<p>My son is a frosh.."A" student in middle school. We decided to take the conservative approach in his firs year in HS..probably a mistake after finding this site.</p>
<p>Anyway, he's taking Algebra 1 and getting an "A". This HS is limited in the AP courses, decent in honors.
My question is: what option of the 2 below would be best. I should add that I'm predicting a good college, definitely not Ivy..probably BU, Northeastern, Uconn , Bentley type school</p>
<p>1) would he be better off doubling up with math next year taking Geometry and Algebra 2(teacher thought this would be OK, but doesn't recommend one of them being honors since he will be taking 2). Advanced math(I guess this is what they call trig) as a JR, then pre-calc or cal as a senior.</p>
<p>2) Taking Honors geometry next year, then honors Algebra 2 as a Jr, honors advanced math(Trig) as a SR.</p>
<p>SO, basically is more honors courses and not taking calculus a better option than taking standard math courses, doubling up next year and be able to take calculus as a senior?
In other words, is having calculus on his transcript but no honors math courses outweigh 3 years of HONORS math classes without calculus?</p>
<p>I should also note that English is probably his weakest area("b+), and History is tied to English at this HS..so I don''t think he would pile up any honors courses that way.</p>
<p>1) would be the better option. If he doesn't mind doubling up, it shouldn't be tough to handle. That way, he can get into calc his senior year and most colleges on your list will like that.</p>
<p>Another option, if it's available in your area, is to take trig/precalc at a community college the summer before his senior year, and then take calculus his senior year. Trig/precalc is often seen as the "lightest" of the high school math sequence.</p>
<p>Regardless of what will look good on his college applications, every capable student should take calculus in high school. It's one of the best courses for training one to think analytically, even if the student does not pursue higher math in college. The focus should not be on piling up honors courses for the sake of having honors courses. Have him double up next year. Even better, have him take geometry (or whatever math class comes next after Algebra I in the sequence at his school) over the summer, and slide into the honors level math course in 10th grade with the rest of the students who took Algebra I in 8th grade.
And, if you have younger children, make sure they take Algebra I in 8th grade. That's actually becoming standard in most solid school systems.</p>
<p>My D is not going to have honors courses in math until she takes AP Calculus in senior year. She had Algebra 1 in middle school so is able to take a sequence of Advanced Algebra 2, Plane & Solid Geometry, Pre-Calc and AP Calc. If she had not had Algebra 1 in middle school, I'd make sure she took math over the summer after freshman year to make sure she got to Calculus. I'd rather have her take a math course over the summer than double up during the school year, as she's taking 4 years of each of the core courses</p>
<p>Calculus senior year is better. Taking pre-calc in the summer is definitely an option. My older son wishes he had done it. Younger son has a go getter math teacher this year - they've just whizzed through all the pre-calc material and have started in on the calculus textbook this week. It's true that not taking an honors class may cause a hit in his ranking, so that may be an issue for you. Both my kids ended up at least once in non-honors classes because of scheduling issues. My oldest kid (aka mathson) could easily have done two honors math classes at once. My younger son, it would have depended on the rest of the schedule.</p>
<p>Make sure you know what your kid wants to do. Don't hold him back if he can handle more, but don't push him to do something he can't handle.</p>
<p>(As a kid) I agree that Calc is very important to have in high school. It provides a basis for college, and will prevent him from being overwhelmed if he needs it for his major.</p>
<p>He could also take either Geometry or Algebra 2 at a nearby college or community college this summer. My S did this. Led to AP Calc senior year.</p>
<p>If he doubled next year, what would preclude him from moving to the honors track after that? If he were able to do that, I don't think that is a bad option, and it can be seen that the reason for the non-honors was because of the two classes.</p>
<p>I also would suggest taking a class over the summer. My frosh D is in Geom this year, that would put her on track for Calc AB as a senior. BC can only be taken after AB. So we are looking (and she wants) to have her take precalc in the summer after the following school year.</p>
<p>thanks for all the response. Lots of summer school suggestions I see...but that is not likely to happen. Although education is a priority, I don't feel summer classes is the best for him at this point. He is very active in sports and works by helping us with our family business. I believe it is important to balance education with letting a kid be a kid.</p>
<p>Having said that..is doubling up on math next year so he can be on path for calculus Sr year with no honors definitely a better option that going honors courses the next 3 years, but not taking calc?</p>
<p>I don't know about at your school, but "Honors" is not necessarily more WORK than regular. The regular classes had more busy work and worksheets and more behavior problems. The honors classes in math move more quickly, but don't always involve spending more time actually doing homework... YMMV I would suggest he double up on honors math! DS did that with honors chem and physics in HS.</p>
<p>My son didn't take Algebra 2 in summer school, he just studied on his own and then tested out, taking Geometry the next year. If your school is willing to go this route and your son is motivated to study on his own, this could work.</p>
<p>Does he know what kind of field he might choose for college major? Or at least whether it is more likely to be math/sci/engineering oriented or humanities/social sciences? That might make a difference in my personal opinion about the importance of completing Calc in hs.</p>
<p>I don't think you need to get to calc, especially for a business major. The decision might depend upon what type of college he aspires to. If he wants a university that goes mostly by the numbers, I would make sure the numbers were great and not overload on duplicate math courses. Also, he probably might get a weighted grade for those honors classes.</p>
<p>You should find out what the course content is for the Algebra, Trig and Precalc classes. Both of my kids skipped our version of precalc because it was sort of redundant, almost like algebra 3. In that case, he might still be able to take calc as a senior if he wants to. </p>
<p>Your son won't need calculus as a prerequisite to study business. Unless he wants to major in a hard science or engineering, I would pick option 1 with one honors course per year. Get A's.</p>
<p>I don't think that having calculus on your transcript is all that important for a prospective business major. </p>
<p>If your son does take some sort of math in summer school, I suggest Geometry. It is the least relevant to future courses, and summer school courses are often a bit sketchy. Similarly, if he's going to take one math course in the non-honors track during the school year, Geometry would be a good choice because it really doesn't matter all that much if he doesn't learn it thoroughly. Not learning Algebra 2 thoroughly, on the other hand, would really hamper him in future math courses.</p>
<p>Summer school may not be a good option for your son. As a prospective business major, he might have more to gain by working in your family business -- or another business for at least one summer to gain more varied experience -- and writing about those experiences in his college essay than by taking an extra math course.</p>
<p>Many people at CC tend to think that life revolves around math and science because their kids' career ambitions lie in those directions. But the situation is different for those who have different aspirations.</p>
<p>Well, here is one fellow whose name doesn't end in "mom" -- not a parent BUT, I would look carefully into what anxiousmom says:</p>
<p>"I don't know about at your school, but "Honors" is not necessarily more WORK than regular. The regular classes had more busy work and worksheets and more behavior problems. The honors classes in math move more quickly, but don't always involve spending more time actually doing homework... YMMV I would suggest he double up on honors math! DS did that with honors chem and physics in HS."</p>
<p>Do the beginning math, then go to calculus. It is not that hard, even for someone who isn't naturally strong at math. The trick to doing math is being proactive and not letting oneself fall behind. Kids learn very fast if they find it's interesting + clicking. My friend is a senior at UC Berkeley, and got into its math Ph.d. program early, and was told he is a top candidate -- and where did he start in college? Algebra 2, factoring polynomials for the first time in his life, going all the way to studying Serre's Local Fields this semester -- a book a reputed professor at Berkeley said made him feel really dumb.</p>
<p>Also, friendly advice -- don't do it over summer. Have him get a good rest over summer, and then do 2 math honors courses over the semester. It'll seriously be healthier -- doing classes over summer can leave one stale, and it's not how much time you spend, but how well you spend your time when you do spend it, which matters in the end.</p>
<p>Best of luck! </p>
<p>"I don't think that having calculus on your transcript is all that important for a prospective business major."</p>
<p>While Marian is correct, I think in high school it is important to gain solid analytical foundations in as many areas as is possible, and if you don't push yourself, you will certainly underachieve. Math isn't about busywork and piles of reading -- it's about learning some ideas + techniques [at least at the early stages], and this is a great thing to push oneself on a little more. Please do your son a favor and try to excite him about the subject.</p>
<p>wow..now I'm more confused than ever.so many differing opinions..lol</p>
<p>To summarize..my son is a frosh taking Algebra 1 and getting a high A(should have taken Algebra 2 in hindsight). It's most likely he will not be taking honors English, which is tied to History. So, I thought the need for some honors courses would be wise.</p>
<p>Interested in schools like BU, Northeastern, Uconn, Bentley or better.. Business major(most likely)</p>
<p>GPA not weighted, no class rank at HS</p>
<p>I'm predicting a solid 3.7-3.8 UW GPA</p>
<p>Option 1) Double up in math as a soph next year taking Geometry and Algebra2(teacher recommends non honors since he would be taking 2)..Advanced math(trig) as JR..Calc as SR(must take adv. math first)</p>
<p>Benefits: Calculus in high school
drawbacks: no honors</p>
<p>Option 2) Take honors geometry next year, honors Algebra 2 as Jr, honors adv. math as a SR</p>
<p>Benefits: 3 honors courses on transcript
Drawbacks: No Calculus in HS</p>
<p>What would be the better option..A or B?..assuming no summer school.</p>