<p>What can we do to help our very bright HS class of 2014 son explore what he might want to study in college? He loves playing percussion and piano and he is a strong math student. He will do precal as a 9th grader. He loves to read. He has very strong talent search scores. ACT composite of 32 with 32 in math, 34 and 35 in English and reading and 28 in science. He has taken a number of high school classes online during middle school to get prerequisites out of the way so that he may take more interesting courses in high school. He'll take chemistry and AP environmental sci in 9th, calculus, physics and AP bio in 10th etc. He's highly capable but has never really had any outstanding teachers so no one has inspired him in science or anything else yet. All I can personally help him with is finding good books to read. Any ideas for helping him find what interests him most?</p>
<p>We worked backwards with our son and looked for interests and courses he wanted to rule out. </p>
<p>However, having said that, I’d say entering 9th grade is way to early to eliminate any possibilities. At this stage, let him dabble in everything. High school is a whole new world. </p>
<p>He sounds like a very impressive young man. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Time. He’s pretty young to have clearly defined interests. Once he has taken a couple of years of high school courses, his interests will start to appear. Many students don’t find what really excites them until college.
That isn’t to say you can’t encourage him to explore. Give him opportunities to take classes and do things that sound fun in the summer. It’s hard when your kid has a lot of talents, as yours seems to. They will find their way, however, given the opportunity to try things out. Between freshman year in high school and senior year in college, your son may go through several phases with different interests and passions. I know mine did. But by the time my son was in college, the direction he chose to take incorporated a few of the things he loved to do, but not all. For the rest, well, there are hobbies.</p>
<p>Have you considered summer math camps? HCSSiM, Ross, Promys, and MathCamp are all great places for high math students to find others. They all have entrance tests, so he needs to start looking by early next year (Jan/Feb).</p>
<p>As I told my S - you’re not supposed to know what interests you. that’s the purpose of education! To find out what interests you, what excites you, what you’re good at. This was the advice i received from my freshman advisor too many years ago.</p>
<p>Yes, let him dabble. And maybe a math camp along the way. Or maybe a music camp. (DS did a band trip to Europe. It was unrelated to his academic interstests, but it opened his eyes to the appeal of travel. Doing semester abroad (or co-op abroad) was high on his list of college prioritits. </p>
<p>Do make sure that your son learns good study and organization skills. Really bright kids are often able to “wing it” in high school and not learn all the skills they will need in college.</p>
<p>My son, who just graduated from high school, got a lot out of CTY (Center for Talented Youth) summer programs. He attended for three years, in the process getting hooked on computer science, in which he now plans to major. We sent him for the social experience–the program is full of quirky kids like him–but his CTY background plus some high school AP has equipped him to take upper-level university computer science classes.</p>
<p>The entrance test is the SAT, but you don’t need a terribly high score to qualify.</p>
<p>A lot of students don’t really find their area of academic interest until later in high school. Many don’t find theirs until college ( one reason that so many college students change majors). I would encourage your S to try different areas of interest not only in class selection but also in EC’s. An interest in debate could lead to law, an interest in newspaper could lead to journalism, etc.</p>