kemcab

I actually know this one, wow. No, you don't. My school doesn't even offer BC and a senior got in. But I would imagine it doesn't look good if your school actually has it and you don't opt for it.

vanillasky123

hmm thanks for the opinions :-) yea its really bad if about 35% of my grade has had at least BC calc by senior year >.< at this point I'm leaning more towards AB and then taking C online second semester of senior year. has anyone done that before? also I'll have my counselor explain my calc decision in her rec, would that help?

findis

I can't promise MIT would be sympathetic, but I did something similar and got in. I took calculus BC through CTY Online, and I didn't get any school credit but my guidance counselor mentioned it in my recommendation. There's a difference, though... I had already finished the course when I applied, so I could put an A in the self-reported grades section, not just a promise.

(Personally, I don't know how this works and I'd listen to Laura and Mollie.)

vanillasky123

hm I checked CTY and the tuition is very expensive that's why I wanted to take just Calc C online but I'm thinking I should just take Calc AB in school and Calc BC concurrently online just so I can at least get some self-reported grades in from Calc B for the mid year report.

@findis: did u take BC in 3, 6, or 9 months? did CTY actually teach u/have quality teachers or was it completely independent study?

HiPeople

You can self study Calc BC. The first semester is the same as Calc AB. Its been a year since I took the class, but if I remember correctly, the only things not in Calc AB in BC are series and sequences, and the integration by parts/trig.

findis

MIT tuition doesn't depend on how many courses you take, so unless you want to graduate in three years, it doesn't matter financially what you take before you get there.

I took BC in a little under three months, over the summer. However, this is not really normal... CTY gave me a six-month schedule that I went through at double the intended rate, and the instructor was often a bit surprised and confused at the rate I was turning things in.

How it worked: There were video lectures and course notes online. The lectures were good, but I mostly just ignored them and learned from the notes. Then there were a *lot* of practice problems... I filled up like three or four notebooks. Each chapter has a mandatory homework assignment and a test. You're assigned to an online tutor that you correspond with by e-mail or online whiteboard who can explain anything you need, and the videos essentially "teach" you. (That's how it's supposed to work, anyway, but I didn't really have any trouble with the material so I mostly just used the notes and practice problems.)

Side note: My school has a very rigorous BC course that only about 10 of 300 people take, and I learned a lot more than they did. I went to an "integration bee" during campus preview weekend and found that I felt very very well-prepared in calculus despite that my school's math department didn't teach me a lot.

Other side note: CTY Online is a little pricey and the benefits of doing an online course are obviously debatable, but I loved the course. It was challenging but not impossible, and it was so rigorous I came out of it feeling stronger than ever in algebra and trig... if you love learning, it's an awesome option.

LauraN

Did I ever say that Calculus was NOT important? Did I ever say that taking it was a waste of time? No, absolutely not. Do me a favor and don't put words in my mouth.

All I said was it's better to do the thing that you're really passionate about and show you have your own personality, rather than doing things just because you think it'll help you get into college.

An0maly

For a lot of people, CTY/EPGY is too expensive. I don't want to shell out thousands of dollars for a course that I can learn from a textbook. And that's exactly what I'm doing. Calculus by Gilbert Strang is entirely online at MIT's website, and I've just been reading the book and doing the problems for MVC. You could consider that as an option since there's a lot of BC material online.

I have a question though. How much does MIT care that you self-studied a course? I know it won't be like a formal classroom designation, but I'd like to inform them that I have/will teach myself subjects. How much do they value that?

differential

LauraN: "Did I ever say that Calculus was NOT important? Did I ever say that taking it was a waste of time? No, absolutely not. Do me a favor and don't put words in my mouth.

All I said was it's better to do the thing that you're really passionate about and show you have your own personality, rather than doing things just because you think it'll help you get into college."

I didn't put those words into your mouth. I'm giving an argument as to why one SHOULD take calculus if possible. If I am saying that Calculus is important, that does not mean that you said it is NOT important.

Passion and what-not aside, I think we should try and be honest with people. Some fields require you to start young, and sometimes high school students don't realize that. Think about the kids pursuing theoretical physics/math at MIT. The majority of them decimated course work well beyond calculus BC in high school. Then again many of them come from schools notorious for sending many kids to MIT/Caltech, where they probably have exposure to what level of mathematics/physics students in those types of career take in HS. Maybe the OP wants to go into theoretical physics/math and doesn't come from one of these schools. Maybe the OP simply doesn't know the type of expectations/competition he/she will face when she comes to MIT.

kemcab

Thank God (or rather, MIT) for OpenCourseWare. I've mainly been looking at the mathematics curricula here and there, nothing too serious.

I'd really love to know that too.

I would assume it shows personal drive more than an effort to be recognized.

vanillasky123

well I'm positive that I want to major in materials science/some type of chem or bio related engineering so I'm not actually that into math as opposed to science. (which I know is probably bad as an engineering major but I haven't had the best experiences with math teachers)

I think at this point the thing that concerns me most is the mediocre/lousy recommendation that I will get if I take calc BC over the fantastic rec I can get from AB. (provided I can ask the teacher since I had her in 10th grade but she hasn't seen the "real me" yet and how I've changed for the better since then) I feel like if I don't get a good rec I'll be barred from MIT and other schools but likewise if I stick with calc AB.... :-(

CalAlum

@Vanillasky,
If you're so worried about getting a mediocre recommendation from a math teacher, don't ask for one. You can send MIT a letter from one of your science teachers. You stated above that you have strong science grades and extra-curricular activities. For your humanities letter, you can ask your foreign-language teacher. You say you love foreign language, and perhaps the teacher could write effectively about that interest.

vanillasky123

actually that's the problem. I don't have any math or science teachers to ask except the possible calc ab teacher and my research mentor (for a supplement). even though I've had good grades in math and sciences classes, I didn't really get to know my teachers well. I also have 2 recs from humanities but they'll only write a certain amount of letters.

pigs_at_sea

^yeah that's my prob too
i don't know my teachers THAT well either
what you do is you have to draft a letter for them, not like a complete letter, make 10 bullet points or so
then they will rewrite it in their own words according to what you bulleted

CalAlum

Don't draft a letter of recommendation for a teacher.

I've posted on this subject before (why didn't I save those drafts?), having written many, many letters of recommendation for my own graduate students and having sat on admissions committees. Here are some steps you can take:

First, undertake some advance preparation on your own. Develop a resume. Also develop what some high schools call a "brag sheet," a 1-3 page document in which you respond to a number of prompts (you can make up your own; here are some examples):
Your most admirable qualities
Significant academic accomplishment(s)
Most simulating intellectual experience in recent years
Significant summer activities
Discussion of high-school academic record in light of your ability and potential
Future directions and career goals
Explanation of why you believe MIT is a great match for you
etc.

Next, visit the MIT website and thoroughly read through everything there about how MIT assesses evalutions: http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/...ns/index.shtml. You need to find a teacher who both understands how to write a strong letter of recommendation and is willing to do this on your behalf.

Well before you need a letter, contact several teachers to ask if they would be willing to write on your behalf. Explain clearly that you are applying to MIT, and that you know you will need a very strong letter. Show the teachers examples of letters from MIT's website, so that they can see examples of mediocre letters (these are probably the sorts of letters most teachers have been writing for years) and examples of outstanding letters. Present your supplemental information (resume and brag sheet) and very politely ask if they could write you the kind of letter that would give you a chance at MIT.