@4kids4us St Mary’s is on my D’s list as the sole school represent the northeastern us. Ha! Have you visited? I’d love any vibe or info. We’ll try to make our way there sometime over the summer, but summer never tells the whole picture.
@fencingmom Is it typical that kids take both AB Calc as well as BC Calc? They don’t do that at our HS, and I can see where that would be viewed by an adcom as LESS rigorous than AP Comp Sci, since she may be repeating material.
@bigmacbeth Yes, it is. I think BC after AB is also a bit redundant in some ways, but that’s the sequence at her school. We trust the college counselor and will probably defer with whatever they say. I am rooting for Comp Sci!
@lkg4answers I think she would be able to explain it. Her A’s in all her math classes thus far allude to the fact that the rigor is not an issue. So it’s just interest in having breadth, especially in light of what’s on the horizon (college!!) and her uncertainty about her field of interest.
I will do some research on CC and elsewhere about the AP Comp Science class, to see if it’s worth it.
@fencingmom My dd has taught herself how to code. If your dd is interested, I recommend Python for Absolute Beginners and Java in 24 hrs: Sams Teach Yourself. Both are easy for self-teaching.
@milgymfam I haven’t been to St. Mary’s College since I went to a camp there when I was in high school. It’s in a picturesque little town, but it’s as far south as you can go in the state of MD, about an hour and 45 mins from DC and about two hours from where I live. It’s very small but considered a “private school atmosphere at a public college price.” It has a great reputation for anyone looking at small schools. Two of my neighbors have sons who are seniors and love it. Other than that, I have no personal experience. It was too small for D17 and S19 so we didn’t consider it, but I certainly would have if either was interested. I’m not sure what it would be like to visit in the summer - if they still run camps there, it might have more high schoolers on campus than actual students.
Is our HS the only one that excludes AP Stats as part of the math sequence? Our HS graduation requirement is 4 years of Math (regardless of level) and, oddly, AP stats does not qualify.
Edit: I do agree BC Calc would be considered more rigor than AP CS, which I believe is considered one of the easy APs. But I think CS is fun and everyone should know a little about it!
@whataboutcollege It doesn’t matter how the HS categorizes Stats, it matters what the colleges consider it. Back in the day Stats was considered a Social Science, and may still be by some schools…
Our district requirement is 3 years mandatoryor until you reach a 300 level math class which 300 is an algebra 2 like class. Its part of the sequence sort of. Basically it’s a class taken after or with BC. At our school it’s 95% seniors with a few eager juniors taking 2 math classes. You can actually take it with Trig/calc A, which can be sophomore year and after Algebra 2, but I don’t know of anyone who has done that.
I would pull up the requirements for each college to see what they recommend under “Admissions” for math. I have seen it worded as “4 years”, “1 class beyond Algebra 2” with a list of what counts, # of credits, etc. UofSC actually recommends all students have a year of computer science, but it is not required.
The normal sequence at our school is Calc AB before Calc BC. Both are full year classes, the AP scores are high and many of those students go to very competitive STEM programs and/or selective colleges. The teacher pretty much weeds out those with other goals at the pre-Calc level. YMMV.
@Cheeringsection I’m sure the Calc BC scores are high with so much repeat material. 
HELP hoping to get advice ASAP. D20’s school is offering the SAT tomorrow for free. She did really well on her December test so decided she didn’t want to take it and was just going to take a mental health day. I told her she should probably check with the counselor about that but she insisted that wasn’t necessary… Well I just noticed on her College Board account that she has been registered for it. I assume the school just registered all the kids?? SOOO I am guessing she is going to have to go take it when she has totally not prepared herself? Or what happens if she just skips it. Would then a score just not register or would it somehow look like a ding. UGH I knew I should have emailed the counselor but was letting her take the lead on all of this as I didn’t care one way or another what she did.
@lkim10 Some kids don’t want to take it at our HS. Was she planning to stay home from school? She can always take it and then ‘cancel’ the score within a certain time period (1 day?) if she doesn’t want to worry about her score (I think). Our school gets money from the state based on how many take it, so it is kind of bogus if a kid just decides not to take it, but I assume that’s an option…kids do get sick. Not sure how they do make-ups for that, though. Or she can just bite the bullet and take it, and get a score.
Ok well google has helped me relax a bit. Looks like if you skip a test the scores just don’t get recorded or anything so I guess she should be good not going? there is no way she would do well when she has been sure she isn’t taking it up to now, less than 12 hours before the start of the test.
@lkim10 Is this SAT required for graduation by the high school ? If yes, then the kids that are sick/absent will have to take it next time that it is offered. Some high schools remove the requirement if the student already has taken the test but some others do not and the student will have to take it at the school at some point. But if you register and do not show up I do not think it shows up at your record as people get sick, have emergencies etc. I think the problem will be with your high school and if it is a mandatory requirement or not.
@ikim10 I am pretty sure that if your D20 doesn’t show up, the college board will not score the SAT at all so there will not be a score report at all. I don’t think she should take it if she is not prepared.
@fencingmom My D19 has taken both AP Comp Sci classes. Just be aware that some universities give no credit for Principles, but do give course credit for A. I believe D19 liked Principles more, but that may be mostly due to the fact that there was a teacher for that class, whereas Comp Sci A was online (at her school, other schools may be different).
Re: math sequence…My kids are in a small private, college prep school (though not as super rigorous as some of the other New England prep schools). The typical honors sequence is 9-Geometry, 10-Algebra II, 11-Pre-Calc, and 12-AP Calc (AB or BC). D19 followed that sequence. D20 is more advanced in math and her sequence was 9-Algebra II, 10-Pre-Calc + AP Stats, 11-AP Calc BC, 12 will be Linear Algebra.
This HS is seeing more and more advanced math students, so they are adding classes after AP Calc BC. In D19’s grade, there were 2 students who took AP Calc in 11th, in D20 there are 5-7 (can’t recall), and there are a couple of 10th graders taking AP Calc this year. So the school added Multivariable Calc and Linear Algebra, alternating each year. Next year will be Linear Algebra.
I’ve always heard that students are evaluated in the context of their own school. So, if their school doesn’t offer the more advanced math classes, then the students wouldn’t be expected to go beyond what the school offers.
Thanks. There is no SAT requirement for graduation. They have to pass the state test that she all ready passed sophomore year. I am now feeling badly that we didn’t contact the school to let them know but it looks like as far as SAT/college stuff goes it shouldn’t count for anything. Yes she was going to stay home sick for the day.
At our HS the kids had to notify the counselor in advance or make up the test on another date. I would call in this morning.
So D20 started with over 50 schools on her list and has gotten it down to 34. Woo hoo! Now to try to cut that in half at least.
The struggle is real.
@AlwaysLearn do you guys have a hard stop number or will she be able to apply to as many as she wants? For D19 the hard stop number was 12, but for D20 I would’ve gone higher than that because of dance if she wanted/needed to. Since only five schools really meet all of her needs, I know she’s got a natural cap- and I feel lucky about that now. Whether or not it stays feeling that way will depends on her results, I think. Ha.