<p>Hi, I'm currently a sophomore who's taking the highest level math class for the 10th grade (honors trig) and I'm earning A+s without difficulty. I recently asked my dean, and she said that she encouraged me to study precalculus over the summer so that I could take BC Calculus as a junior. I do have a strong passion for math, and I am capable of handling the courseload, but at the same time, doing precalculus over the summer would take away other opportunities. Would it be worth the time to skip a grade in math, especially if I want to apply to top engineering schools like MIT? I would be the only student in my class of 360 to accelerate a grade in math, so would that distinguish me from the rest of my class, particularly since I attend a top public school that sends its top ~15% to Ivies and schools of that caliber?</p>
<p>in our urban high school (we do have an IB program) it is expected that all honor and IB students are prepared to take algebra/trig as freshman and math analysis (pre-calc) as sophomores as preparation for calc as juniors. We are not a top public school and rarely does a student attend an Ivy. Our valedictorian is attending Vassar; our salutatorian is attending Tufts. It is hard for me to imagine that this is a decision for a school that send 15% of its graduates to Ivy League and other top level schools.</p>
<p>Of the graduating class at my high school, I believe 4 are attending Yale, 2 at Harvard, 1-2 at Princeton, 7 at Columbia, 2 at Brown, 2 at Dartmouth, 3-4 at Penn, quite a few (8-10) at Cornell, and dozens more at other top universities like JHU, WUSTL, Duke, Northwestern, and Georgetown (I think the three top universities that no one is going to this year are Stanford, Caltech, and UChicago). I know those numbers seem very lofty, but our school has a policy of focusing on a subject in great depth rather than moving through curriculum too quickly. The school’s average SAT score was somewhere in the 1900s. The simple fact is that admissions officers like my high school.</p>
<p>It was only a point I chose to bring up because our school is very competitive and I’m wondering if accelerating a year in math would make me stand out in my class. I realize that comparing myself to applicants from other schools, this might not be immensely impressive, but I’m unsure if colleges compare students more to applicants of different schools or to their own schools, as it is obvious that I will be facing a lot of intra-competition.</p>
<p>^ schools vary in terms of math…one of the top schools around me sends more than 40% of grads to top 15 schools…and it only offers one section of calc to seniors. it is unheard of for people to accelerate.</p>
<p>BC Calc is a fine senior level math class for an ivy bound kid. </p>
<p>If taking an extra class fouls up your summer plans for the sake of letting you do BC Calc junior year, I wouldn’t do it.</p>
<p>You aren’t competing against your own classmates. Seriously.</p>
<p>You go to a top high school and will be the most advanced in taking Calc as a junior? I’m shocked. At the schools my kids attended, also top schools sending 25% plus to ivies, nearly half the class was more advanced in math. Many applying to top engineering schools will have gone considerably beyond calc in HS.</p>
<p>Once again, although it may appear strange that a top high school generally offers BC Calc to its strongest students during senior year, my school focuses more on depth within subjects, expanding beyond the essential curriculum.</p>
<p>As for my summer, I do not have any tentative plans that would be canceled if I studied pre-calc this summer, but I probably would do something else if I choose not to attempt to accelerate a year in math. But like I previously said, I am passionate about math and I would certainly be motivated in taking it.</p>
<p>I should probably mention a few advantages of acceleration that I know exist. One is that my school’s BC Calc class is slightly less difficult than its high honors pre-calc class in terms of maintaining a high grade. Another advantage is that in senior year, I have the option of taking a mathematics class with a very small class size (2-3 kids) where we get to customize the course. The other kids in this class are freshmen who are on track to take that class in their junior years because they have already skipped not one but two years in math. I haven’t heard much about this class because not many people have taken it, but I can only imagine the enjoyment of discovering interesting topics and forming a strong connection with the teacher of that class.</p>
<p>Caltech expects EA applicants to have completed BC Calculus.</p>
<p>Princeton and Stanford like students who have done BC Calc, especially
if the student has gone ahead of peers at their school.</p>
<p>MIT and Harvard will probably evaluate you in context of your geographic
region.</p>
<p>Unless you plan to do some multivariable / linear algebra your senior year, it’s pointless. In fact, I would say that it’s disadvantageous for you to do no math in your senior year and then start doing it on a massive scale in college.</p>
<p>We live in a city with very mediocre high schools. Our son grade accelerated math in seventh grade and took the algebra/trig class you are in as a freshman. He took precalc as a soph, AP calc AB as a junior and is taking AP Calc BC off campus now. All of our friends/family that live in more upscale communities with very competitive high schools say this is a common math track for strong students - but without the grade skipping! I too am confused by the math track at your school. When would you take Calc AB?</p>
<p>It sounds like you are aiming for some top engineering schools. Taking AP Calc BC and going beyond will help you stand out from the crowd (but you won’t be the only one.)</p>
<p>My S took AP Calc BC as a sophomore. He’s now completing an online course in linear algebra (at an A level) and will be taking an online course in multivariable calculus in senior year. He’s thinking of majoring in some kind of integrated science program although engineering is not yet ruled out. His top moon shot will be Stanford.</p>
<p>He wanted to do a research internship this summer. He will be doing one he’s created with a USC Earth Sciences prof, in working on climate modeling. Based on what the prof said, I believe one of the reasons he landed the internship was that the prof was impressed that he’s already completed linear algebra (which is an important math class for engineers, BTW.)</p>
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<p>This alone is an excellent reason for doing it. If the senior class has a good teacher who is skilled at taking a small group of students through an exploration of an advanced topic, this could be a great experience in its own right, even setting aside how it looks on an application. Contrary to a previous post, the topic needn’t be linear algebra or multivar. It might be abstract algebra, number theory or logic, for example. Best if it’s a rigorous, proof-oriented approach rather than the cookbookery that passes for advanced math instruction at some schools, but given your description of your school, that doesn’t sound like a problem. Go for it!</p>
<p>At my school, Calc AB is taken the same year as Calc BC, with the stronger math students going to BC.</p>
<p>The teacher who’s in charge of the customizable class has a reputation for being one of the best in my school, both in terms of his personality and his teaching ability. Taking this into consideration, I probably should lean towards skipping a year in math, right?</p>
<p>If you really like math, I would totally do it. I say this as someone who went through a very similar experience in HS 35 years ago, with a great teacher who is now chair of the math department at a highly regarded liberal arts college.</p>
<p>My school won’t even let regular kids take BC Calculus, unless you have credits coming into the school. They make you go Algebra - Geometry - Algebra II - Pre Calculus. I think its unfair how they limit you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback guys, I think I’m going to go for it.</p>