My S has planned his senior year schedule (AP French, AP Physics C, AP Econ/AP Gov, TA @ Physics H) assuming he will take a Linear Algebra or MultiVar Calc at one of the local CCs concurrently over the summer and in the fall (and will still have time for college apps and essay writing). However, thanks to the combined bureaucratic efforts of those CCs and his school, he not only wasn’t able to take anything over the summer, but also is out of any math (or alternatively CS) courses for the fall. He is quite upset because he really wanted to take those math courses and I am worried about how it will look like on his college app. Without that college math in summer and especially in the fall his schedule looks really light and “lazy” and he cannot do anything about it now.
If there is a choice, we would try to avoid any online courses because we are pretty sure it’s a poor choice for him - he must have people around to concentrate (yes, that’s the opposite of how most people work but still…).
His schedule is AP-heavy but it’s just 4 periods/day and there is no math. He didn’t take AP Stats at school thinking he will take something more interesting in the CC and hence this mess.
We still hope he will be able to take some math in the spring, though.
We try to avoid online courses due to his study style but if all else fails that will be an option of course.
My son is in a similar situation, and is taking Discrete Structures (often called Discrete Math) at the local CC this semester. MultiVar and LinearAlg usually have an evening section, but there is none this semester.
Discrete Structures is offered through the Computer Science department, but has 1st semester calculus as its prerequisite. It has a lot of topics that are interesting to him. We are in California, and the CC class transfers to UCs as a math credit. We also got the high school to accept it as a math class based on that being what the UC system treats it as.
The implication is that he exhausted the high school math offerings (calculus BC), so it won’t necessarily look that bad in math. Seems like he is in AP level of a language, a science, and social studies. What about English, or has he already taken AP English language and literature or college English composition courses?
Yes, discrete math, if available at the CCs, would be useful for a prospective CS major. AP statistics or a college statistics course may also be a consideration. Or electives in various other subjects, if there are any of interest that he has not taken.
It does sound like he has already taken AP Calculus, in which case the universities shouldn’t mind that he doesn’t have a math class senior year. My daughter also completed AP Calculus BC as a Junior and had no math class senior year, and she got in pretty much everywhere she applied to including an Ivy, with many scholarship offers. It was not an issue at all.
If he wants to keep sharp in math or learn new things, he can participate in math clubs/competitions, or take math, computational modeling, statistics or programming courses for free on www.Coursera.org. That would not show up on his transcript, but he could mention it somewhere on an application if it was appropriate and related to his intended major.
He could also take an elective or two. How many classes are customary at his school? To me the small number of classes seems more worrisome than the lack of math, which can easily be explained by the GC–“Student exhausted the math offerings at school and due to schedule conflicts was not able to enroll in CC math classes.”
Is it possible to take a different math class at the CC’s? The discrete math mentioned above, or what about stats, if he is unable to schedule that at his school?
He does take Brit Lit (no AP here - he is very bad at writing) which makes it 5 periods. Still, at his school 6-7 periods is the norm (extremely competitive public HS) so yes, small number of classes is the main problem. Unfortunately, he cannot add any school classes now - he could only do it in April and (if he is lucky and there are spots) the day before the school started.
The main problem with all local CCs is that nearly all their classes (or at least those of any use) are overloaded and even regular students have a hard time getting all their courses when needed. Add to it that scores of kids from the local ambitious schools compete for the same spots in the same classes (mostly higher level math).
I believe the whole concurrent enrolment thing is a huge joke! They register school kids last after every imaginable category. The registration requires GC’s signature which takes at least a couple of days and GCs refuse to sign for more than one class option at a time. As a result, a kid who didn’t get in the few available spots in the desired class on the first try is guaranteed to be out of class spot for nearly all alternatives. I just wish their GCs would do a better job coordinating with local CCs or at least warning the kids of these difficulties!
As for my S, we will consider something online or, alternatively, I was thinking maybe a tutoring job (or volunteering as a tutor).
Are you south of the equator? You say he can’t add classes until April…by then, here, the school year would be ending. OR does his senior year begin September 2016?
If he won’t be a senior until September 2016, you have lots of time to find another course for him to take.
Is this an international student, or a U.S. Citizen?
If he has to go the online route, I recommend the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth. My son took an online calculus class through them last year and we appreciated the good communication and helpfulness of his assigned teacher, even though we are on the other coast. It was rigorous enough that he got a 5 on the AP exam, yet he was also able to fit it in with a full slate of AP classes at his school and with college applications on top of that!
@thumper1, I mean he could choose his HS classes last April (and he didn’t thinking he will take math in CC) and of course, in April we had no clue about this whole CC problem.
@mathyone, here they have “concurrent enrolment” program where kids can take CC classes in addition to their regular HS classes (tuition and fees covered by the school district) starting junior year of HS when no comparable classes are offered at their HS. Most kids use this program to (try to) take higher level math or CS or some higher-level science courses as many of them run out of math after junior year. S, enjoying the math at this level and seeing the usefulness of it all around, doesn’t want to stop.
@b1ggreenca, thank you! I will look at the program.
I think it would be a bad idea for a top math/science student not to take any math for a year. I would definitely look into the CTY for higher math. I think they are more tightly run than many distant learning programs, though they also tend to be more expensive.
I knew I came to the right place! Thank you, everyone!
As for the bureaucrats, they did their thing. All classes at school are finalized and now he can only drop something but not add - no exceptions. CC classes are full and have waiting lists out of regular students (HS kids are not even allowed to be waitlisted). There is still a small possibility that the professor will take him the first day of classes or that he will somehow squeeze into one of the CS classes, but chances are very slim.
@NCalRent, he doesn’t have any problems with graduation requirements - he has all the hours/classes and some are twice over. With his Lit and SS classes he will be done with the required stuff.
I did start looking at online courses. My main concern with them (besides being expensive and not fitting his learning style) is how well and if they are accepted by colleges. I know that local CC’s classes (those we are looking at) are accepted by UCs and other schools he will be applying to. I am not sure about online classes - will need to check. If they are not accepted, it makes little sense to take them and to pay for them.
I am not too much concerned about him missing a year of math because he takes AP Physics C which is calculus-heavy and his robotics club work and his own programming also involve some math. I am just panicking that AdComs will think he is slacking this year while it’s completely not his fault that he is under-loaded. He did his research, paperwork, legwork, did everything in advance and not in the last moment but still couldn’t get anywhere. I will maybe suggest to put it in one of his college essays if he will agree
