Need help to make decision for high school math course selection.

<p>If your focus is on what will make a difference for college then choice 1 (Calc in 11th grade) will be considered as that most advanced track available. There is little to no benefit from taking Stats in 11th grade and I agree with those that suggest that taking a year off between calc in 10th and multivariate calc in 12 is not a good idea.</p>

<p>To DataAnalysis
Thank you so much for your analysis. My daughter passion is writing. The major reason for my daughter wants to take choice 2 is peer pressure. She is highly motivated.</p>

<p>Yes, I really concern what will make a difference for college. Even through, choice 1 will be considered as most advanced track available. But how about there are a hand full of students will take choice 2 in her high school? College will compare you with the other students in your high school. Getting in to a college IS in fact about comparisons. This worry really bothers me.</p>

<p>To MIThopeful16,
You are right. Her teacher told our parents that we should balance academically and ECs, balance challenge and burn out. But this is my first time as a high school mom, the trick is I do not know what is there in high school, how could I figure out to what extend will cause burn out. I just want to her to reach full potential.</p>

<p>I got a 670 on the SAT I math section and less than 15 on the AMC 8 as an 8th grader while taking Algebra 1.</p>

<p>Now, I’m taking linear algebra (soon, multivariable calculus) as a junior and am confident of qualifying for AIME, and probably doing decently on the AIME itself.</p>

<p>If your daughter is motivated and works hard, it is likely she will do well in the 2nd track. If she’s not that interested and she’s sure she’s not going to regret it, then the first track should be fine for nearly all purposes.</p>

<p>cherryli2015: You are correct in noting that 720 is not a very high score. Nevertheless, I believe the second sequence would be in your daughter’s best interests. Calculus is very easy; I, personally, skipped pre-calculus entirely after deeming the curriculum useless and simply took calculus in my 10th year of high school. In fact, I regret that I did not do so even earlier, because calculus is a very easy subject. Now, I am working on multivariable calculus and it is similarly easy. I do not believe your daughter will have any trouble with the second sequence.</p>

<p>A 720 is indeed ridiculous good for an 8th grader. She is more than qualified to take the most advanced sequence, but it is still ultimately up to her willingness to do the extra work. I personally don’t think that she will struggle or that Pre-Calculus will be much more rigorous than Algebra II. </p>

<p>Regardless of which options she chooses, her choice will have 0 effect on college admissions. The first option is already extremely advanced. The vast majority of college-bound high school students end up in Pre-Calculus or Calculus AB during their Senior year. A small fraction take Calculus BC by the end of the Senior year. A tiny fraction goes to Multivariable Calculus or beyond.</p>

<p>cherryli2015: I believe your daughter should enroll in the most accelerated mathematics sequence possible in order to enable her to take advanced mathematics courses at a local university or college after she is finished with the high school’s curriculum. It is important to show high rank colleges that your daughter has the academic ability to succeed at those colleges. In fact, the highest course at my school has seniors taking Differential Equations, and even for those students the process is highly competitive.</p>

<p>Here’s a question that I don’t think anyone has asked: </p>

<p>What does your DAUGHTER want to take? She is in school, not you. All of those tracks are very rigorous and would not be the make or break between a very selective school.</p>

<p>Based on your description of her, your daughter and I are very similar. I think you (as her parent) should help her identify the pros and cons of each path (without influencing her) and allow her to come to the decision that’s right for her based on all of the factors-her other classes, ec schedule, the fact that she’s a human being, etc. </p>

<p>To allay a few of your concerns, adcoms are making comparisons; however, since the theoretical “most rigorous” at your d’s school is the first option and the second is more advanced, I think the colleges will see the second path as “above and beyond.” Second, if you’re not confident that your daughter will do well on the second path and the first one is still considered the “most rigorous,” maybe the first would be better. As long as she’s still taking a very challenging plan, I think her specific grades will be important. In addition, she has very strong interests in other subjects, so her math curriculum should not prevent her from participating in other activities and taking other challenging classes. If, for example, she has to sacrifice AP Language because she’s too busy working on AP Calc every night, she’s not helping herself. And, on the subject of helping herself, remember that she still needs a few hours every night for sleep (some people say that it’s good for you :D). </p>

<p>I remember planning my ninth grade classes, and while it’s challenging, the one thing I’ve learned throughout high school is that, if you want to get somewhere, you can find your way there. A lot of my friends began on easier math tracks than the ones on which they’ll graduate; some people took summer school once (or more than once) to get someplace else. </p>

<p>I know that it’s difficult to be a first-time high school parent. I’m the oldest, so my parents were in that position with me. My advice-based on what I’ve seen with my friends-is that the best schedules are the ones with the most balance. If you think your daughter will be more comfortable with the first math track (which, for the record, is still quite rigorous), I think it’s worth it. There is something to be said for balance. </p>

<p>Feel free to send me a private message if you have questions. I have quite a few stories about premature burnout and people not achieving at their fullest due to overload. </p>

<p>I wish you and your daughter all the best. :)</p>

<p>There is definitely something to be said for not overloading with subjects you aren’t interested in. Most of my classes this year are not particularly interesting to me, but since some of the AP classes are quite time-consuming, I’m either too tired or don’t have enough time to participate much in what I’m really interested in. If she would rather be writing than doing math, and the higher level math courses at your school are known to be quite time-consuming for the non-"genius"es, then the first track may be a better choice.</p>

<p>

Lol. Bull. 720 is an excellent score for an 8th grader.</p>

<p>I scored higher than that on a practice exam when I was an 8th grader. I was one year younger than the rest of the 8th graders, too.</p>

<p>Please note that you are likely in the top ~0.5% (and probably an even smaller proportion) of students in terms of math ability. This girl may or may not be, but the point is that it is a very good score in comparison to how almost any other eighth grader could do on the SAT math section.</p>

<p>Just because you could do better doesn’t mean it’s not a good score.</p>

<p>@Kironide Just because you spend all your time studying and obsessing over studying, doesn’t mean you should force your own attitude on another kid. Kironide’s attitude will only limit cherryli2015’s daughter socially and holistically. Colleges like the whole applicant, and course load is just one part of it.</p>

<p>@cherryli2015: 720 is well above national average for an 8th grader, and should improve greatly by the time she’s an 11th grader and will start thinking about colleges. Don’t worry about it. If anything, she should focus on 1) getting off to a strong start in her classes, 2) trying out some extracurricular activities (and then picking a few to commit to by next year), and 3) maybe later focusing on the other two parts of the SAT. And for that, I recommend the first option. </p>

<p>Pre-caculus for a 9th grader is way above average. and you should take the easier course NOT because she might not be able to handle the difficult track but INSTEAD to get off to a good transition into high school. </p>

<p>P.S. Kironide, I’m Chinese too and in my unbiased opinion, I find your assumption that Chinese people have “genes” that make them more intelligent to be racist and offensive.</p>

<p>She seems to be able to handle herself well in mathematics… take the second course, she’ll essentially learn what she needs, just at a faster rate; which will come in handy when it’s time for college.</p>

<p>Don’t listen to kiro. She’s a stereotypical Asian. Is that what your child to become?</p>

<p>I hereby nominate this thread for the “Most Asian Thread Ever” award.</p>

<p>Ok, seriously, it may be in you daughter’s best interest not to take the highest mathematics available, because, at least at my school, those classes tend to conflict with the highest histories and languages, due to the lack of overlap. You need to bear in mind that classes have limited availibility, and if she’s applying as a creative writing major, most colleges couldn’t care less if she had multi-variable calculus in her curriculum. They want to see success, sure, but they also don’t expect you to have taken every advanced course in every area, otherwise you WILL NOT have time for EC’s. It simply will not work for her, and a strong EC collection matters much, much more than having Multi-calc vs. Calc BC. </p>

<p>Also, please bear in mind that 720 is higher than over 90% of high school seniors, let alone 8th graders, so she is plenty advanced. Schools, obviously don’t want to overadmit from any given area, but at the same time, you really need to bear in mind that having amazing English curriculum will differentiate her much more than amazing Math, because, to be brutally honest, there are a heck of a lot of people who are good at math, but very, very few are truly talented at English. If your daughter has a gift in that area, she should have every possible opportunity to explore it. </p>

<p>Remember, you said it yourself, your daughter isn’t the best 8th grader at math in your area, but she may well be the best writer. And that can easily be the ticket to an Ivy education.</p>

<p>Kironide, I seriously can’t tell whether you’re being serious.</p>

<p>Seconding bpsbgs. A lot of my friends had to decide between AP French/Spanish and AP Calc/Stat.</p>