Calculus is cool. I felt it was like poetry after all the prose leading up to it.
@mathmom – I think the power of calculus finally caught her attention. Once she saw how crawling on her hands and knees with regular math was solved by calc she was hooked. I guess I went through that phase a long time ago but to see it in real time with her was something to behold.
I would like to add that it is not a good idea to drop any classes senior spring. Most adcoms want to be notified if applicants course schedule should change senior year. My kid’s GC told her that she would have to notify colleges D1 was applying to if she should add/drop classes senior spring.
Ugh. I lost my anti-rigor jihad. Here’s the final schedule:
- US History (required, taking it online)
- AP Lit
- AP Calc BC (one hour, not the two-hour AB/BC class)
- AP Physics C - Mechanics
- AP CS
- Scientific Research II (lab aide plus more, very spiky in terms of workload)
- Biotech IV (basically, a class for her HS iGEM team)
The AP Physics C class could be a problem because D18 hasn’t taken any physics classes in HS (only physical science in 8th grade for HS credit). She met the teacher and the teacher said it was ok.
Your D does not need physics to do well in AP… but she needs calculus… Does the physics teacher coordinate with the math teacher so that concepts in math are introduced before they are needed in physics?
@blossom – I don’t know about the coordination. D18 told her teacher that she is taking AP Calc AB this year and the teacher said that was good enough for AP-PhysC-M next year.
It just seems like a very heavy STEM load and leaves little room for error … especially for a procrastinator.
If the teacher signed off on it then I’d be fine with it.
Yes- heavy STEM load. My kids GC’s would not sign off on a schedule like this but I don’t know your kid and I don’t know your HS.
My daughter took a heavy load her senior year of HS. The colleges she applied to looked at her dual enrollment hours and GPA also her ACT score. She entered her freshman year of college this year with 58 credits and will graduate 1.5 years early.
@wis75 I have to disagree. My D is a very good student, but the college application process is stressful and takes a fair amount of time especially if you need to do final visits before making decisions. My D cut her rigor to only 1 AP and 1 honors and she still got in to every school she applied to including some very selective ones. Based on what you say, I would definitely look at the Calc class but her other classes will be heavy homework load. She should enjoy her senior year.