Breathe, take a step back.
You’re doing fine. You don’t need to overload. You are planning and that’s sufficient: plan, plan well, do well in the classes you planned to take.
If you take College Algebra, you’ll need to study Algebra2 on your own, and start on precalculus. That will keep you busy as the year winds down. Check out when the summer session starts and ends, and if there’s another session (sometimes, there’s a summer session A in June to mid July, and a summer session B from mid July to late August.)
If you really wanted to you could take College Algebra session A and something else that you can’t find at your HS during session B. But swimming in a lake, rock climbing or hiking with elementary school friends, learning how to play the guitar from youtube lessons, playing with cousins who came to visit, that’s also a worthwhile venture for your summer. Not everything needs to be competitive. Have you started the “take a walk and look around” program I suggested a while back? That was serious and will really help you by making you observe and notice.
Have you read more than the first volume in the Spenser-Flemming novels that take place in Upstate NY?
You need to plan according to what you can do - if you’re near Shenectady, you’ve got Shenectady County CC, which is sufficient to complete whatever your HS doesn’t offer. Not too far, you’ve got Union, SUNY Albany, Siena (depending on where you actually live).
What arrangements does your HS have with local colleges in terms of Dual Enrollment? Inquire, compare the different possibilities.
You don’t need to accelerate or get ahead. Planning well is sufficient provided you do well in what you have.
The difference won’t be in taking a boatload of far flung classes but rather by thinking, observing, knowing yourself and your environment, writing (the more you write the better you’ll be at writing), and thinking of your EC’s.
My high school has official arrangements For the following classes:
Intro to Sociology
Public speaking
Holocaust (Pending)
Art history (pending)
Physics
Statistics
Environmental science
Spanish 4 and 5
I want to get ahead because 1) It’s technically where I should be, and 2) I’m aiming for top-tier schools. I need everything that I can get.
I do homework or read or play soccer or worry or procrastinate (everyone does)
Could you do College Algebra Session 1, and Art History or Public Speaking or History of the Holocaust Session 3?
(You’d have a two week overlap but at least you’d have some time to settle into the math).
Stop thinking about it till February.
Now’s the time to think of your activities out of class.
Since you read, can you lead a reading club at your school? At the library? Write a blog, have a vlog?
Are you a recruitable soccer player?
Anything you could spend hours and hours on and not see time go by (don’t say “college confidential” :p)
Oh, my gosh, I’m definitely not a recruitable soccer player! I think the only reason I’m on the varsity team is because my school is so small that they don’t do tryouts or cuts or anything. I really only do it for fun. XD!
Well then, instead of worrying about taking more classes, think about what you’re really good at (or love doing and could become really good at). Doesn’t matter how offbeat or common it is - knitting, broomball, raising messenger pigeons… If you read a lot, see if you can have a blog and after several quakity posts over two weeks, see if you ccan write a YA column for a recognized entity (blog, paper). Or, hold a steady job.
Do you need to pick session 1 and 3 classes at the same time. If not can you take college algebra session 1 and see how you like the college summer math then decide what to take for session 3. If you find it works well for you then go ahead and take precalculus session 3. However don’t forget you might have summer homework for honors/AP classes and you might want to have more time for fun over the summer. My daughter aced college algebra but she can’t imagine taking it over the summer.
College algebra is the same as precalculus. If your community college offers algebra2 (intermediate algebra) then yes take it and save precalculus to take junior year and calculus senior year.
You’re focused on the wrong things, super accelerating in math is not going to make a major difference. In fact, it may hurt you because accelerating two levels will make you shaky on math foundations.
What will matter most is what you do from your own initiative, after school, as part of school or outside of it.
@myos1634 college algebra is not always the same as precalculus at a community college. My daughter took algebra 2 honors in high school then took college algebra at community college though hers was an advanced class for STEM majors. After either regular college algebra or college algebra for STEM majors you still need to take precalculus in order to be allowed to take Calculus I. The only option to skip precalculus is to take Calculus for Management Science which is not a full calculus course.
Intermediate algebra is considered a developmental high school level class and does not count as a college credit for the actual college students. It is not the same as college algebra which gives college students college credit (depending on placement and major).
This is intermediate algebra:
MAT-099 Intermediate Algebra
Course Description
This course is a continuation of MAT-097, Foundations of Algebra. Topics in this course include polynomial arithmetic, introduction to functions, factoring, roots and radicals, rational expressions, absolute value inequalities, quadratic equations and the quadratic formula, and solving applied problems. This course does not satisfy degree requirements.
^OP hasn’t taken Algebra2 yet and is trying to get ahead so that s/he can take precalculus over the year and calculus senior year. Hence my suggestion s/he take Intermediate Algebra to catch up on Algebra2 - it wouldn’t be for college credit but to be able to take precalculus.
College algebra is not supposed to be the same as Algebra2, unless NYS CC’s have an atypical naming system - it’s supposed to be a post-algebra2 class that is sufficient to take Calc AB. If that isn’t the case in NYS, OP needs to check carefully course content and talk with his/her school’s calculus teacher. In addition, if the CC offers two classes, one session I for college algebra and one session III for precalculus, OP should bring the course description to his/her current math teacher to make sure those make sense for a student coming from geometry and aiming at taking precalculus junior year.
My suggested sequence for OP would thus be:
Geometry (current) -> Intermediate Algebra (summer) -> Precalculus (honors if offered - junior year) -> Calculus AB (senior year).
I’m worried jumping from Geometry to college algebra would be very difficult.
She’s your age, 15, and taking AB Calc as a Sophomore, so she’s one of those students you’re scared of competing against. She’s also in a school with a small class, but a number of her classmates were ready to take Algebra 1 when they entered in 6th grade, and the school was prepared to accommodate them (it is an engineering focused magnet school). However, their policy has always been to only allow the middle school students to move to the next class if they pass the course AND the final exam with an 80, or repeat the course the following year - the argument being they need a strong foundation. There are now 10 out of 80 Sophomores taking Calculus, along with about 20 Juniors and Seniors. Next year she will take AP Statistic, because the district has not authorized the school to offer BC Calc. Why, you might ask? Because despite the number of students taking it - even taking it “early-” not enough are doing well on the AP exam, so there isn’t enough demand for the BC class. We’re hoping my daughter’s class is the one that makes a difference (they are the strongest class yet). It is great to want to take the higher order math classes, but it is better to build a strong foundation. Don’t worry about being compared to students from other schools - if my daughter’s application lands next to yours, they will compare what she took with what was offered, just as they will see that you took the highest rigor offered to you. The fact that your classes weren’t as difficult won’t count against you, that’s not how it works. You don’t have the opportunities she has. Meanwhile, you probably have options for AP history classes she can’t take and extracurricular programs - because they’re not offered at her school.
Sorry. I’m not completely familiar with all the terminology. Yes, I mean intermediate algebra. That’s what I’ll take over the summer. then I’ll take precalc (no honors available) jr. year and Calc AB senior year. I was using the term “college algebra” to refer to an algebra class at a CC, but I see why that might have been misleading. I understand super accelerating my math classes won’t do a ton for my app, but it’s a matter of personal pride, too. I told you about the middle school math placement, right?
Your pride shouldn’t be misplaced.
If you do well in Intermediate Algebra at the CC over the summer, you should feel tremendous pride, becauseit’ll be tough, you’ll have to adapt to a very different teaching style, show considerable autonomy and ability, and in the end you’ll have taken a college course at ultra accelerated pace, and done well.
Yet, really, if you’re aiming for the 100% need schools, what you need to focus on now is your EC’s. Read previous posts again for suggestions. But “playing soccer but not a recruitable level, reading, and hanging out” won’t cut it for Questbridge- type schools, so that’s what you need to focus on because strong EC’s take a long time to build.
Having a job can be a strong EC if you work a lot of hours and/or progress through the hierarchy (say, from fries to register) and something unique can be good too.
You make me sound like a monster. I volunteer at a hospital. I’m entering the spirit of innovation challenge. I do speech and debate (and quite well, I might add). I’m class president. I’m taking a college-level class on globalization and popular culture. In the spring I will take a college-level class in medicine. I have a good chance of getting into NHS. I’ll probably go to HOBY in the spring. I am working with some people to start a group that will teach kids about healthy living in my underserved community. (note: MY, not AN). I had a job over the summer. I have to wait until I’m 16 to be able to get most jobs, but I will try to get one. I probably won’t even do soccer next year; there are far too many conflicts in my schedule as it is, and I don’t think my coach likes me all that much because of it (But that’s beside the point). Of course, I do basic things like reading and sitting around doing nothing some of the time. Literally, everyone I’ve ever spoken to on the subject of college tells me to “relax” Am I expected to be “balanced” and superhuman at the same time? I’m sorry for the acrimony and yes, I know it’s my fault for not elaborating.
You’re not getting it. It’s not a judgement and even less “sounding like a monster” (you need to lose that “dramatization of everything” tendency, which, while common among adolescents, isn’t to your advantage when speaking with adults who try to take you seriously wrt college.)
But the point isn’t quantity. You’re not expected to do ten things.
It’s what you do that makes a difference or brings you recognition.
You could win something in the Spirit of Innovation challenge. You could move to nationals for speech&debate, or work to become state champion next year.
If you’re class president - what do you do with it? Is that just a title for you? If not, document your actions.
So, yes, you need to relax when it comes to planning acceleration in some subjects and stressing over your math classes.
But for EC’s, you need to find A COUPLE things that you find relaxing, enjoy doing, and can be taken to the next level. Figuring out how you can do that matters and reaching a high goal takes a long time. So you need to start thinking about your activities, streamline, focus, make a plan…
My speech and debate coach doesn’t let us go to states. She thinks its “unfair” because only some kids get to go, so, yeah. I haven’t done much as class pres b/c it’s only been 3 wks of school. I know I’m not expected to do 10 things, but some are relatively short-term and they won’t necessarily go on my app.
Rally you teammates, and as a group convince the teacher to allow whoever qualifies to attend states. If she doesn’t want to go, arrange for someone else to chaperone. “unfair” is a cop out.
@CTScoutmom I’m sorry, but I am going to respectfully disagree. I respect my speech and debate coach a lot. She’s been my English teacher for 2 years already, and this is my 3rd year with her. I plan to take AP Lit with her 12th grade, and she’s definitely someone I’m going to ask for a recommendation because we have a very close relationship. I don’t want to disrupt that bond we have. Frankly, I think very few students want to go to states, either, and although “unfair” may be a cop-out, it’s not up to me to decide how to run HER team. That most likely be considered insubordination, and whatever merit I gained at a state-level competition (if any), it would be negated by the loss of respect from my coach. “Good letters of rec are one of the most important things in applications” is something I hear a lot, and I don’t think a state prize would make up for a letter highlighting my disobedience.
@futurecollege00 A very close relationship won’t disintegrate into her highlighting you as being “disobedient” if you make a reasonable request. How is it unfair for you to suggest that anyone who qualifies for states to not be able to go? You are providing feedback on a policy in a club that affects you.