My Little Brother

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey. I am currently a senior in high school, and my little brother is in the eighth grade. I was helping him with his high school plans, and I really want to him to utilize all the opportunities that I missed out on/passed me by. For this reason, I have come here asking the CC community's thoughts on where to begin in high school and what things to do. </p>

<p>For instance, I was unsure of whether or not he should take the SAT/ACT so he can qualify for CTD, CTY, or EPGY (or even if it is too late). I am planning on purchasing him the Art of Problem Solving Volume 1 for math competitions like AMC, and I know AoPS offers math courses through their website. Are these something I should look into for him? The local math center is upwards of an hour away (ICAE, you can google idk how to hyperlink), and since it will just be him and my mom after I leave that won't really be an option for him. We don't have a math circle either. Some competitions like USAPhO and USAChO he can self-study, although this is quite ambitious I think he should atleast try them. To be honest, there are so many things to consider I'm lost as to how to guide him. </p>

<p>For reference, he is a very bright kid (although I don't admitting it :P). He pulls all As, is a very avid and astute writer, and is also very versed in world affairs and pop culture. He is also an avid reader. I just feel like he is not fully applying himself, and I want to see him do better than I did. The middle school he attends (I also attended there) has no math club or science club/olympiad, and he could start them but I don't know if there will be enough kids or a teacher to sponsor it.</p>

<p>And one last thing. My dad works in Saudi Arabia, and since I am leaving at the end of this school year my family is thinking of having him attend the international high school there (only 1 year old) if they move there. My sister currently goes to Michigan State University, and she will be a junior next year, and if I go there as well my parents are thinking of just having us buy an apartment and he could live with us and attend high school here in Michigan. I understand this sounds really sketchy, which is why I'm asking if going to a young, international school would skew his chances here at American universities, because he really wants to stay here. </p>

<p>Thanks for reading this post. Any help is greatly appreciated! My bad as well if this is in the wrong forum. I originally posted this in the High School forum and I then moved it here.</p>

2

<p>Don’t think going to an international school for a year would be bad at all. Living in E. Lansing with you and your sister might work out well. Nice town. I expect with all the profs children in the area the public schools there are good. </p>

<p>Your brother sounds like he’d end up at MSU or UM.
Are you IS or OOS?</p>

<p>If your brother lives with you and your sister, I would expect someone has to have guardianship of him? Something to look into. </p>

<p>Your brother may well benefit form living close to the university as he can likely take courses there while in HS which will supplement his HS curriculum and his transcript!</p>

<p>(Former MSU grad here for both B.A. and M.A. - OOS. Great place to go to school!)</p>

3

<p>CTY is a wonderful experience for a bright kid, especially one who’s good in math-related things (the humanities offerings are somewhat less exciting). It’s not only academically challenging, but it’s tons of fun socially. My son’s closest friends in high school were from CTY-Lancaster, where he attended for three summers. We encouraged him to take a lot of computer science because it wasn’t offered at his high school, and didn’t really think at the time that the academic component of the program mattered much. However, when he got to college my son found he could go straight into the upper-level cs courses and do very well. </p>

<p>If he’s interested, your bro should sign up to take the SAT in December. He can take it later, but until he has a qualifying score he’s not eligible to enroll in CTY. Some classes fill quickly, so he might get shut out of his top choices if he delays.</p>

4

<p>sure, he can always retake the sat later. try the TIP program too</p>

5

<p>Thank you very much for the responses. I am an instate student at Michigan. My sister will turn 21 the month before my brother’s freshman year, so I think she will be able to assume guardianship, and my parents would be willing to give it to her. </p>

<p>I had not previously thought about taking courses at Michigan State, so thank you very much for bringing that up. </p>

<p>I will discuss this with my parents.</p>