<p>Hello! I'm totally new to this whole thinking about college thing, as well as this board. D is a sophmore this year and I'd like to know a few things that will really make a difference for her later on. </p>
<p>She excels in math and science. She's on the honors/AP track for these subjects, as well as others. For math, which track is better or does it matter: AP statistics versus AP calculus?</p>
<p>Also, what would be your single most important piece of advice for a parent of a bright, talented, but MySpace-obsessed sophmore?</p>
<p>AP Calc. If it's possible, have your daughter double up on math during junior or senior year, with AP Stat as the second math. If it's not possible, stay on the AP Calc track. Some colleges do have a Calc requirement, depending on the selectivity and the major. </p>
<p>
[quote]
Also, what would be your single most important piece of advice for a parent of a bright, talented, but MySpace-obsessed sophmore?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't really know. Be supportive. And have her switch to Facebook? :)</p>
<p>Definitely Calculus ... Stats is useful but not required whereas Calc is required in a wide array of college majors. Even if she doesn't use it for college credit, having that background is invaluable when she takes it the second time in college.</p>
<p>Thanks! That was my hunch too, but being a non-math type I wasn't really sure. I'll try to nudge her in the direction of doubling up, but she may rebel.</p>
<p>Almost every school ( the only exception I can think of is Caltech that gives no AP credits at all) will give credit for a 5 on Calc BC, and many do not give any credit for AP Stats.</p>
<p>One advice I'd give is to have all standardized test taken (and, if needed, retaken) by the end of junior year. First semester of senior year is stressful enough (and busy enough) without them.</p>
<p>i guess it differs from high school to high school and teacher to teacher, but some kids I know who took Stats as a double-up actually found 1) stats to be interesting, and 2) not as difficult as they thought it would be in terms of the doubled up math load. If possible, have your daughter talk to the upperclassmen who doubled up and find out how that experience went.</p>
<p>One other thing, if your daughter is planning (or has to) to take the SAT 2 Math, whether Level1 or Level 2, then Data Analysis, Statistics, and Probability is one of the areas. Just something to keep in mind. </p>
<p>Calc as other are saying. You never mentioned your target schools. But you really only have this year and next to get her set, senior year she has to maintain, but ED or EA and even RD will be fixed fall of senior year. So perhaps cut MySpace time for some EC's and/or Athletics if she has a sport she can leverage.</p>
<p>She doesn't really have any target schools yet. I guess I should have clarified we're beyond new to this. She'll be the first in our family to go to college, so it's very exciting, but very overwhelming too. Thank you for the suggestions so far!!</p>
<p>If she is truly "wired" for the math and sciences and thinks that she might go into a field that she will use those, definately AP Calc, Chemistry and Physics. There is a huge drive with many scholarships given for women in the Engineering fields. This could mean anything from Environmental Engineering, Renewable and Sustainable Energy to Mechanical and Electrical.</p>
<p>Bio-Medical Engineering is also huge and those AP courses with good results on the AP tests can be very helpful in eliminating the entry level science and math courses on the college level, hence being able to go into the more interesting courses immediately. </p>
<p>It can also help to gain entry into an honors college within the University and that can result in some nice scholarship monies, honors housing, and the ability to enroll for classes before the other students on the campus.</p>
<p>All things to think about as you prepare for a very busy 2 years.</p>
<p>Good Luck on your journey, and remember, no question is too silly to ask on CC and if you are reluctant to ask on a public forum, feel free to send a PM to anyone here. It can provide a wealth of knowledge and a great amount of anxiety relief to just be able to muddle through all of this :)</p>
<p>Thank you, thank you! So much great info!! </p>
<p>She does plan on taking AP Physics. She already completed regular physics and loved it, but I'm not sure about the chemistry. She took regular chemistry freshman year and hated it. Actually, I think she hated the teacher. I believe she's planning on AP Biology, though.</p>
<p>I didn't even know about all of the SAT subject tests. Yikes! So much to think about.</p>
<p>Calculus - yes. Single best piece of advice - help her to find something she's truly passionate about and facilitate her in throwing herself into it wholeheartedly. Don't have her do it to build a resume for college (though it will certainly help in that regard), encourage her to do it for the experience of becoming excited about new things and learning the sheer joy of indulging those passions. The very best college resumes are those that were built for other reasons than college applications.</p>
<p>I did recently make this suggestion to her, and what she came up with is starting what she is calling the Rhythm Club. So I thought this was a great idea, since she plays drum and that's what she loves. However, she and her friend plan on playing Rock Band and Dance Dance Revolution. Not sure how impressive that will be. Oh, well, it's a start :)</p>
<p>Okay and now to be a bit of a downer....the most important piece of advice I could offer is to be very aware of finances. Every year there are posts from kids who get into schools but then cannot afford them.<br>
The time to sit with your daughter and figure out what you can reasonably afford is now. She can then apply to some schools with are a safety and may offer merit money, some which are a match and some which are a reach.
When looking at schools, go to their websites and determine which meet 100% of need.</p>
<p>Agreed that if she is wired for math, AP Calc is a "given." On the other hand if she's wired for math AP stats might be a "gimme," so she might consider doing both. My humanities kid took this route senior year :D (I thought she was crazy, but things worked out and made sense to her...YMMV)</p>
<p>That is very good advice. A good friend of ours let her kid apply to Georgetown, got accepted, but couldn't afford it. I think that's almost worse than not getting in.</p>
<p>The best advice I ever gleaned from CC was to build the college list from the "bottom up" so your daughter knows that there are one or two colleges/universities that she can easily get into, afford, and WILL ENJOY ATTENDING. </p>
<p>To me, that means that even if she has the grades and SAT scores to be accepted into the most selective schools, start your search lower down so she can have an opportunity to find something very attractive about one or two "safeties" before she starts looking at "reaches" and gets lured into love with one of them. </p>
<p>Look at the thread on "merit aid" colleges in the Parents Forum (I think it's fourth or fifth from the top) and check out the website for Colleges That Change Lives. Look at state universities for unique programs and honors colleges.</p>
<p>WEll with both of mine now in college, I will give some advice.. to summarize what has been said that I found valuable</p>
<ol>
<li>take -at least first time SAT/ACT by end of Junior-if possible</li>
<li>Take most advanced courses possible- I would agree with AP Calc</li>
<li>Bottom up--Pick and LOVE a safety</li>
<li>BE honest about finances. Tell your kid, 'ok you are growing up here is our financial situation..'</li>
<li>Listen to your child--if they love a school, that they get into, let them, it is about them , not us --as parents (except finances)</li>
<li>Sometimes Financial Aid applications are separate from the real application</li>
<li>Try and visit some schools during or after junior year</li>
<li>Dont rob your kids of HS, work behind the scenes--if you can-- to prep a little and nudge; whiel they 'do' HS</li>
</ol>
<p>that is my stream of conciousness for the the evenig</p>
<p>Have her take the PSAT this fall with the juniors - she will have to ask her school counselor to register. This will give her an idea of where she stands in a national comparison, and she will get on mailing lists for a lot of schools.</p>
<p>Visit the nearest college for some performance, sport or political event. Let her soak up the atmosphere for a little while. Visit a few college websites together and look at what they offer in math and science. </p>
<p>By the end of the school year, she should have at least be thinking about college. But it is junior year when the hard work starts.</p>
<p>In case the landslide in favor of the Calc (if she has to choose and won't do the Stats as well) is not yet definitive, I will add my voice. When she gets to college, if she will pursue the math/science arena, she will find that calculus-based physics separates the "real" science types from the other non-calc based physics takers. Calc-based physics will be a prereq for other courses.</p>
<p>Now, this may not be true if she goes a more biol/chem route in college... but I don't think you'd want to assume that now.</p>