<p>My son and his friend both qualified for CTY summer courses, and both are interested in science and math. They are hoping to go to the same campus, but an issue has cropped up today. The other boy is not eligible for some of the science and math courses that my son is most interested in, because he has not had algebra. My son is now taking a 9th grade math course, while the other boy, who goes to a different school, is in a 7th grade math course (both are 7th graders). The other mother found some courses in the CAA catalog and is suggesting that the boys do that instead. I’m wondering whether how much difference there is in the level of difficulty. My son is starving for a serious academic challenge, and if the CAA courses are significantly easier then I’m not sure it’s the best plan for him. The eligibility levels are quite different; CTY requires 530 math, CAA requires 430 math. My son’s score was 640, and the other boy’s was 550 (and I imagine most of the difference can be attributed to the fact that my son is working 2 grades higher in math). </p>
<p>I’m going to call JHU and ask about this, and look at the various course syllabi, but I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with CAA.</p>
<p>I would NOT recommend that an ample CTY qualifier go to CAA. Rather, I would recommend that the CTY qualifier without a strong math background make bolstering that math background a top priority. Algebra is a seventh-grade course in most of the world.</p>
<p>NYMom, I think you need to know a few things about how the CTY program is structured before spending too much effort trying to get your son and his friend into the same program. Both you and the other mom, and the boys themselves need to understand how CTY is set up so you or they don’t go with unrealistic expectations about how much they will actually see each other or even spend time together.</p>
<p>First, CTY students are in classes about 7 hours a day. They also do homework/studying with their class group each evening. They also live in the same dorms with the kids who are in their class and often eat lunch and dinner together as a class as well. Kids from the same class end up spending quite a bit of time with each other, and the strongest relationships forged at CTY are those forged among classmates. This is part of what makes CTY special, in my mind - the feeling that you are among peers who are experiencing the same things you are.</p>
<p>While there are some opportunities for socializing with the larger group, that time is fairly limited during the three weeks and fairly structured as well.</p>
<p>In short, what I’m trying to say is that even if your son and his friend DO go to the same session on the same campus, it is unlikely that they will spend much time together, or even live in the same dorm. They and you need to understand this before they go. And, I think your son and his friend may miss out on some of what makes CTY such a fantastic growth experience if they feel tied to spending the limited free time the CTY students have with a friend from home.</p>
<p>I think you need to keep all of this in mind when deciding how to approach this unique experience for your son — is the purpose to let him grow socially and intellectually with NEW friends or to simply go away to camp with a friend from home? </p>
<p>Realistically, he and his friend will not be spending much time together — so if the goal is to let him grow socially and intellectually, you should make plans that suit your son, and not choose potentially lesser opportunities for him just so he can be with his friend on the same campus. </p>
<p>If your son isn’t ready to go away without his friend, it may be worth considering sending them to a different type of program this summer where they can truly be together on a day to day basis and waiting until he is ready to venture out on his own before sending him to CTY.</p>
<p>I agree with Carolyn. This is an opportunity to let your child stretch, both academically and socially. I wouldn’t send with a friend, even if they could get into the same class.</p>
<p>CAA is nothing compared to CTY. The CTY math classes are challenging and intriguing (having taken three of them) and many of my friends who had somewhat suffering SAT scores said that the CAA courses were nowhere near that, and in fact not much above school. (btw i scored in the 130’s on the AMC…these friends had nowhere near that). And I would agree with the previous post about not needing a friend there or a friend even being detrimental–but I would mention that the 7 hours include the time in the night. Also, the amount of being structured varies from campus to campus–on the Siena campus, for instance, you’re often confined to competitions with your class, whereas on the F+M or Dickinson campuses, activities are more social and unstructured. Nobody is forcing you to attend, and I met many interesting new people outside of my class. If your son wants a truly intellectual atmosphere, send him to CTY regardless of his friend.</p>
<p>NYMomof2,
I agree with the other posters. I believe that the CAA program is newer than the CTY program, and was added to service students who were interested in this kind of a program, but didn’t quite “measure up” to CTY standards. If you are trying to get your son and the other boy into the same course at the same location, that may be a very tall order. Remember that one of the priorities for course assignment is by SAT score. The higher your score, the higher you are on the priority list. As Carolyn said, the kids live together on a dorm floor by class-for example, everyone taking Probability & Game Theory lives on the same hall, is in class for 5-6 hours a day, and has their 2 hour study hall together on their floor. If you decide to send him to CTY, do get those forms in ASAP, because there are also class assignment priorities set for people who meet their deadlines.</p>
<p>Thank you all; this is incredibly helpful. I was really hoping only that they’d be at the same campus, although yesterday when we were together I realized that the other mother was thinking of trying to get them into the same class. One of her points about doing CAA was that with their high scores, they would be at the top of the assignment list and would be more likely to get what they asked for. I realized after seeing the choices the other mother made that the two boys are looking for different things. I was not impressed by the course that she stated was the best, CAA’s Engineering course. I looked at the syllabus last night, and it’s things like building bridges with toothpicks and doing the egg drop - things my son loved in 4th grade. These days he’s upset that he can’t take Fast-Paced HS Physics yet. I’m going to talk to her this week, and pass on this information. I am convinced now that my son shouldn’t do CAA, and I don’t think her son should, either. After reading the above, I realize that there isn’t really much point in making a major effort to get them into the same campus, given that I doubt they will be trying for the same classes - and that it probably wouldn’t be the best idea to have them together anyway.</p>
<p>To token adult: where is algrbra a 7th grade course? Even at the top private schools it is taught to the majority of students in 8th grade. I’m not saying some advanced students don’t take it in 7th, but the majority of students do not.</p>
<p>Tokenadult is talking of non-US schools. Algebra is indeed taught in 7th grade in schools. I took it in my French lycee, way back. Tokenadult’s point is that students are indeed capable of tackling algebra at a younger age than they do in American schools.</p>
<p>In my Ss’ k-8 public school, students took part in the Algebra Project in 6th grade. Though the bulk of algebra teaching took place in 8th grade, the teacher began introducing algebra in 7th grade.</p>
<p>Another place where students take algebra at seventh-grade age or younger (besides all over the world outside the United States) is through [url=<a href=“http://www.itcep.umn.edu/umtymp/]UMTYMP[/url”>http://www.itcep.umn.edu/umtymp/]UMTYMP[/url</a>] in Minnesota or through [url=<a href=“http://epgy.stanford.edu/courses/math/]EPGY[/url”>http://epgy.stanford.edu/courses/math/]EPGY[/url</a>] distance learning wherever people have computers. Whole countries in east Asia make algebra the standard topic of free, compulsory schooling for all seventh-grade students, and that means a lot of first-generation immigrants come to the United States wondering why the math curriculum here is so slow. I have heard of one math teacher in one state who said he was PROHIBITED from teaching algebra to students younger than eighth grade (or was that younger than ninth grade?) but that is just plain crazy. A lot of math-liking young people self-study or get parental “afterschooling” in algebra years before they are formally taught it in school. </p>
<p>Of course, once a kid in the United States gets up to international standard in learning math, then he finds that his science courses are too slow [sigh], but that is another story. My son is taking AP chemistry at eighth-grade age because we are part of a parent support network of homeschoolers who respond to our children’s interest in science by arranging joint classes at various lab spaces in town with various hired teachers.</p>