Math/Science Boarding School

<p>rhapsody beat me to it (albeit a bit sterner than I try to be!).</p>

<p>You state “Many kids are advanced enough”…</p>

<p>How many kids do you lump into that “many” category? I would say there are no more than a .05% (half a percentage point) of the high school population. Maybe slightly higher in the self-selected BS applicant pool…but nothing approaching even 10%, I’d guess. I’m basing this on the CTY SET criteria…of kids who score over 700 on the SAT in any single section in 7th grade.</p>

<p>Additionally, note that I was writing in response to the OP, who stated that his/her child had SSAT Math scores “in the 90s”…a category which my older daughter was in years ago…so I feel I can speak to the OP’s situation. The OP did not state that his/her child was a bona fide math prodigy.</p>

<p>I have stated here before that I believe that any of the schools mentioned with ANY frequency here can meet the needs of 98% of the applicant pool. I have never discounted that there exists a 2% (choose whatever small number you want) who are exceptionally gifted and who might outstrip the course offerings of most schools before they graduate.</p>

<p>That said, two more thoughts:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>At SAS, there is a kid who is currently a junior who has already “maxed” out the standard math offerings (as a soph). But apparently there was still enough about the school that is appealing that he is still there! Fancy that.</p></li>
<li><p>I would argue that any parents of kids who are true math prodigies (those that have taken Calculus in middle school) are savvy enough about their kids’ education that they are not turning to an anonymous internet forum for advice.</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Finally, my advice on the forum is generally targeted at the average BS applicant…as I think “blanket statement” advice should be.</p>

<p>@ Periwinkle – thank you. I think those are exactly the kinds of questions to be thinking about and it’s hard to find answers. I suspect the asking for names/parents would be more appropriate post-admission, which is months off and possibly never, but it’s hard to figure out which schools would be best for applications without more of a sense of how such things are handled. </p>

<p>@jjs123 – I appreciate your help. This is the kind of information that is really hard to get and useful to hear. One of the biggest questions I have about schools is whether they offer this kind of flexibility and AOs tend to answer something quite generic on how everyone is challenged, rather than specifics about what is available when a student runs out of courses in a particular subject. Very helpful info.</p>

<p>@sevendad – I think it’s very difficult to get a sense of the range of students applying to boarding schools to have any concept of a top 2% or whatever. I can tell you that it would be news to the parents I know that their children are math prodigies for taking calculus in middle school. Perhaps I live in Lake Woebegone. I personally know many kids who have done so, but perhaps it’s an extremely unusual public school system. I don’t think so. The real question for parents of such kids is not whether SAS offers anything worthwhile. I couldn’t agree more that there are many schools with fabulous facilities and wonderful opportunities. But for the kid you mentioned who maxed out math as a sophomore, what does he/she do next? How does SAS provide for that student in math? Does that student have peers to study with or does he/she do independent study with a teacher? It is hard to be the only student in a class.</p>

<p>@kaibab3‌: You do live in Lake Woebegone, my friend. Surely there are no more than a handful of kids in your area that take Calc in middle school…unless perhaps you live in Seoul? </p>

<p>I bet if we polled all BS, there would a significant number of students might not even be getting to BC Calc as seniors! (7D1 took it as a junior, in case you’re curious.) Also, thinking about the SSAT…how many applicants are 99%-ilers on math? By the very definition, wouldn’t it be about 1%?</p>

<p>I think one obvious answer to “what does SCHOOL X” do for “math prodigy kids” (quotes mine, and very intentional) is partner with a local college (perhaps even one of the community variation!) to offer the student the challenge s/he needs. I know that’s what was done with a high school classmate of mine years ago. </p>

<p>I do have a serious, non-snarky question for your neighbors in Lake Woebegone…are their kids “pointy” or “well-rounded”? Additionally, are they scholar-athletes or just scholars?</p>

<p>

Not for the right student; I’m doing it and I’d posit that it would not be an issue for the students that are truly advanced in a subject. That said, there are very, very few students that I’ve encountered that would run into this issue. Certainly in my school, as at others mentioned upthread, the faculty would be very willing to partner with a student to achieve a solution beneficial to the student.</p>

<p>SkiEurope…in your estimation/experience, how many student at your BS take BC Calc (or higher) by senior year? How many reach that level earlier? How many don’t ever take BC Calc (taking AB or other math)?</p>

<p>@SevenDad I’m sure we’re not typical. I would say less than 10% do not reach calculus of some level by senior year or opt not to take it. 5% reach BC as a junior. You could count on your hand the number who made it there before junior year.</p>

<p>It’s a fairly equal split between Calc BC/Calc AB/non-AP Calc, but it’s hard to tell because there are so many course routes between geometry and Calc BC. For example, we offer Calc BC as a one year course or as a four-term sequence after pre-calc, or as a one-term extension after AB. The pre-calc sequence has even more permutations, but you get the idea.</p>

<p>However, I would caution any student/parent to beware of the calculus trap and read [url=&lt;a href=“http://www.artofproblemsolving.com/Resources/articles.php?page=calculustrap]this.[/url”&gt;Don’t Fall into the Calculus Trap]this.[/url</a>]</p>

<p>@ skieurope – not going to disagree with anything Rusczyk says, but it’s precisely programs like AoPS that lead to so many kids being really advanced in math even with time for lots of discrete math and fun outside the standard curriculum before calculus. I like this longer version by someone else much better: <a href=“https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf”>https://www.maa.org/external_archive/devlin/LockhartsLament.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It would help to know where you go to school to get more info from the numbers you estimate above.</p>

<p>Rusczyk states above: If ever you are by far the best, or the most interested, student in a classroom, then you should find another classroom.</p>

<p>So the question is, where is that classroom and is it at boarding school?</p>

<p>I’m with @SevenDad in having a hard time imagining that there’s a huge group of kids out there taking calculus as middle schoolers. But if there are, I think there are plenty of boarding schools out there that are capable of continuing to challenge those kids. Just to take the school I know best, Hotchkiss, kids who have taken BC Calc still have quite a number of math options open to them – AP Statistics, Discrete Mathematics and Topology, Linear Algebra, Multivariable Calculus, Topics in Advanced Mathematics (topics are chosen by students and teacher together, and can be taken for as many semesters as you want), and Independent Study in Mathematics. I don’t know that stats, but I find it extraordinarily difficult to imagine that there are any kids who leave Hotchkiss without feeling pretty satisfied by the math curriculum, no matter how advance they are.</p>

<p>@kaibab3‌ You said</p>

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<p>Maybe not. Couple of questions, though: Why wouldn’t this kid consider skipping a grade or two and perhaps going to college early? You may want to look at high schools that are affiliated with a University, like BUA, where they can draw on the resources of the university and/or take college courses early. And this attracts those types of kids, so there is a larger peer group. BUA is not a boarding school, but you may need to choose what’s more important to you – the boarding school experience or the super-advanced coursework.</p>

<p>And probably before that question: What is the end game? What is the point of racing through the curriculum so quickly? I’d submit that this may be limiting the ultimate career choices, rather than broadening them.</p>

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<p>Given your circumstances, I don’t think it’s premature to speak with parents before application. You may also want to speak to the math department head at any schools you’re considering. The AO should be able to arrange a meeting.</p>

<p>I do think it is very, very unusual for kids to finish AP calculus in middle school. It would actually be discouraged in most schools.</p>

<p>See also Thread inPrep school Admissions section:
Question for current BS students regarding math track…</p>

<p>@kaibab: You’ve hijacked the OP’s thread, but I will give you some perspective from Choate and then say that I’m with @momonymous in questioning whether BS is really what you’re looking for. It sounds like you have an academically “pointy” student which most BS’s will be able to handle, but they are primarily in the game of smoothing out those points. If your student’s “end game” is to go as far as possible in mathematics, why not head toward college early? If it’s to get the full BS experience, then you needn’t be so concerned about the math track as most BS’s that would be interested in an accelerated math student will be able to take him as far as he wants to go.</p>

<p>In Choate’s website words:</p>

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<p>Students who move beyond the curriculum or independent study have opportunities to study at Yale down the road. Not many do.</p>

<p>Ah, skieurope already posted the AoPS link.</p>

<p>I also do not think it’s premature to have parents or alum contact you. I got a call yesterday from a parent from a BS that we haven’t submitted the student profile yet and had a pleasant conversation. I’d also reach out to math department chair at BS before application. </p>

<p>I think if it was my kid who excelled at MathPath summer, had blast at USAJMO MOSP then afterward I’d start homeschooling and find college faculty mentors (I can teach most of college and graduate school math), Stanford online high school and look into early college admission. - But I’d do the above first, that is, see if the kid really enjoys USAJMO and the like. I wouldn’t be looking into BS. Too general. From then on you are basically training an Olympic athlete at 12 (or a kid with significant disability, the same for needing attention.) Parents’ lives revolve around the kid although no commercial endorsement for math exist to build your kid’s arena to privately train in.
(Fortunately mine was not precocious enough to afford this problem. My kid did 98% SSAT math and 76 PSAT math as freshman, average AMC and my hubby does not think he’s gifted in math just merely talented. We’ve both seen truly gifted people in college/graduate school.)
With luck, your kid will be next Terence Tao or more.</p>

<p>@kaibab3 As others have recommended, reach out to the head of math for schools of interest. You can do this before applying to help you decide whether to apply. You might coordinate the contact with the admissions office or reach out directly as a prospective parent.</p>

<p>Thanks much for the thoughts and apologies to OP for the evolving change in topic. </p>

<p>@kaibab3 You might find this post informative.
<a href=“Question for current BS parents/students regarding math track... - #12 by 2prepMom - Prep School Parents - College Confidential Forums”>Question for current BS parents/students regarding math track... - #12 by 2prepMom - Prep School Parents - College Confidential Forums;