<p>I am starting to get real serious in school. Not saying that i wasn’t before, but i slacked often. My question is that are there any good books that i should be looking at in order to prepare me for what i have ahead i.e. SATs. I volunteer alot, i play sports (well just volleyball). I am not the best student there is, but i’m pretty average and good at some subjects. Math is my downfall, and it’s a pity because it breaks me down horribly. I don’t want to make any excuses, but i feel like my mind isn’t ready for the 11th grade (i am in the 11th grade). The thing is that i am 15 in the 11th grade. I didn’t skip a grade, i just started school early. I feel like there is a lot of pressure on me to succeed. I won’t be the first to get a degree in my family because all of my older sisters have already gotten that under wraps. I am only on this site to get opinion and advice. I don’t start school till the 7th of March, so i will on here quite often. I try to strive for thr best. I know for a fact that i can not get into any ivy league school. Or else there is some type of miracle. I would appreciate every comment.</p>
<p>Are there any???</p>
<p>My tip for doing better in math is to supplement what you do in school with a good online course or good books on math. I have found ALEKS
for a lot of kids I know locally. You can do a free trial of it right after you see this message, and you can do an UNLIMITED number of free trials before you decide if you want to spend the inexpensive price for doing it for real. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Thank you Tokenadult. I will try out the ALEKS program for help. I am currently in PreCalculus. I have come to a decision that when i enter 12th grade, i will no longer take a math class. I see it as why would i be in a class that i already know that i will not succeed in.</p>
<p>Find Iggi .</p>
<p>Thank You all.</p>
<p>Woops, I mean Xiggi. (I going to get shot here for that mistake. Sorry Xiggi.)</p>
<p>find Gixxi. Woops!</p>
<p>The joking about Xiggi (I wonder where that screen name comes from?) is in reference to a forum participant, with the screen name Xiggi, who has a lot of tips for scoring higher on standardized tests. My family has its own approach to that issue (I just told you about the math part of my advice in the first reply), but Xiggi’s advice is worthwhile too.</p>
<p>Okay, i will look for Xiggi.</p>
<p>I think this is one for Marite and Soozie, since they are parents who are experiencing this now with their own children “graduating young”</p>
<p>Uhmm Sybbie719, what are you talking about?</p>
<p>Sybbie is mentioning a couple of posters with kids who will be graduating early.</p>
<p>About math. You need to be careful about ditching the 4th year of math - many schools require it. Research this before you drop math from your schedule. My method for dealing with technical courses - including math - was to read ahead in the text book. Having a supplemental book might be a good idea, also - one where the information is presented in a straightforward, clear manner. Your pre-calc teacher may have some suggestions.</p>
<p>Ohio-mom. I really do not know what to do about math. It is my downfall. I don’t want to put the fault on any one, but i have to put the fault on my math teacher. She doesn’t have a math degree. She gets mad when you do not understand her and tells you to grow up. That really isn’t what i want to hear from a teacher. I believe that everyone in my class feels the same way. I honestly do not want to take math senior year. I have been thinking about it for a while now, and i still end up back at my original decision. I will put some more further thoughts into it. Thank You</p>
<p>Your willingness not to complete 4 years of math will knock you out of the box for a lot of competitve schools. </p>
<p>Sometimes you have to choose your battle. Many adcoms are really not interested in the in stories about:
She doesn’t have a math degree. She gets mad when you do not understand her and tells you to grow up.
Because there will come a time that you will encouter teachers that you don’t like. But since for the moment you are own the down side of the power dynamic, it is up to you (and your classmates ) to try to find constructive solutions. </p>
<p>Does your school have parent teacher confrences? Do your parent(s) attend these conferences where the issue can be adressed?</p>
<p>In the end, no matter how much you say, everyone in your class feels this way, I can pretty much guarantee you that there are sutdents in your class who are ignoring her personality and putting their efforts in getting the best possible grades.</p>
<p>Lboogie:</p>
<p>I have two kids who could not be more different in terms of their academic strengths and interests, and so their preparations for college have been quite different.</p>
<p>I do have a kid (who did not graduate early) who got admitted into highly selective LACs (top ten in USN&WR rankings) without AP-Calculus. So it is defintely possible to get admitted without having taken Calculus. He did take a fourth year of math, I believe it was something called Advanced Math. It covered a variety of math topics. He felt that since he would not be a math/science major, this was more useful to him, however it might look on his transcript. As you see, it did him no harm. Such a class might be appropriate to you.
I would urge you to persevere, using tips provided by other posters, if you wish to apply to more selective colleges. Some students who are not planning to be math majors also find that AP-Statistics is a good alternative to AP-Calculus. Either an Advanced Math course or an AP-Statistics course might be something to consider if you wish to take a fourth year of math.
If you are happy considering somewhat less selective, but still excellent, colleges, three years of math may be sufficient. This is a separate issue from graduating at a young age. Google a few college websites with different levels of selectivity, look at their requirements for high school preparation, at the stats for their entering classes.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Just to straighten out the reference to my child and to Marite’s and how it relates (or not) to this poster’s situation…</p>
<p>Marite’s son is graduating one year early, following his junior year of high school. My daughter is also doing that. Each child is getting a diploma but has accelerated in school and has earned the high school credits to graduate in less than four years. </p>
<p>From what I can tell the OP on this thread is not in that situation. However, my daughter is ALSO in his situation, not only the one she shares with Marite’s son. That is, BESIDES graduating a year early following junior year, she ALSO had an early entrance into kindergarten like the OP and therefore, she is the chronological AGE of a tenth grader at present (at least for our school district), but is in her junior year due to starting school a year early BUT is graduating this JUNE due to graduating a year early even with the grade grouping she has been in right along. Hope that is not confusing but she is only graduating one year early but is actually graduating two years younger than she should be based on her chronological age. She is younger than Marite’s son who is merely graduating early but did not also enter kindergarten early. </p>
<p>So, for one thing, the only thing she has in common with the OP is that she has always been young for her grade. For HER, this has been a NON issue. In fact, the issue right along has been that even with the grade she was assigned to, there were issues about meeting her advanced learning needs and so she has been put in grade levels much older and accelerated all the way through but was officially in just one grade as we were against any more years of skipping school, never wanting her to graduate at 16, yet here we are with a child who asked to graduate a year early anyway (would have been easier to skip in sixth or eighth grade as suggested!) but we go with the flow. </p>
<p>The issues for this student are just very different . I hear he has been a slacker and has not always worked up to his potential. I am not sure the issues there but I don’t have a child in that situation, as she has done well in school. Sometimes, however, and Marite would agree with this, a gifted child who is bored and not challenged in school might turn away from his studies. But I am not sure I observe this by the OP. </p>
<p>The red flag with this poster is his comment “my mind is not ready for the 11th grade” and indeed he is young for 11th grade. Often kids who are granted an early entrance into kindergarten tend to be girls. In fact, where we live, the trend is to give boys an extra year BEFORE kindergarten even if their birthday makes the cut off (summer birthday) and my D’s nursery school and kindergarten classes (and every year since) is filled with kids more than a full year older than her because many gave their sons an extra year and then she entered early so the age differences are quite great even in her own grade (11th grade officically right now). So, it might be catching up with this young man that he is ahead in school for his chronological age. I also hear him expressing issues with math. I think this is something that requires a teacher parent conference. He may need math tutoring, a different math placement, I am not sure. </p>
<p>I agree with others that taking NO math senior year is NOT the way to go if he has aspirations to go to a fairly selective college. They like to see four years of math. I don’t know what level math he is in. POSSIBLY if he has gone up through Pre-Calculus, he might be ok, depending on the level of colleges he is striving for. This is something to discuss with his guidance counselor. I also agree with others that he can’t rest on the bad teacher excuse though I realize that adds to the problem. </p>
<p>I am not totally clear on the issues that this poster has. He brought up that there was pressure on him with colleges and that he won’t make it into an Ivy. I don’t know his parents but I could care less if my kids went to Ivy. Ivy is not the end all and be all. I say that even though I have a kid in an Ivy league school but Ivy was not her goal. Going to a challenging college was her goal. It need not have been Ivy. We had no preference as to where our kids went either. They have goals, we support them in their attempts to achieve 'em. </p>
<p>I am not sure the school system where this young person goes to school but he said he does not start until March…maybe this is a California thing? Nothing like that exists in this region. I think I would have to know more about his situation and certainly can’t solve it here. I think he needs to get advice from a guidance counselor as to what he needs to do to achieve his personal goals and go from there. If he needs help in math, that needs to be addressed. </p>
<p>The early graduation thing that my D or Marite’s S are doing is quite unrelated. I realize I also have a child who has always been very young for her grade but that was an appropriate placement for her but it is not for everyone. When she was granted early entrance to K, she had to test to be at the very top of the entering class (the kids a year ahead of her), not merely be “ready” for K. And as mentioned, even the placement she was in, was of issue all through school and many acccomodations were made including multi age classes with grades one and two years above her already accelerated grade, many indep. studies, acceleration into the high school for courses while in middle school and the like. None of this seems to be the issue with this poster. He is perhaps struggling in this grade placement. That is what needs to be addressed in my view. </p>
<p>Sorry to not help more but I truly do not have a kid in the same situation. </p>
<p>Susan</p>
<p>I did not see Marite’s post when I posted. I agree, as I already mentioned, that depending on where he wants to go to school and what level math he has completed, that he may not need a fourth year. I think he should have gone at least through Pre Calc though. My D who is graduating early does not like math or could care less about it. She is likely never going to take a math course again because she is going to major in a BFA program for musical theater. However, we felt she should take math every year, particularly as an early graduate and only being in 11th grade this year, though she has accelerated two years in math here. So, she is taking AP Calculus. She happens to have a high aptitude for math but doesn’t care about it or like it. In fact, Calculus did not fit into her schedule as they only offer one section of it here and only seniors take it and it is offered at the same time as the highest level English/History class for 11th graders which she needs to take so she has to do AP Calculus independent study under the supervision of the Calc teacher. He hands her the assignments he gives the class, she must teach it to herself, she sits in his office one period per day so she does math each day and she is given all the tests, etc. She has an A+ in the class which is kinda ironic to have that as the highest grade of all when Math is not her forte or interest but she says she does well in the indep. study mode at her own pace and the math classes at school are not that great (my older D felt and did the same many years). My kids have had math accommodations of a different sort than the OP needs but every case is different and in the end, this kid and his parents need to work with the school to find a solution. And the solution needs to relate to his college plans. We felt our D needed to take Calculus as this was the only math course left and she should not have NO math because she was applying to a couple schools that would not look kindly at a kid with no math, even though she is going into an unrelated field. So, she took it and you do what you got to do.
Susan</p>
<p>To Soozievt, i am actually a girl. And i just started having sessions with a math tutor. I am currently in Precalcus 2nd semester. Thank you very much. I was only addressed to you. But, all i can say is that hearing all you guys views has me thinking on a math class senior year. I am striving for the best. And i will tackle down all objects thrown at me. I am a California resident and the school system is very different from others. I do believe that i have a chance on getting into a good college because my grades are not horrible, neither are they simple, nor average. I just started school at an early age. Please continue with the comments and suggestions.</p>
<p>Lboogie:</p>
<p>I am mindful of your original comments about feeling pressure. This is something you need to keep in mind.</p>
<p>SoozieVT is absolutely right about gifted students slacking off in unchallenging classes. This is the classic underachiever syndrome. In your case, there might also have been an issue of maturity. But you are now more serious about your studies, either because the classes have become more interesting or you have matured (or both). Good for you. </p>
<p>Colleges will not cut you any slack just because you are young. In fact, your youth may work against you. So you need to demonstrate that you can handle the workload, that you are sufficiently mature to thrive in college. At the same time, you don’t want to cave under pressure. I don’t agree with the idea that a student needs to take courses in which s/he is totally uninterested and in which s/he may not excel just to build up a transcript. That’s why I offer my older S’s case as an example. Still, he did take four years of math. As long as you fulfill your hs requirements and the normal college preparation requirements, what may matter the most is for you to do well in courses that inspire you. Passion goes a long way to facilitate learning.</p>
<p>I also suggest you consider a gap year. One of my S’s schoolmate, who graduated as a 16 year old was accepted into an Ivy but is spending one year doing an internship.</p>