<p>So right now I'm in 8th grade and I am really excited for high school! Over the summer I am going to take a geometry summer school class to get ahead. I'm just wondering what it's like. Has anyone ever been? What are the people like? Will I be the only incoming 9th grader? Should I even go to summer school or would I get picked on since most of the other people probably would be sophomores.</p>
<p>Bump… Please answer</p>
<p>There is no simple answer to your question. It depends on the particular school system and the habits of the students there.</p>
<p>In the community where I live, very few students take academic courses like geometry for the first time in the summer. Most of the people who take academic courses in summer school are people who didn’t do well in the course the first time and need to take it over, and the courses are geared to their needs – meaning that they emphasize teaching the minimum material needed to pass the state exam in the subject. I’m not sure that these courses would meet the needs of a really good student or one who is being exposed to the subject for the first time. (Remember that summer school moves at a MUCH faster pace than regular school.) And such a student might feel out of place socially because the rest of the class would consist of people with very different needs and priorities.</p>
<p>On the other hand, large numbers of students take non-academic courses, like Health or Technical Education, during the summer to get them out of the way – and most of the students who do this are people who are doing well academically. The social atmosphere in these courses is comfortable for a good student, and since these are merely non-academic courses that are required for graduation, nobody particularly cares about their academic rigor (or lack of same) anyway.</p>
<p>But in your school system, the situation may be very different.</p>
<p>I’m sure you won’t be the only one taking the class as a rising 9th grader. My DS wanted to do this but our school district was very strict on the dates and we had already planned and paid for a family vacation that would take us out of town during the final exam period. No flexibility to take the exam early, so he didn’t get to take the class.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>You might consider an online geometry course at the Art of Problem Solving - you’ll be in an online course with a lot of other very bright math kids.</p>
<p>Plenty of 8th graders take a class at the local HS after they ‘graduate’ from 8th grade. If nothing else, it gives you a leg up on learning the campus and where the bathrooms are. :)</p>
<p>Not sure I’d recommend taking Geom, however, since it is typically a review/repeat course for those that did poorly earlier in the year. If you are taking Alg I now, you are still on track to take Calc as a senior. </p>
<p>Look at some of your district’s requirements…for example, take health over the summer freeing up slot for an ‘academic’ class during the year.</p>
<p>Every school is different. In our school a bunch of kids took pre-calc over the summer to get ahead. Since pre-calc is not required to graduate I think it was a class full of advanced students rather than kids who had failed it the first time.</p>
<p>Taking a math class to get ahead is rather common in Silicon Valley and many of the private high schools offer academic classes in the summer that are filled with kids taking the class for the first time (not remedial classes at all).</p>
<p>Why are you taking geometry to get ahead? Does your school offer options past AP Calculus so you will have a senior year math class? Will the summer school class be filled with students who did poorly in it and need to take it, or will other smart kids be in it? I agree with taking other courses you need to free up space during the school year for other classes. An alternative is finding out if your parents can afford a gifted student session- there are several 3 week ones in the Midwest (talent search test scores required- at Northwestern and WCATY) and those in the east I have heard of. I’m sure there are options for the west coast as well.</p>
<p>In our school people do this all the time. The only disadvantage is that it’s not an “honors” course, so it’s not weighted. Not sure if CC’s have geometry, but I know people who have taken Precalc at a community college over the summer so they could skip that year. This enabled some students to do AP calc junior year, AP stats senior year, or double up on AP sciences their senior year (since most senior either double up on AP sciences or AP maths).</p>
<p>In our school it is very common for students to take summer school, especially for required non-honors classes like PE adn gov/econ. DS loved it because he had almost no homework and the classes almost always were easy As. I am hoping that won’t be the case for your geometry class, since it should involve a great deal of homework. I doubt you will be the only incoming freshman in your class, but if you are, it can be a big advantage to know upperclassmen.</p>