Tell him it is almost impossible to get admitted based purely on academics, especially at Princeton. Everyone applying there has a stellar academic profile. Princeton selects based on spikes, passions, leadership, ECs, essays, recs, etc. MIT does the same, if to a lesser degree; and even if MIT is more inclined to admit uber-focused Olympiad champs and future Nobel laureates, they will not be impressed by anything academic he does this summer or the 99 he gets in Calc AB because it’s his second time taking it. They have kids applying who have aced mulit-variable Calculus and published by your son’s age. They also have kids who didn’t, but they didn’t get in based on Calc AB, either.
If his goal is a top college, he’s far better off spending his summer 1) enjoying time with his family, and in the process gaining perspective on something interesting to write about in his essays, and 2) doing something creative to round out his ECs. Build a website. Start a business tutoring local kids in math. Show Priceton he would add to their vibrant community, not just their already stacked classrooms. The same arguments go for Cornell and Brown, both of which are reaches even for top students.
My kids got A’s in those classes and did well on the exams without CC prep, does he think he needs extra help to do well? My kids worked every summer in high school, plus some volunteering at HS sports camps, one week family vacation, and tons of day trips to the city or down the shore with friends.
I have to agree with the others - have your son take some time to re-charge this summer – the risk of burnout is real. If he has an academic passion he wants to explore, help him find another way to do it. I don’t see a lot of benefit in spending the summer taking classes he will take again next year. Unfortunately, admission to schools like Brown, Princeton, Cornell etc are high reaches for all students and taking CC classes in the summer isn’t likely to improve his odds of getting into one of those schools.
I agree with what’s been said so far. With that said, I know it could be difficult to invoke parental edict and tell your S he can’t take summer classes and will be traveling to EU. Is there a compromise to be had? Perhaps an online AOPS class he can do to help prep for AMC 12? @hebegebe any ideas?
Since you and your wife are expats, is your S a US citizen, or will he be applying to US colleges as an international student?
The “MIT or bust” mentality is a recipe for disaster. As a fellow New Jersey resident I’m well aware that many high performing STEM students at competitive high schools in our state have this view in their early high school career. That includes my daughter (but I nipped it in the bud early on), her classmates and other friends.
Your son can do everything perfectly and yet be rejected by MIT, Princeton and the other T20s. Aside from all the other great advice posted by others here, I strongly recommend starting to get your son to explore other colleges (even if just casually for now because there’s still a year+ to go). By the time he’s ready to apply next year he should feel very comfortable attending a “safety” (a school with a close to guaranteed chance of admission that he can attend if all else fails).
Build the college list bottom-up. Definitely include his dream schools but don’t make your list top heavy.
To the best of my knowledge (based on what I’ve heard from colleagues in similar situations) colleges consider the applicant’s high school location, not citizenship, for classifying applicants. Therefore if OP’s son has been going to a New Jersey high school he’ll be considered a domestic applicant for admissions (but perhaps international for residency tests, FA, etc)
International students enrolled in US High schools are international applicants for college. Full stop. They are certainly evaluated academically in the context of their high school, but they are not considered domestic students unless they are a citizen or have a green card (permanent resident). If they are here on a visa, they are international.
You said they are classified by their high school, not citizenship, which is not the case. International students are classified as international applicants…their admission stats would be in the international stats. International = lower probability of acceptance at the schools mentioned on this thread.
Anyway, let’s move on as this back and forth isn’t helping OP
(Edited to add: I see that you edited your comment above to mention the lower probability. I would have to disagree with that, given OP’s son will be evaluated in the context of his domestic HS)
If things like AMC12 competitions are a joy & a solace for the student that’s one thing; taking summer classes in CC to prep for AP classes is another. I know a student who lived for competitions (& ended up on the national olympiad team) who had to be dragged on summer family holidays. The compromise was that he was allowed a certain number of hours / day to practice, but was also required to do a certain amount of time with the family.
The key difference was that he was doing something he did genuinely enjoy- he just had to be pulled out of himself for some balance. He is now at Cambridge, happily ensconced with other students whose idea of happy times is studying the same things.
The Applying Sideways article is still the best for kids aiming at highly selective colleges in the US!
I believe this option may not be understood by a non NJ resident. Newark Academy and Delbarton are private high schools that offer summer acceleration programs.
My son and 3 of his friends structured one of their summers taking Calc and Physics at one of these schools. They spent the weekends traveling together as teammates to and from competitive club lacrosse tournaments and had grounds keeping jobs on the schools campus they worked at after class in the afternoon.
They were extremely busy but felt their time was spent pursuing areas of interest they had a passion for.
I know OP might not have access to this sort of option but I would not entirely dissuade the student from pursuing an academic interest. For some kids it may serve as both fun and a social outlet versus the adult view that it is work and pressure. In fact for this kid it may provide access to “his people”.
I will however caution OP’s kid MIT or bust and or “only” being academic are not just recipes for disaster in terms of results but are also likely to lead to heartache. The social side of things and being well rounded can’t be overstated enough.
FYI my recollection was that these HS programs ended in early August and allowed for a vacation.
Just a different perspective and not to contradict what others have said.
If it was my kid, I’d make them go visit family in Europe with us, but if that doesn’t sound like you, one possibility would be a sleep away math program at a college/university while you and the rest of your family are in Europe if you would be comfortable being out of the country and away from him. That way his math needs/wants don’t have to take you away from your family. Might be worthwhile to explore the options on a target or safety campus near you rather than trying for MIT’s summer program.
If you are interested in the summer programs, though, you need to act fast. Several deadlines have already passed and many of the programs have deadlines that are this week. There are programs that are free and programs that cost a bundle. Here is a good list: AMS :: Mathematical Opportunities filter by “pre-college” over on the left.
I don’t think this contradicts what people have said. If a kid is dead set on exploring their academic interests in the summer I think that is great - but make it worthwhile instead of pre-gaming AP courses that they’ll take the following year. Also, any camp style program will have recreational and social outlets to offset the academics - just going to CC and taking classes won’t offer the same.
Agreed and well intended. Wanted to avoid any confusion between a CC option and a HS environment with other HS math “geeks” like my kid that may offer a social and academic outlet.
If the student loves math, there are a bunch of fun summer math programs… HCSSiM, MathILy, Canada/USA Mathcamp, Ross, Promys, SUMAC… I’m not sure which are still accepting applications, but they are great for math nerds.