Thank you for suggesting Wesleyan. It sounds like it may be an excellent fit for my shy and sheltered kid.
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I agree with UMN as a safety with an excellent Math dept. UMN has hosted an accelerated math program for middle and high school students since at least the 1980s, and many continue with UMN as undergrads. Also plenty of board games! About UMTYMP
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Yale takes the same approach as Princeton. Pre-reqs seem to be suggestions, and undergrads are happily welcomed to graduate courses.
Also agree about the time required to complete p-sets. It sounded brutal to me, but I am not a math person.
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Sorry to repeat a question but it wasnāt answered. Perhaps Iām naive.
OP. - you stated your student has taken undergrad and grad math classes since 7th grade.
Wouldnāt they have an academic mentor steering them bcuz thatās not the norm. If someone has a 13 year old in their class, thereās gonna be aā mentoring thing through the school. Theyād sort of be a protege. And wouldnāt the student already have credits within the discipline ?
An 8th grader taking undergrad or 10th taking grad classesā¦.weāre not talking dual enrollment. Is your student home schooled ? Are these classes at a college ? If so which ? In person ??
what am I missing here ?
Thanks.
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I also think if the classes are not done rigorously, doing all the homework assigned at a place like MIT and having it properly graded with feedback etc, the student will be well served by doing them again.
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See posts 46 and 55 of this thread.
Basically, it looks like the student is in a specialized high school for math-advanced students where they can take high school courses on what is ordinarily advanced undergraduate and graduate level material.
So not transferable college courses, but the student would benefit from a math department that will recommend appropriate placement based on what the student knows (possibly by placement exam) rather than requiring the student to repeat already known material.
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Ok. I see. I missed that. I kept honing in on the first post which talked about undergrad and grad since 7th grade. So theyāre not actual college classes.
Iām with @neela1 kids think they are in college level classes and it might be college material but the depth and pace will be far different, even at colleges below the highest level. Both my kids experienced this and had to retake classes they aced on AP. They should have listened. At School of Mines, the student panel said - if you got AP credits in math or science (STEM majors), leave the credits and take the class again. They were right.
Both my kids WD although only one a STEM major.
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I do not agree that students should automatically repeat advanced material that they learned in high school (AP credit or otherwise), since that can be a boring waste of time and tuition. Rather, they should find out how well they actually know the material by the collegeās standards before making a placement decision. For fairly common courses, old final exams can often be used to make this evaluation. For less standardized courses, it may require consulting with the department faculty to determine which courses are the best match in context of what the student knows and is ready for.
Unlike your kids, many students do move on and do well in more advanced math courses after 5 scores in AP calculus.
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I was told a couple of years ago that an eastern european student who is a multiple time IMO gold medalist took an introductory complex analysis course, got a B+, and said he was humbled :-).
Just restating what the student panel advised.
Iām not them.
In my kidās casesā¦especially my sonā¦he should have listened.
Of course there are many ways a scenario could play out.
Retaking classes is highly dependent on the student and their background. DS was recommended to retake classes but decided to not do that. He tested out of Linear Algebra (taken in HS) but as GT restricts testing out he had to retake Multivariable (also taken in HS). He had the highest avg of the profās two classes and never went to the lectures. He did do all the homework as it was graded.
He feels there are 3-4 other math classes he could test out of but GT does not allow this.
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@tsbna44: sorry for the delay in answering your questions! My son attends a small private high school for kids who love math. They offer a range of college and graduate level math classes, for 2 hours each day, taught by wonderful PhD teachers. At his school, he is one of the more advanced math students, but several other students have won prestigious math competitions or have other impressive ECs. So heās not particularly special at his school. His school wants the students to take the lead in the college application process, and I support that approach in theory, but my son is overwhelmed with the application process and has not been great about seeking guidance from his counselors. (I think his true preference would be to never leave this high school, which he LOVES.) And, at least so far, the school has not offered advice re: specific schools (although Iāve asked), except for suggesting Rice. So, to deal with my growing anxiety about the process, Iāve turned to this wonderful community.
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Ok. Makes sense. My guess is and I could be wrong. Thereās probably 50+ schools that could meet his need. But itās more than the academics. Itās maturity. Itās love of large or small. Sports or not Itās distance if thatās a concern. Weather. Ethnic makeup. Food quality if thatās important. Single vs double room etc. you mentioned board games. Certainly at large schools youāll find. But yea most are video people.
On your visits, definitely set up meetings with a math dean or top prof. You can reach out directly or often admissions can set it up.
Thanks for clarifying.
Iām surprised they wouldnāt help kids guidance wise. And it could be overwhelming.
Common app opens soon. For those on itā¦not UCā¦.fill out and work on the essay. Getting things out of the way b4 school will make life easier. And find the two teachers (different subjects) who will write great recs.
Also list his ECs. You say not strong. But has he done any serviceā¦walked dogs Meals on wheels. Volunteered at church. Part time job. Anything ? To list out what heās done will get you organized. Quality over quantity.
Good luck
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If your son is attending a small private school and loves it, then even a small college might be a big jump for him. One school that Iām not sure has been mentioned is St. Olaf in Minnesota. It has a concentration in pure math and has sent a disproportionate number of students on for math PhDs (based on the overall size of the school). There is also an inter-registration agreement with Carleton that allows students to take one course/semester at the other school (details here).
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Another option might be to attend a good uni, power through it quickly and then go to get your PhD. My son had a friend that was very good in math. Not USAMO level but highly advanced. He attended UNC and had numerous AP credits, etc so he graduated in two years and is now getting his PhD in math at UCLA. Interesting approach.
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My math oriented son, from a public hs which only offered through multivariable, will be a sophomore at Wesleyan this fall. Last year he completed linear algebra, multivariable (he did not try to skip - was an easy repeat, but was much more proof based than in hs), Discrete Math and an Independent study math project on knot theory with a graduate school mentor. As a first semester sophomore he will be taking Real Analysis and Complex Algebra. Advanced undergraduates are allowed to start graduate level courses and a fifth year tuition free masters program is available along with a PhD program. His interest is currently split between math, physics and computer science, all 3 heavy in math and theory. Even this early in his college career he has been able to be involved in on-campus research, received a department award, presented a graduate level independent study project and was offered a TA position for the Fall.
Wes has a small intense STEM university in the middle of the liberal arts college where STEM kids are pushed and challenged. There are minimal general education requirements that must be met to graduate with honors or triple major. There is a large board game club that meets weekend nights along with clubs for D&D etc, but my son has gravitated more toward the club sports on campus.
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This is extremely helpful detailed information about Wesleyan, which had not been on our radar before I posted. Thanks so much ā we will investigate!
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Have you looked at Harvey Mudd?
(Parent of a kid who is very into pure/theoretical math. Had been doing undergrad research as a HS student in conjunction with the local CSU and Cal.)
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This is one of the options my son is considering. Power through and then do the PhD.
We absolutely loved HMC and everything we learned about it. Unfortunately, son made the alternate list (waitlist) but did not make it further. He has 7 āyearsā of math (starting with Calc BC in 9th) and high stats/pretty full resume, but was not accepted. However, if you can go there, the program sounds absolutely amazing and has incredible opportunities for the students there.
My son, after a very rough application season, ended up committing to UCSC. The math department has been very communicative and sounds like he has the option to either graduate very early, do a double-major, or do their bachelors and masters program combined in 4 years (or less?) If he finishes early, he currently aims to apply to a PhD program at one of the more well-known math programs for that level. Incidentally, my son loves complex board games 
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