in Morris county in New Jersey.

Our son who is in 10th grade right now will finish Precalculus at the end of this school year and we are looking for a good thing for him to do this summer. Options are taking a Calculus class at the local Community College, take a class from a private college like Newark Academy or Delbarton. Or take online Calculus classes at Johns Hopkins or another school.

I am worried about him burning himself out but he is pushing for this type of activity this summer.

He also ignores my advice of studying for ACT/SAT only and not do much else as he is already eligible to take Calculus next year at his own high school.

What are some advice parents can give to my wife and I so we can guide our son properly.

Thanks in advance for all replies.

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Why does he want to take calculus this summer? Does he have the idea it will help with college admissions? Or does he have a “passion” for it? He is only in 10th grade and can take it at school, so what is the rush?

Does he have other interests he might want to explore in the summer that aren’t as academic?

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I have a son the same age. He is going to camp or getting a job. Studying for the SAT is a great idea but otherwise I agree with @compmom, what is his goal? He is already two years ahead in math.

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I say let him have a fun summer!! Calc can wait. If he wants to he can work on Khan academy or something similar just at his leisure.

My S19 took the ACT as a 10th grader without studying and got a 33. He then retook as a junior and got a 35 and never studied for it. Also, you only need up to Algebra 2 for the SAT and ACT so taking Calc over summer isn’t necessary for that. He can take it now in the spring if he wants to.

Even though my S19 graduated at age 16 as class valedictorian (he doubled up on math and science in school) every summer we went on a great vacation… national parks, beaches, and major cities. Kids need to know how to relax. Even now in college he cherishes his breaks, like spring break now, he’s having fun playing video games with his brother at home. He never plays them during the semester.

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Is calculus not available during the school year at his high school?

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Hi compmom

He plans to take not only Calculus but also Statistics&Probability and Computer Science classes this summer to prepare for AP classes he plans to take in his junior year. He also has a passion for Math and Physics and he plans to join AMC 12 and Physics Olympiad qualifications.

I say slow down. Let us go to Europe but he is adamant. Now my wife has to take our other son and travel to Europe to see family and I have to stay here with him while he is taking these 3 classes at the community college.

This kills me. Just told him he is going to burn himself out. All his grades are at least A- while he is ahead of track in Math/Science classes and English humanities classes.

He snubs every other college that isn’t MIT or Princeton. He is competitive but to me not smart enough to snub Cornell or Brown where he calls them lesser schools. He wants to finish college in 3 years and master in 1 year and finish his PhD in Math or Physics in 3 years or less.

To me he is delusional but what do I know. Sorry for venting.

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Go to Europe as a family. Makes no sense to take three summer classes when those classes are offered at his school.

MIT and Princeton are unlikely even if he has a perfect application. Cornell and Brown are in the same category. That should not be the goal.

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Taking community college classes to prep for high school classes he plans to take junior year won’t make him more attractive to colleges. He will have to report those classes on his applications and any non-As might even raise a red flag for a school like MIT. He is taking a big risk for very little reward.

Bonding with family and traveling will enrich his life (and therefore his application, but that’s completely secondary) far more than trying to get a jumpstart on junior year classes.

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Unless he is independently funding his classes, you have the final decision, go on vacation, have fun, have him do a volunteer project or get a job! There is a lot of time for school.

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Let him be a kid.

Get a part time job (big money today), go to the swim park if you have one, work as a sports counselor if there’s a day camp, etc.

Let me mind have a break.

He can study a bit for the SAT but it’s early - but maybe like 30 mins a day a few days a ewek to start getting used to it, etc.

He’s got lots of time to be an adult later.

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I don’t think it’s early for SAT prep…summer before junior year is usually prime studying time.

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Agreed. A lot of NJ kids take the SAT in the fall of junior year. So the summer before is when they prep.

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Agree. He can do some online prepping on Khan academy or the MIT open course platform for free while traveling. When home before you leave and when you get back he can volunteer somewhere and build his resume.

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Hi,
Not a parent here, but accidentally wandered onto this forum, so my apologies if this advice is unwarranted.

I graduated HS in 2021, and your situation sounds all too familiar to a conversation my parents and I had the summer before my junior year, too. I went kind of crazy with the summer community college classes, to the point where I graduated HS with my AA degree, too lol. But by the time I was a senior and going through college application season, I was so relieved I wasn’t taking as many classes as most of my peers since I was ahead with credits. Whether or not it gives an advantage in college admissions… I have no clue, but it did let me have more time on my plate to actually dedicate to the applications without stressing out too much.

The summer before junior year, my mom was pushing for me to study for the SAT as well. The agreement we made was that I could take x amount of classes at a community college, so long as I also studied for x hours every week. I was able to manage the classes and SAT prep well, and got a fairly strong sat score 1500+ (even though colleges went test optional later on).

From a student’s perspective, ask your son why he really wants to take calculus over summer and is so determined on it. And depending on the time commitment for the class, perhaps have him agree to spend a certain amount of time for SAT prep in exchange for allowing him to take the class. Either way, pushing strongly for a certain outcome is probably going to frustrate him, and I always appreciated when my parents made efforts to compromise on a decision we both saw as beneficial.

I think the summer is also a great time to work on a meaningful EC since those can even have more weight than just stats (grades, test scores, etc). But, lessening his workload at school during the academic year also leaves more time to study and do ECs in the fall.

What’s the norm for his peers? I went to a very competitive public HS in Los Angeles county, CA, and it was kind of the status quo with peers who had similar grades to overload with community college classes. So that might also be a factor in why your son is pushing for that type of thing.

Either way, good luck to you and your family. As a student who burned out majorly in HS during quarantine, considerate parents like you are so valuable and I’m sure your son appreciates your concern!

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agree, this is our plan, esp for those who have heavy school year schedules, esp for OPs son who is advanced in math

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The kids I know don’t take til Spring so that might be a geographical thing (I’m in TN)…but it’s find to start for sure - just not to have it be 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, etc. Find the weakness and focus on that.

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I don’t think MIT will be impressed that he took community college classes and then repeated those classes as AP classes the following school year. They may not give any credit for the AP classes or the CC classes, but certainly won’t give credit for both.

And taking 3 CC classes in 8 weeks or so in the summer is brutal. Most classes are double the work (8 weeks instead of a 15 week semester) so it would be like taking 6 courses in a semester. That’s nuts, especially as a first time college student.

Can he even drive himself to school, stay late to hang with friends and work together? I get that HE wants to do this, but it is your job as parent and adviser to say no, this is dumb.

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I believe that someone already mentioned this but these classes will be on his record going forward if they are at CC and if he isn’t absolutely sure that he will get an A he should not do it, esp if he is looking for T10 schools. This is not DE through school, right?

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What is driving all this? Is he “gifted”? What is the hurry?

You are the parent. Something feels very off here. Does he need counseling? Is this pressure coming from a school environment?

You can insist that he take the trip with you. If you stay home because he needs to overload on unnecessary classes, it seems he has a lot of control in the household.

He should not stress about prepping for ACT/SAT either. My kids didn’t prep at all. It’s important to know whether to guess or not :slight_smile:

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I think it might be useful for him to do a pre college math experience at a university instead of the Community College classes. That could be a nice EC and will also give him a little peek into college life in the dorms/cafeteria/college life.

Also I would take him to Europe!!

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