I’ve been accepted into a magnet school in Fullerton called Troy High school; known for its rigorous courses and landing plenty of people into ivy leagues. I’m currently in 8th grade taking Algebra 1. If I go to Troy, I’ll be forced to take it again according to my test scores that got me into the school. At Troy, I’ll be taking advanced Tech Program classes for English and history but I’ll be a year behind/on level in math and therefore also putting me in a non honors science class. If I go to my home school, I’ll continue advancing in math and will be taking Geometry instead of Algebra 1. The rest of my classes will be regular honors. I really do want to go to Troy and there’s so many possibilities at the school. There’s internships, the Tech program, good extracurricular, etc. But I’m worried if it’s all worth it for putting off my math and science. I don’t know all the details but I want to hear from Troy students who took Algebra 1 in 9th grade and If it was the right decision and where it landed them. Will it be a disadvantage? Will it look bad to colleges? Is there any way I can somehow catch up so I’ll be set my senior year? I know Algebra 1 is technically supposed to be a 9th grade standard but I’m already taking Algebra 1. It seems like a waste and It looks like I’ll be behind compared to my peers that will be taking geometry. Is it worth sacrificing staying a year ahead of math and keeping an honors science class for all the advantages at Troy? Should I just go to my home school? There’s a few people on other discussions that have said only idiots take Algebra 1 in 9th grade, which resulted in people responding saying either themselves or someone they know has gotten into ivy leagues and taken the course in freshman year. I’m just looking for some guidance and direction. I want to succeed at Troy. I want to know as much information as I can before I have to make a final decision.
I’m a parent and my son is a freshman at Troy taking Alg 1. I think it’s fine. We like Troy but know of many other students that went to other local high schools and got accepted to great colleges like UCLA and the Ivy Leagues. For an 8th grader, I think you’re really anxious and should try to just do your best. If I were you or your parent, my advice is to stay at your home school and do your best there. I would look at the acceptance rates to the colleges you want to attend and check the admission statistics from your home school.
Algebra 1 in 9th grade normally leads to precalculus in 12th grade. This is generally sufficient in that you should be ready to take calculus in college.
Very few colleges require or recommend calculus while in high school:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/2015601-what-us-universities-explicitly-state-that-calculus-is-required-or-expected-for-frosh-applicants-p2.html
To be honest, it depends. My high school and the surrounding school district area is extremely competitive with a great emphasis placed on grades, extracurriculars, etc (I’m a Northern Virginia kid). Generally speaking, my friends and those around me took all honors classes as a bare minimum and by the time we were seniors, we were taking dual enrollment classes in math, having maxed out of high school level math. HOWEVER, this is not the same for everybody. Not only are individuals different, schools are as well. There’s a vast variety of schools in the US and when you apply for colleges, admissions will receive a sort of info slip about your high school with explanations for things such as grade averages, special education systems, etc.
It seems like your a pretty high level student who aims to get into a good college, so I’ll speak to you as if I’m giving advice to someone similar to my high school path. Taking Algebra 1 in freshman year will be disadvantageous. The standard student at my high school - in order to be considered competitive to schools like Ivy Leagues - you should want to aim to be taking an AP Calculus course by senior year. That being said, although colleges like seeing a standard for the courses you take in high school, your course load (as long as you demonstrate consistent or improving grades and the ability to handle higher level courses) matters significantly less in comparison to your personality, your interest in the school, your essays, extracurriculars, etc. Keep in mind that admission officers are people too and they’re looking to see if you would be a good fit at their college with a large emphasis simply placed on who you are.
Again, I grew up in a competitive area where A’s, 4.0 GPAs, and AP classes were the standard so my experiences will be radically different from others.
There are also other options you can explore. Does Troy offer summer classes for high school credit? If yes, you can take classes over the summer to get ahead on your math track if you are that worried. If Troy does allow you to do this, I recommend taking Geometry over the summer. From my experience, the class is a joke and the only thing you need to take away from it is trigonometry, which is taught to you again in higher math classes anyway. Granted, this will likely cost money so be prepared to spend if you can! Also, if this doesn’t work out, you choose to go to Troy, and by senior year you’re still worried about having only gone up to pre-calculus, talk about in your applications! Common-APP, your main platform for applying to colleges, offers a separate section at the end where you can talk about any concerns or explain anything that you believe needs clarification.
All in all, I hope you relax and take a deep breath. Either way, I believe that you will do just fine. Good luck!
If your scores didn’t test you into geometry, it’s because they’re not confident that your algebra skills are where they need to be. Algebra is the basis for every other math course you’ll take; you’ll want to make sure your skills are where they need to be.
The reason you want to go to this school is because of the education they provide, right? So take them at their word when they say you should retake algebra. If they didn’t know their stuff you wouldn’t be considering going there.