<p>He has to take English IV, Government and Economics, can take AP classes if he wants and if they are available.
AP Calculus and AP Physics would be a good choice since he got A in both PreCalculus and Physics.
AP Statistics if it is available.
I would suggest to relax a little bit and take a free period since senior year grades are not that important.
AP test scores are important and will save you a lot of money.</p>
<p>Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. My friend is in BHP at McCombs and he got like a 58 on Calc BC. He also got like a billion Cs on his report card. I mean it was terrible. That senioritis… They didn’t remove him or anything. </p>
<p>But I would still take as many APs as possible because they really do help if you pass the AP exam. If he doesn’t plan on taking the AP exam for it, then don’t take the class.</p>
<p>I think these 4 are a must because they fill core requirements:
AP Eng
AP Gov/AP Economics
AP Physics
AP Calc BC (if he wants to go the extra mile next year and he can handle it. Otherwise, Calc AB would probably be better because he got a B in PreCal)</p>
<p>If you wanna take more AP classes after those 4, sure why not. But honestly, I would just chill out after that. Those classes are already incredibly hard. You can always take blow off APs like Human Geography or Environmental Science just for elective credits. But really, don’t over do it. By the second semester of senior year, trust me, he’s not going to care about school at all. It gets really bad. </p>
<p>@YaYa Why does he want to take Statistics? Is that even required for the Cockrell degree plan? I’m just asking. I’m not too familiar with it.</p>
<p>Hi, perazziman, long time! Hope all’s well.</p>
<p>Yea, his Math II score satisfies the calculus readiness requirement–check that off the list! Nice junior year AP lineup and gradeshopefully, spring term grades were the same or better. And, of course, that NMSF status plus his likely SAT are awesome. (It’s impressive he is so evenly strong on both M and CR. I doubt hell do much if any test prep, but don’t forget, on UT’s engineering admission rubric, it’s actually SAT M+W that counts instead of M+CR, so encourage him to review a couple of online tutorials on tips/tricks for the essay and work through a couple of practice W tests to be sure he’s okay on the grammar part plus essay timing.) The only concern, naturally, is his rank. However, it’s not an outright deal breaker because everything else is so strong on his Academic Achievement index and presumably Personal Achievement profile (essays, recs and ECs), and isnt his HS one of those top Texas super-competitive schools and a major UT feeder? Also, when they dig into his transcript, they will see overall rigor, A/B performance in not only advanced math/science but also the humanitiesthat uncommon balance is a plus, and an upward grade trend from freshman to present right?! Which segues right into that gender factor in his favor, i.e., Males are often slow starters in HS; its how they finish thats most important!</p>
<p>I agree with Ya Ya, he should definitely take AP Calc (AB is fine if earning a high grade in BC will be a stretch) and AP Phys on top of the usual three. For the 6th course, think passion, i.e., if he’s going for ECE and more CS is offered (or he can fashion an independent study based on CS), that’d be a natural. Chem II for CE or Bio II if he’s going for Biomedical. Geology or environmental science if he’s going for PE. You get the picture. For the 7th course, taking a free period or light elective is fine as long as it is in addition to an already heavy, advanced course load–maintaining rigor through senior year is important. As far as senior grades go, high senior grades can be helpful when applying to UT when you are applying to a competitive major, want to show improvement/strength in major-related coursework and/or are trying to demonstrate continued upward trend (he can simply email his admission counselor a PDF of an exemplary grading period report) and are critical if hes applying to Rice and others beyond Texas state universities, as most other schools will require a mid-year transcript (unless he applies under an early admission scheme). </p>
<p>TXArtemis, All is well thanks. I appreciate the great info. especially about significance of the SAT writing score at UT. I have passed on your message to him. </p>
<p>I am not too concerned about his sat test scores, since he had a 76 in Writing and 74 in Critical Reading on the PSAT. Then, a 750 on Math II in June. So, he seems ready for the SAT in Oct. He has also taken a couple of timed practice SAT scores this summer without any prep., to establish a baseline and scored 2400s both times. So we are assuming he is ready and he is not preparing for the SAT. On the other hand, how closely will UT look at his scores on SAT Physics subject test? </p>
<p>He is spending the summer learning Spanish (2 months in Spain), playing chess and solving math problems from some books his friends told him to buy. </p>
<p>Rank is obviously a major issue. You are right the school is one of the top 10 producers of NMSFs in TX. </p>
<p>He is registered for AP Calculus AB and AP Physics in senior year. In addition, he was planning on taking Spanish III and English IV. He is thinking of switching to Calc BC, but how much of a difference will that make in getting accepted? He is not looking to place out of calculus in college. Finally, he is registered for Govt and Physical Ed. since they are requirements for graduation.</p>
<p>I actually agree with you, BC seems unnecessary to me. He is registered for AB, but he has been talking about switching to BC. I am thinking of conceding since he is only taking six subjects instead of the usual 7. In addition, he is only taking two AP courses instead of the five plus 2 Honors he did last year. So he should have more time for math. What do you think?</p>
<p>Well, I remember in high school, everyone hated Calculus BC like it was the spawn of the devil. By the second semester, more than half of the students in each class dropped out of it into Calc AB. Most of the students who stayed in where failing or passing with Cs. Only the best of the best had Bs or As. I actually didn’t know anyone with an A, but I’m sure someone had one. And I don’t mean like average students were failing. My friend I described from before who was failing was rank 13/492 in our class. After the second semester, he honestly just gave up on the class because it was so incredibly hard and just stopped trying. He only studied hard for the AP exam. The class itself was ridiculous.</p>
<p>But, I don’t know if his school is different. The public schools in my city are kind of over the top. Every class is basically harder than it would be at a public school in a regular city. But if he got a B in PreCal at my school, it wouldn’t be smart to take Calc BC. But if he gets the Calc credit in high school for AB, then he takes Calc 2 at UT… it might screw him over also.</p>
<p>Honestly, I would just take Calculus BC, cause during senior year, I really didn’t care for my grades. I cared about AP credit. I already knew what college I was going to by Januaryish.</p>
<p>Calc BC is definitely a difficult course, but over 50% of the people taking the actual AP get 5’s (quoting my teacher on this one). It all really depends on the teacher… If you have an impossibly hard teacher that teaches well, assuming that you put in effort and understand the material more or less, it is almost guaranteed you’ll make at least a 4 if not a 5. Plus if he scores a 5 and attends UT, that covers M408K & L which is hugely beneficial as he won’t have to take the notoriously hard Calculus classes at UT his freshman year.</p>
<p>I agree with PatrickJay though; scoring a 4 may prove difficult to deal with freshman year because that means he’d only get credit for M408K. With Calculus BC, the easy part of it is the sound logic. The soul-ripping parts of the course are the more theoretical sections as well as the more complex series, which are covered in M408L - a class he would have to take if he gets a 4 on the AP. Again noting the rigor of Calculus classes at UT, it might or might not prove difficult to do that your very first semester… It would just make for a rockier transition. BUT the course is definitely much harder than the AP hands down.</p>
<p>In the end, it’s definitely better to go BC if you can do it. If the teacher is known for teaching well at his school and he is able to devote a lot of time to Calculus, I’d say go for it! Especially if he wants to apply to a more math intensive major like engineering. It’s a fun course :)</p>
<p>Thanks guys. My thinking is, if he is constantly solving math problems for fun because he enjoys it and wants to take BC then I should let him. </p>
<p>I am also considering the fact that,</p>
<ol>
<li><p>He did not get an A in Pre Cal, but it was a strong B (87%). </p></li>
<li><p>He did not get an 800, but 750 on SAT Math II is not weak. </p></li>
<li><p>He took a couple of timed practice SAT tests at home (without prep) and scored 800s both times on math (actually 2400s both times) this summer.</p></li>
<li><p>In senior year, he is taking 6 courses instead of the regular 7. One of the 6 is Physical Education. So, effectively, he is taking just 5. In addition, just 2 of these five are AP classes vs 5 APs and 2 Pre AP courses, last year. So, he should have two to three times as much time to study math compared to last year.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>In the end, I guess I will speak to his math teacher and see what she recommends.</p>
<p>perazziman, I love hearing about your son’s summer in Spain–my son did something similar, and the experience made a huge impact on him in so many ways. I predict you’ll greet a changed young man when he comes home!</p>
<p>On which calc to take, in addition to talking with teachers (his precal teacher should have some valuable input on his calc readiness), he should talk with peers about AB vs BC as taught at his school. Please check me on this, but it’s my understanding that not taking BC will not be a significant negative anywhere except at perhaps STEM elites like MIT and Cal Tech (and IMO, which I think Common Data Sets will confirm, his rank/GPA will be a far greater negative than having chosen AB over BC). So…considering his precal performance and his 750 math II, assuming he just took it in May, it seems on the surface that taking AB and mastering it is far more realistic goal and would give him a far better foundation for college calc. However, if he happened to take math II a while back and has been digging into BC-typical problems this summer and feels excited and confident about undertaking BC, then certainly, he should go for it! And in that case, I might also consider retaking math II when he takes physics to see if he can hit 800. But only if he’d welcome the challenge and not see it as an added stress or burden! His score is more than fine for Texas publics (you asked how closely UT would look at subject test scores–they are bonus additional material for UT and TAMU, so they can only help, never hurt), but if he is casting a wider net, an 800 will be more competitive and might reassure admission counselors who look at his math grades and wonder about his engineering math readiness. The students who take math II (which is the most popular subject test by a wide margin–scroll to the bottom of the table to see the numbers) are such a self-selecting group that with the curve, 800 is only 87% percentile. Crazy, eh?! (Physics shakes out similarly, but note what a small group takes that test. Everything I’ve heard/read is that admission counselors treat physics like all other tests–anything over 700 is considered very competitive.) See the percentile rank here: <a href=“http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/SAT-Subject_Tests_Percentile_Ranks_2011.pdf[/url]”>http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/SAT-Subject_Tests_Percentile_Ranks_2011.pdf</a></p>
<p>I would say he really needs to focus on getting as high of grades as possible. Unfortunantly. even with all of those great stats, his rank puts him in a position where he will more than likely not be admitted.</p>
<p>TXArtemis, That would make sense, since only those who have finished pre calculus by Junior year would take a Math II subject test. I have also heard it said that the average SAT Reasoning math score, of those who take Math II, is approx. 670. So, even at 50 percentile, Adcoms believe one is doing as well as the best kids in math in the country. At the other end of the spectrum, I have also heard it said (by an MIT Admissions Director), that Adcoms do not differentiate between 700 and 800, since neither score suggests one is especially talented in math. That said, there is a good chance son may want to take the Math II again with the Physics test. I do not believe it would really bother him, since he does not prepare for math anymore. He just takes these tests and thinks of them as an opp to have some fun. </p>
<p>BHPlonghorn, thanks for your candid and honest opinion. However, I do not believe there will be any more grades for Admissions to see. So, if he is not accepted, that is it. Fortunately, he has an automatic admission at TX A&M with full tuition scholarship so he will not feel to badly about it.</p>
<p>I took BC calculus as a sophomore, and although it was challenging at times, I maintained a 95% average throughout the year with little to none work out of class. We had 58 5s and 2 4s from the two calculus BC classes though. Our teacher did a really great job I guess. But I never studied much, and even for the AP, i barely reviewed or anything and got an easy 5. With that being said, the test is not difficult at all, but it depends on how your teacher teaches the material on the test and if they have a harder curriculum (i know my teacher had much harder tests and homework questions). </p>
<p>So the 750 on Math 2 seems like he can handle BC, but calculus is a bit different. The theory is hard, and most of it is application based. Either way, if you’re an engineer, taking calculus at UT freshman year is more beneficial so you can get everything from the basic core classes and not struggle later on. Either one is fine. And oh one more point, BC covers just 30% more material than AB…</p>
<p>OP-For UT admissions application your son has already met the Calculus Readiness Requirement with his SAT Math. I don’t see why he needs to take another SAT Math II. SAT Math Subject scores used to be one of the assessments for the Calculus Readiness Requirement, but not anymore.</p>
<p>“Freshman applicants seeking admission to the Cockrell School must meet the Calculus Readiness Requirement. To meet the requirement, students must submit one of the following by the official admissions application deadline:
■SAT Math score of 600 or above
■ACT Math score of 26 or above
■AB or BC AP Calculus Test score of 3 or higher
■IB Mathematics HL or SL Examinations score of 4 or higher
■Transcript from a college or university with credit for a college level Calculus I course (or higher) with a grade of “C” or better
■ALEKS score of 80 or above”</p>