Looking for advice on available options for a current freshman who will finish AP Calc BC in Sophomore year. His school did offer Calc 3 in past, but that may not be the case now. Thank you.
Talk to the head of the math department and ask what kids have done in this situation in the past. Push for calc 3 to be available. Some high schools have other math classes that are considered post -AP such as linear algebra, differential equations, math modeling. If the high school has no other math appropriate for someone who has learned calculus, look into dual enrollment at a nearby 4 yr university, or alternatively there are online options that can be very good (AOPS courses, stanford online), but you would need to make sure the course will be approved by the school district, etc. The first step is the high school math department, because often they will have had students at this level before, and know what is best in your situation.
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AP Stats and/or dual enrollment math.
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Just endorsing this advice. The school should work with you to give you credit for more advanced classes, but depending on whether this is a common or a rare problem in your school, you may have to be pretty active in terms of bringing them solutions that they can approve.
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In my kids’ school, advanced math students could take multivariable calculus as a sort of self-study course — students were assigned a class time and could work on problems together under the supervision/guidance of a math teacher who gave them exams and grades. But because there were only a handful of them, it wasn’t a standard class with lectures, etc.
It was more self-paced. I think they may have put groups taking two different higher college-level math courses in the same classroom at the same time. The teacher would move back and forth, checking in with each group. If there are other students in your child’s situation, maybe you could propose something similar.
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More advanced math courses at a local college would be the obvious thing to look at, although scheduling and commuting may be an issue.
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Agree with what others have said in that your child should talk to their guidance counselor and/or the head of the math department at their school and see what the options are. At my school the only option was to take AP Stats but they would give credit for taking another math class at a local community college or through an accredited online program. I had a study hall at school and then took multivariable calculus online (I would have preferred to take it in person, but I couldn’t make the schedule workout.)
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Is your student planning to apply to engineering programs? If so, make sure they take four years of math, no matter what that entails.
When my son was a sophomore I called UofM’s engineering dept to make sure he was fulfilling their requirements and they made clear that even though he was taking BC Calc as a junior, he needed to have four years of math. Our high school counted AP Physics as a math class, so we thought he was covered before the call. He ended up taking AP Statistics.
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My kid took Calc 3 and then AP Stats. Back in the day, I took Calc 3 at a local university.
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My sophomore is taking regular calculus this year although he was eligible for AP Calculus. He plans to take AP Calculus and AP Statistics in 11th and 12th grades. He did this to avoid running out of math courses. His other options were AP Computer Science A instead of a math course in 12th grade (not ideal for a potential STEM major) or petition to take a DE math course (we would have 1) find an appropriate course, and 2) cover all costs).
Your student should ask his counselor what students in his situation did in the past. If his school (or your state) subsidizes DE, it could be a more attractive option.
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I assume that BC is the highest level of math offered. If they aren’t offering multivariable calculus and differential equations or linear algebra then look for honors stats or economics. At least at my son’s school, they require a minimum of AB Calc to take these classes. The honors Econ, they really suggest BC. Any data science classes? Honors physics generally requires a minimum of AB. I guess what I’m suggesting is look for upper level math forward classes that aren’t math classes per se. Good luck.
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Econ would not have counted as a math class at my D’s HS so hopefully the OP will be working closely with their guidance counselor.
We were also told 4 years of HS math was necessary by both the GC and some of the college counselors, so OP, I think it’s good you are planning ahead!
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Calculus based statistics seems rather rare in high schools, and calculus based economics is commonly an intermediate economics course in college (although not all colleges require calculus for intermediate economics), so a high school that offers such probably has a lot more high-end-in-math students than a high school like the OP’s that tops out at calculus BC.
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Mine took AP stats junior year and is taking dual enrollment Calc 3 fall senior year. Might also take linear algebra spring of senior year, to be determined. Initially, he was going to commute to the CC for Calc 3, as the high school didn’t have enough kids to offer the class. But, he didn’t like the prof and didn’t like leaving school for two half-days per week, so he ended up switching to an asynchronous online course offered through the same CC.
He made a conscious effort to have a balanced workload, thus the choice to take AP stats. (I suggested that it might be boring, and it was, though I think in hindsight he’d make the same choice.)
What to do depends on the student. If the kid is in love with math, online AoPS is worth looking into.
Check on the high school website for information and policies about dual enrollment, aka concurrent enrollment, at local CCs or local universities. In our area, the only question from the high school’s end is whether the high school will be paying for it.
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I assumed the question was about how to keep taking math classes when you’ve topped out what your school has to offer. Honors Econ, which is a post- AP class at my son’s school, is a mathematical meat grinder. He opted for the “easier” multivariable calculus and differential equations class.
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I want to sincerely thank everyone who commented as it opened my eyes to several options. I think I am smarter now as we continue exploring suggested options and communicating with the school about this. We’ll make sure we stick to Math track for these 2 last years of high school.
My son is indeed already planning to take AP Statistics, AP Micro/Macro Economics, AP Comp Sci Principles/A and whatever he ends up doing for Math will be in addition to that. Thank you so much everyone.
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