I’m going to Choate. We just got our placements and I’m in Honors Geometry. I want to do Honors Precalc during my sophomore year. I was wondering if it is possible for me to take an online course for Honors Algebra II during the school year and then be placed in Precalc. Has anybody done this and did it work? Thanks.
I have the exact same plan but I would prefer to do it during the next summer.
just to add on, I will be willing to take the course from anywhere but I’m not sure what places will offer credit that is actually accepted by Choate.
wait nico r u planning on taking it online
My son is taking Honors Geometry from JHU-CTY online. Its a good course but very tough and requires several hours a day to get through it in 3 months (over the summer.) We checked with his school prior to signing up to ensure that it would be accepted. The good thing about the class is that, even though its online, there is an instructor that is available by phone or email during her office hours or if scheduled in advanced. I know they offer Algebra 2 so you might want to look into taking it there.
Some of the schools take online courses for credit - or courses from a local college or prep school. You will need to ask Choate what the options are for credit.
thanks all. I was looking at Johns Hopkins and stuff and I have a pretty free summer. Do you think that I could finish Honors Geometry before Sep. 4?
Realistically speaking, I can devote 3-4 hours a day to the course. I’m willing to give up a social life for math lol
Question; If you complete Honors Algebra-1 in 7th, take Geometry-honors in 8th, then take Algebra-2honors in 9th grade isn’t that what most students take? Which math level are most entering 9th grade students on?
My son did AP Calc AB as an 8th grader st the LPS (and got an A in the class and a 5 on the exam), and yet he found the Intermediate Algebra online course on Art of Problem Solving to be challenging. It lasts about 6 months and is offered with multiple starting dates throughout the year.
We really can’t say enough good things about AOPS. For the right kind of kid who truly enjoys math and wants to be challenged, it is really terrific. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that If you really master the material as presented on Art of Problem Solving, you will be much better prepared than if you take the equivalent class at Choate, so hopefully they will grant credit (or at least placement). In my opinion, no boarding school or public school class will approach the rigor of the applicable AOPS class. Check out their offerings!
Ah… I misspoke, I meant to ask in my last comment if I could take Geometry before school starts so that I wouldn’t have to take it in the school year. I will be entering honors Geometry in the fall.
I think that that’s a bit intense and maybe unrealistic even for the fastest learners tbh. I would just take alg II over the next summer: I’m planning on doing a math course almost every summer.
As with every new student who has yet to set foot on a BS campus as an enrolled student, you have vastly overestimated how much free time you will have. You won’t have time to do this during the school year. As others have said, you can look to do it next summer. Any questions regarding credit (which most BS’s will not give if taken outside that school) and placement to the next level are specific to Choate, so you need to ask your advisor.
To be clear, boarding school is very different from any other educational experience you or your friends have had. Decisions will be made by your teachers about your abilities, the quality of your previous schooling, and where they believe you are properly placed. Ticking off a class elsewhere may not satisfy them at all, and it is quite possible that you won’t get credit for it either. Ex. My daughter transferred to boarding school as a sophomore. She was apx 2 years ahead in math, having taken honors alg2/trig as a freshman at an LDS… Once the new school year started, her boarding school math teacher concluded that the previous class was of insufficient scope and she was asked to repeat it. OTOH, she also has friends who were placed directly into high level math courses their freshman year. It was irrelevant whether the students had taken the “run-up” courses.
Also, no one at boarding school has an extra 3-4 hours in the day. Days are scheduled and programmed from 8am-10 pm, and you may get no more than 30 minutes of “free” time a day. Any free class periods are dedicated to staying on top of your regular coursework. Good luck and trust the system.
Choate does not give “credit” for any outside courses you take. As @skieurope posted, your advisor will help you through this question.
@Choatiemom Thanks! I was a little confused about the whole credit situation, haha. I think that I’ll take Choate’s summer program next summer.
@Golfgr8 - In most good quality public suburban schools, the most common is Algebra 1 in 8th and Geometry (regulor or Honors in 9th. But many private schools have a more advanced track, with Alg 1 Honors in 7th and Geometry Honors in 8th. Some public schools allow acceleration to that (or offer it) too, but others consider Geometry 9th to be challenging and won’t let kids accelerate past that (the theory being that depth and problem solving is more important than checking boxes and moving on).
BUT…if you want to complete BC Calc in high school, then it’s important to accelerate. I found that out the hard way and my son is playing catchup.
My daughter just completed Honors Geometry as a freshman at her bs and is taking online Algebra II this summer, not for credit but so she learn those concepts and be able to start Honors PreCalc in the fall.
@JCAmine yes, that’s what I was also thinking of doing 
because in the handbook it says that you can audit courses, so I figured that this would be similar. I’ve got to talk to somebody about it obviously but that’s the gist
My DD is taking Honors Geometry 8th grade - having completed Honors Algebra in 7th- but when starting BS do you take a placement test? Someone on here said that SSAT scores are used for placement at some schools