This comment may be way off base but consider speaking with a college consultant. Your son sounds like he is a child who may go to college early. I don’t know what the implications are of having only 3 years of history or science on college applications but you need to know.
Music is a passion for him. Is he considering a music major? You mentioned math and English. But his resume points more toward music and math in my limited option.
That said, it is too early to worry about a college major.
From my perspective with my kids, sometimes pushing them into an area of discomfort has had benefits. You might want to think about the strengths of his leaderships skills and public speaking skills. Would he benefit from a speech or drama class? Would an outdoor skills class be something to consider? You say he is head strong. How does he function within a group of his peers?
The high school years are a time of tremendous physical and emotional changes. Be prepared for your son to switch directions and form new interests.
No, he is not considering a music major. In fact, I believe in the end he won’t even consider a math major. He doesn’t see himself in a music or math career. English will very likely be the sole area of focus. But of course as you said other interests may and likely will develop. We won’t send him to college early; in fact if he listens to us we would rather see him take a gap year after high school instead. Kids run so hard these days. He is keen to do a year of social service in Africa/Middle East, so we shall see what we can find for him after high school. But that is so far away anyway.
OP I’m blown away by your son’s math aptitude. AoPS is very high level math. Did your son take the web classes after school? Does he compete in math Olympiad or other math competitions? In our district Calc BC in 9th grade is unheard of. Even the most advanced kids only do PreCalc in 9th grade.
I think your schedule looks very good, you’ve got all the basis covered. Being advanced in both math and languages shows he’s gifted in both linguistics and arithmetic, which doesn’t make him pointy at all, it actually makes him very well rounded. The only thing I would change is perhaps put in an English writing class in there in Junior or Senior year, perhaps from the same research university that teaches him the high level math. MIT only requires 4 years of English, Math through Calc, 3 years of science, 2 years of a foreign language, 2 years of history and/or social sciences.
If you are aiming for a top level college like MIT or Harvard, you should have your son participate in math Olympiad. He looks like he could be a serious contender for those types of competitions. It will bolster his college application.
You should encourage your son to major in math. It would be a real waste of his talent if he doesn’t. Wall Street firms love to hire math majors as quants. Google also hires math majors to help improve their search algorithms.
^Im assuming from your post that all of the advanced math and college courses are being instigated by your son. He is amazingly advanced and on an extraordinarily ambitious path through high school.
Most kids this age are not run so hard. I agree with an earlier poster about not understanding how your son has enough hours in the day.
cmsjmt, My son is a very strong social justice kid. One thing he will never do - or so he claims now - is join Wall Street or Corporations. I guess that’s why I am saving up a trust fund for him. He takes AoPS online, not sure when he does it as I am not very familiar with his schedule. He is at the AIME level now aiming to get into JMO. The University extension school offers 3 creative writing courses. He has finished one and will take the other two in Grade 9. I am not sure what colleges he will choose to apply to and that’s so far away anyway. What are the good English major colleges?
txstella, I think he is a nutjob but then he is my adorable nutjob.
On the issue of how he has enough hours in the day, actually I see it as the opposite. He seems to be always Skyping, Tumblring, and listening to Spotify. (I don’t mind, I like it actually.)
I think the key reason why he can juggle many balls is that he aligned his focus areas with his spike. If for example he tried to go to the Physics Olympiad, make varisty in baseball, or become a solid History scholar, he would have failed and miserably so. But he choose the things that are easy for him such as math and music.
" What are the good English major colleges?"
I am also interested in this question on behalf of my 9th grader who wants to be a writer. There isn’t even an “English majors” forum on this site. From what little I’ve gleaned, University of Iowa has a top writing program on the graduate level at least. Less sure what their undergraduate offerings are. Johns Hopkins has a writing seminars major. U Penn also has some writing program. I think? Kenyon college also has a well regarded writing program. Would love to hear from people with more knowledge on English/writing programs.
@DadofTeen most gifted kids have a strong sense of justice and integrity. Good for your son that he disdains wall street. We don’t need another brilliant mind sacrificed to the god of money.
As far as top English major schools, depends on who you ask. “College Exporer” says Yale, Kenyon College and Columbia are top 3. US News says UCBerkeley, Harvard, Stanford are top 3. “College Atlas” says it’s UCB, Stanford, Columbia, Yale, Harvard. I have heard of Univ. of Iowa’s program though, it’s supposed to be really good. All the schools mathyone posted are good.
But you need to keep in mind he is still in 8th grade. Middle school for kids like this is a joke. My daughter had plenty of time for playing computer games while she was taking precalc in 8th grade as well as an extra language on top of a regular schedule. It does get harder every year once they start high school. I think your plan will be very hard. But you can adjust as needed. It’s a plan, not a contract.
Actually I returned to this site to suggest that he should do more history. If he wants to study literature or write it could be quite useful to have more historical context, and would put to rest any fears about colleges not liking only 3 years of social studies.
If he wants to aim for AIME/USAMO then he needs to rethink.
If he can get into MOP then it’s great. Otherwise there are other summer math programs that teach creative math (instead of going deep into calculus/analysis track).
FWIW, I have only 3 years of social studies and, while it’s outside the scope of this thread, I have no bio (gasp!!!). I did very well in the college admissions process this year. People tend to read too much into the tea leaves of what colleges “want” in a schedule.
Your son is a case of successful “double up”. Because he doubled up in languages (and more than that in Math), he’s fine with 3 years in the other subjects as far as college admissions go. He’s well-lopsided without having a weak general background. However, as a future English major (Comp lit? Foreign Language&Culture?) having more exposure to history (Euro, World, American) and art (beside art history, which is a great pick) would be good.
Something you may want to consider, if the high school is flexible, is for him to take morning classes in HS and afternoon classes at the college, junior/senior year. Beside Math, this would be especially useful for languages, where he could proceed at a faster clip and thus reach a high level in both French and Latin (5th semester, which is post-AP). He could take a history seminar (focused on a question and digging deep, rather than covering centuries) and some art/art history classes. All of these go at a much faster pace than HS (similar material, but different pace: AP = 5 periods for 10 months // 3 periods for 14 weeks in college).
The hardest semester is Fall Senior year, because preparing for apps is like having an extra class.Junior year grades matter the most, and senior year course selection often matters more than grades for rolling admission and EA schools, whereas first semester grades can distinguish a weaker applicant.
Coolweather, Agreed. PROMYS and Ross are in his radar. We won’t let him go to Ross, so next summer he is going to try for PROMYS. It’s all number theory which I know he will love. Trouble with math summer camps is that they conflict with music summer camps and this year music was a priority for him. Plus we didn’t want him gone for 6 weeks and are starting with the baby step of 3 weeks.
Mathyone, He can double up on Social Sciences in 12th grade, but then he wouldn’t have 4 years of Science. I actually recommend that, as he would have done introductory courses in Biology, Physics, and Chemistry already by then, and not being a science kid, why bother with a Science AP course? However, he knows that science while boring for him is also much easier to handle, while he will have to actually study for Social Sciences. Of course, he would rather let go of both and take both Latin 5 and Franch 5. That decision will have to be made in grade 12, so for now we have some time.
cmsjmt, I am quite happy to find the name Columbia repeated a few times across the list. That opens up a very good option of cross registration with Juilliard (if he so chooses, which he doesn’t want to right now as he doesn’t see himself in a music career). He would love New York though.
" People tend to read too much into the tea leaves of what colleges “want” in a schedule. " I would agree with this. My daughter flagrantly violated some of the commonly cited “requirements” of top colleges but still did pretty well with them. If this kid completes even 2/3 of what is being proposed, he will be regarded as an academic star and will get into many top schools.
If he is that interested in math, he may end up taking so many math courses that it would not be difficult for him to pick up a math major as well as English or whatever other major he may want to take. Philosophy may be another area of potential interest, since it is a humanities subject that also applies the kind of logical thinking found in math (many of the early historical mathematicians were also philosophers).
I disagree with you in a few areas. It is impossible to plan 4 years ahead in math and not the wisest thing in the world. My child took calculus bc in seventh grade and it was semester to semester what they would take after that. It depends on scheduling issues and who is teaching the math class. It also depends on what the kid likes… E. G. there are ways to make most math classes miserable depending on the teacher. You could teach beginning complex from Stein with lengthy psets or you could teach it from Brown and Churchill. A lot of people are not big fans of competition math including myself. It is problems with known solutions that must be solved quickly whereas research math can take years to solve unknown problems. In class some of the competition kids have been described as real quick to raise their hand but not real deep in substance. A lot of the other kids consider them to be disruptive to the learning environment
Also why is your child taking Latin? Nobody uses it anymore. It is considered by many to be impracticable.
What type of music does your child really like? It doesnt have to be classical. What is wrong with country or alternative or punk? Let them explore. There is nothing wrong with doing psets while listening to hard rock on head phones.
My Child just met with one of the top mathematicians in the world to ask what classes they should take for the rest of their undergraduate career. They said wait until next semester and see who is teaching the classes and how they are teaching it. Math should be enjoyable and each person ultimately must follow their own path
Yes, a student who is ahead in math has greater schedule flexibility in choosing when and with which instructor to take advanced math courses in college, compared to the student on the normal sequence who may have a more limited number of chances to take each course of interest or requirement.
After MV Calc and Linear Algebra there is no normal sequence Most teachers recommend a course in Algebra following Artin and a course in topology following Munkres next… Number theory and combinatorics are also high on the list
" A lot of people are not big fans of competition math including myself. It is problems with known solutions that must be solved quickly whereas research math can take years to solve unknown problems." I’m not sure what you are saying here. Are you expecting this 8th grader to be working on unsolved problems in mathematics? Math classes are usually geared at typical students, emphasizing problems that follow the model of the examples given in the book whereas math competitions expose kids who are interested and talented to a more appropriate challenge level and the experience of thinking outside the box instead of following the example given. Math competitions also expose kids to areas of math which are often not covered in the usual math classes. Of course it’s true that being able to solve problems quickly isn’t quite the same skill set needed by professional mathematicians, and kids who aren’t outstandingly successful shouldn’t be deterred. I know some very mathematical people who aren’t particularly outstanding at competition style math–but it doesn’t mean that there is no value in pursuing competitive math. It also may allow the student to connect with other like-minded students, who in most schools are few and far between.
As far as choosing courses by professors go, a math major in college may have more flexibility in scheduling and picking and choosing, but this kid is lucky the school is willing to arrange for a math professor to teach the subject at all. I don’t think they have the luxury of reviewing several professors and picking the best. When my daughter took college math she had to pick the course that fit in her schedule. There weren’t options.
I’m not a big fan of Latin either, since this student’s interests seem to lie outside classics or archeology.
By “normal sequence”, I meant the courses that frosh/soph math majors typically have to take before taking more advanced courses (calculus, multivariable calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, possibly discrete math). A student who completes all of these while still in high school can be more selective about when and with whom s/he takes the more advanced math courses (eight semesters to choose when to take them), while the student who has to take these in college would have fewer chances to select from (four semesters to choose when to take them).
Math major degree programs typically do include required courses in real analysis, abstract algebra, and other courses, though there is some flexibility in the order one takes them.
- is join Wall Street or Corporations. I guess that’s why I am saving up a trust fund for him. 
He takes AoPS online, not sure when he does it as I am not very familiar with his schedule. He is at the AIME level now aiming to get into JMO. The University extension school offers 3 creative writing courses. He has finished one and will take the other two in Grade 9. I am not sure what colleges he will choose to apply to and that’s so far away anyway. What are the good English major colleges?