<p>I've recently graduated from 9th grade and am currently taking Algebra 2(sometimes called intermediate algebra in some areas) over the summer at a local community college. I've done this so that come senior year I'll be in multi-variable calculus so that besides substantially challenging myself I'll also follow that advice that is often repeated to take the most challenging classes available to give myself the best chance to go to a school like MIT. Yet as I take this course I find it taking every available spare moment and an incredible amount of concentration which in turns defeats the purpose of summer vacation. As I look at some of the acceptance forms for MIT I see that most finished in Calculus BC. So, do you guys think that taking this class and in turn getting ahead of the rest of the herd be more beneficial of harmful?</p>
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How far do you want to go?</p>
<p>It’s entirely up to you. There are no rules and there’s no set path to getting into MIT, or really any reason why you should go to MIT and not some other school, if that is okay with you. Just do the things you want to do. If you don’t like taking math classes over the summer then you probably shouldn’t do that. If it is something you want to do then you probably should. No one here can really answer your question.</p>
<p>Personally I would probably do the math class, but that is because it is something I think I would enjoy. Then again, I never took classes in the summer, though I did study and read a lot. I’m also not really a person who likes to have fun, in the ways that most people like to have fun. I’m also an MIT student, but we’re all very different from each other.</p>
<p>Again, like everything else in your life, this is entirely up to you. Doing things you don’t want to do is likely to lead to you having to do more things you don’t want to do, so maybe you should only do things you want to do. Then again sometimes you do want to do things but you don’t want to sit through the process, and that is something I very much understand.</p>
<p>MIT involves a lot of studying, and sometimes it seems to take up every available spare moment, and that for an entire four years. You can plan it out so it won’t be so bad, but it will still be hard and there will still be weeks when you think you’ll go mad if you don’t go outside for at least a little bit.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the great response. I understand from the few stories that I’ve heard that there is no real formula to get to MIT, but it was just an attempt to set myself in different ways in the ever competitive(and increasingly competitive) MIT admission process. I think for now i’ll focus on other programs that I’ve been doing over the summer. Anyway, as I look deeper into the math program it seems to skip a lot of different concepts for the sake of time an so either way it would be unsafe for me to take it. Perhaps i’ll take pre-calc once I get to it, as I hear it doesn’t cover that many topics. Thank you again for your great insight.</p>
<p>I liked to double up on math and science during the school year when possible. It’s not something you can do for algebra 2, but in a year (eleventh grade) you might consider taking AP Statistics and/or AP Comp Sci at the same time as precalc, if they are offered at your school and fit in your schedule. I was lucky in that my school didn’t force me to have lunch or study hall and I was able to take more classes. I also did not like lunch or study hall; this isn’t necessarily something that would work for everybody.</p>
<p>I think a good proportion of MIT admits took AP Calc BC in eleventh grade and some version of differential equations and multivariable calculus in twelfth grade. I think that proportion is much less than half, but it is not a small percentage. There is also a good chunk of MIT admits that start off with single variable calculus freshman year. In other words, taking BC Calc in eleventh grade can’t hurt, but it also isn’t something that will necessarily help you stand out. If you aren’t already on that track and getting on that track would require sacrificing some chunk of your understanding of algebra 2 I’m not sure it would be worth it, since precalc and calculus and everything else you do in math will be building on what you learn now.</p>
<p>Push yourself as hard as you can. But, push yourself in the right way. Make sure it is part of a “passion”. If you end up with all academics, but nothing else, that will be a problem. You need to do something with your passion. Math competitions, science competitions, robotics, tutoring disadvantaged youth, …</p>
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<p>If all you need to do to be in the top track available at your school is to take one summer class, it might be worth it. </p>
<p>However, if algebra 2 takes that much concentration and time for you, I wonder if further acceleration is a good thing. You haven’t said anything about your record. Is math easy for you. Do you like it? If you don’t, you may not want to take multi-variable calculus anyway. Most MIT kids wouldn’t see taking a math class in the summer as a chore.</p>
<p>Being on track to take calculus as a junior does have the advantage that you spend the year practicing trigonometry, and that is tested on the SATI which is taken that year. I think it is probably a disadvantage to take the SAT while you are learning trig (even though in the strict sense trig is not tested at a high level.) Also, you don’t have to take it concurrently with AP physics. Another advantage of being somewhat advanced is that you can space out your hardcore AP science classes. </p>
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<p>I think this is accurate.</p>
<p>I second what collegealum said about it being worthwhile to take the summer course.</p>
<p>However, I’d also agree that if Algebra 2 is taking up a large amount of your time and effort, you may not be helping yourself by putting yourself on the toughest track. Many students at MIT, my future self included, took the toughest math available because everything else was mind-numbingly easy. I definitely didn’t take that track to improve my chances of admission anywhere, and if it had been a struggle I probably wouldn’t have taken it.</p>
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If it means sacrificing other interesting things they like, they might.</p>
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I agree, though in different words. Algebra 2 took plenty of concentration and time for me, and if I weren’t already on the eleventh grade BC Calc track from seventh grade I don’t think it would have been a good idea for me to skip/self study/community college my way into it that late in the game. I think ability to absorb material improves dramatically in college, at least at MIT, or maybe the material changes later on; in high school I needed to work a lot harder to learn new concepts in math. I would have been lost in precalc if I had tried to rush algebra 2. I don’t think any introductory math classes can be rushed or skipped except maybe pre-algebra, and I probably wouldn’t recommend it to younger me. But if it can improve chances at MIT (it can, for the reasons collegealum314 mentioned), younger me almost definitely would have gone ahead and done it anyway, probably with a textbook outside in the sun instead of a class.</p>
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That high school is hard does not necessarily mean that MIT is not a good match, or at least I hope not. My whole high school career was a struggle. I worked very hard to ensure that my academic career was continually dangling from a cliff.</p>
<p>That’s not what I meant, either. Struggling in high school because you’re working at your potential is a good thing! I should clarify – my school is a small public that just got off probation and has relatively little to offer academically, so far as rigor goes. So for me, struggling in high school WOULD indicate a poor match with MIT. But if your high school is more competitive or offers more rigorous options, and you are challenged by those, that’s absolutely fine.</p>
<p>Alg 2 in the summer after 9th is probably fine and perfectly okay for you to find challenging. I shouldn’t be talking really, since I’m terrible at judging how hard math is supposed to be for other people – my dad’s a math teacher so I’m used to what are probably unusually high standards for math.</p>
<p>And to clarify – a good HS schedule should challenge you, but not crush you (at least not until junior year ;)). Challenge is good! And MIT definitely wants you to push yourself. But – general life advice – if everyone around you tells you not to do it, you should probably consider not doing it.</p>
<p>@collegealum314 The issue was that the course stole time from other activities like band camp and volunteering. Also, certain things weren’t taught such as conics. Tough at the same time I understand your concern of taking a higher level class would harm me. The biggest question is will me being/ or not being in multivariable calc hurt me or in any way?</p>
<p>Sas0ri, I really don’t think multivariable calc as a senior (vs BC Calc) will really make or break your application. It would help, but there are a lot of applicants with multcalc, so it wouldn’t really make a huge difference.</p>