My DD is a junior in high school. Throughout her high school years, she has had fantastic math teachers. She never thought of studying math until now. She is in Pre AP Pre Cal and is getting throu the class fairly easily at what many consider to be a rigorous high school. Here’s my question- I can only imagine that many people who attend math summer camps or apply for Math programs in college are more advanced, have been more involved etc. she will now join clubs etc bc she realizes se enjoys it.before now, her time was spent working for the literary magazine and yearbook. I don’t want it to look like she is not focused, but she really is just wanting to change her focus as she is truly enjoying math.
ALso- we were looking at math summer camps. Many are 5-6 weeks. She is very shy and is nervous about being away for that long next summer. (She does want to go far away for college, but psychologically, leaving for summer camps feels different to her). I can’t find a math camp for a shorter durations. Anyone know of any?
DO IT! If she wants to explore math intensively, in an environment where she’s with others with math interests, no question she should try it. IF SHE’S INTERESTED. My son, who was very math qualified. spent his high school summers in debate camp. Sometimes I wish he’d become a mathematician. But he ended up majoring in economics in college. Later on, his roots in debate and economics, when combined with his interest in statistics, made a fine career.
I’m familiar with several math camps, and I have taught at one for awhile, although many of these are more competition-oriented (e.g. for AMC 10/12, AIME/ USA(J)MO). Is she familiar with these?
AoPS has a good reputation, and they have plenty of online classes. I took WOOT one year, though it might be quite advanced for her.
I can’t say enough good things about Art of Problem Solving. My 9th grader 9 has no interest in math camp or contest, (she will be going to a 3 week debate camp this summer) but she loves AoPS. She can develop really solid math skills, logical thinking, etc right at home. The books do not require a teacher or poor D would be S*IT out of luck.
First, the bad news. Your D is already way behind many students in math, most of whom NEVER attended any math camps or extra programs. She will never catch up to them, especially for college admissions purposes.
The good news of course is that NONE of that matters. Your concern that she may look like she is unfocussed is actually very overblown. Your D is a junior in high school, and taking precalc, in prep for calc as a senior, puts her way ahead of an awful lot of kids. Colleges do not expect students to take summer programs or outside programs - and IMHO those things reek of privilege and can backfire. Kids who are trying too hard to make their applications look more interesting. When my pups went through high school and explored the process of college admissions, we visited a lot of awesome schools and talked with a lot of admissions officials. They fully understand a lot more than you give them credit for. They typically know much more about the standard offerings in the high schools where they have accepted students in the past than you’d think.
They also know that it is perfectly normal - and in many cases, it works to the student’s advantage, for students to try a variety of activities. It does not make someone look unfocussed, it can makes them look adventurous, or at least willing to step outside their comfort zone. They understand that high school is a time for kids to try things out, begin to find out who they are or want to become.
I get the desire to want to do everything you can for your kid, to give her as many advantages as possible. If your D is interested in such a program, and you can afford it, do it because she likes it and wants to do it. Don’t do it because you think it will help her applications look any better.
When your D gets accepted to multiple colleges, it won’t have anything at all to do with a summer math camp.
I sure hope the opening lines of post #11 are in error. Your D will do fine in the big leagues for college math programs. The top tier math schools will expect AP calculus but usually require taking their version as much more is covered in that first semester. There are very few math students who perform at the extremely advanced level who do go on to math grad schools if they wish. Of course she will be behind someone with an IQ of 180 if hers is only 150…
ONLY do a summer math program if she has the interest. Her math courses sound typical for good STEM kids- calculus as a HS senior. That’s what my gifted son did before doing his honors math major at UW-Madison, a math grad school ranked by USN&WR around 15th several years ago. He did well in the honors calculus sequence et al and did take grad level math course instead of doing research for the honors requirement. He ended up adding CS and doing that instead of grad school, changing his mind after overreaching for only elite programs. Some did better than he did on the math GRE (a brutal field with world wide competition, 900 being the top math GRE score instead of 800) and went to various grad schools.
My point is that to be a successful math major at a top tier school one does not need to be super accelerated. Unlike my son she should study for the SAT math level 2 exam and not think the fall calculus precalc review is sufficient to get an 800. Kids can be stubborn/strong willed/know it all as teens.
While in HS son was able to do some no longer offered WCATY (state version like the regional talent searches) 3 week summer camp sessions, including one that covered math material not covered in any classes. Many current programs not around in his day. He did get into a math REU (summer research experience for undergrads) while in college- those are very competitive, btw.
Your D will be able to attend a top tier college for math with the courses she will take in her HS. She does not need to be in that 1% for classes taken, projects/resume. She does need top tier math scores on various tests, which she likely would get because others will also do that well. ACT, SAT, Math SAT are all precalculus knowledge tests. With interest and ability she is likely to have no problems. It is useful to do practice tests as well (made son do them).
I think the main reason to do math camp is there is a lot of fun and cool math out there that never gets covered in high school math classes. My son got some via the CTY programs (one on Game Theory and one on Cryptography) - unfortunately most of their fun classes are geared for middle schoolers. I know they’ve been expanding their offerings so it may be worth checking out. Computer programming classes might be another thing to look for - many kids who like math like programming even better. And vice versa - I hate programming, but loved math. With careful planning it may be possible to do a camp program and do a typical teenage summer job. I agree you shouldn’t push her into it, but sometimes kids don’t know what they may or may not like.
Thanks again. All of this helps. In regards to doing this camp to boost resume/risk looking privileged… we often fall into the “low-income” bracket. We are looking at camps (with scholarships) because she likes math and this could be fun. But most importantly, she’s never been away to camp, and I’m hoping this will help her be a little independent/speak up for herself.
You guys have given me lots of great ideas. Thanks again!
My daughter went to http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/ysp/ Rutgers Young Scholars Program in Discrete Mathematics. She had no clubs or such when she did this. She majored in math and now is a HS Math teacher.
A summer camp away is a great way for students to gain some independence and it will help them be more prepared for going away to college.
I will suggest Summer@Brown then, as the Dean’s scholarship is for low income families only and AFAIK is given to all students who meet the criteria and are accepted to the program as long as they apply early enough. The math classes: https://precollege.brown.edu/catalog/?t%5B%5D=13&p%5B%5D=1 - they vary from 1 week to 3. Students live in a Brown dorm, have lots of social activities, etc.
They often learn about fun topics in math that aren’t covered in the standard high school sequence. And, it is a good way to meet other students with similar interests.
Some math circles do competition math, which she may or may not enjoy. I believe none of the usual high school competition math requires the use of calculus.