Freshman going into AP Calc BC

fireflake78 · July 8, 2009, 3:20pm

I took a couple Examinations for Acceleration during my eighth grade year, and I think this is my path into going to a highly selective college, such as MIT.

Eighth Grade:
Skipped Algebra I w/ Exam (1st Semester: 97, 2nd Semester: 100)
Skipped Algebra II w/ Exam (1st Semester: 100, 2nd Semester: 100)
Skipped Precalc w/ Exam (results still coming in; used “Precalculus: 7th Edition” by Sullivan)
Took Pre-AP Geometry (1st Sem Avg: 93, 2nd Sem Avg: 92)
Took French I for HS Credit

Ninth Grade:
Taking AP Calc BC
Taking Pre-IB Accelerated Science I (Whole year of Pre-AP Biology and 1st Semester of Pre-AP Chem is taught in one year)
Taking Everything else Pre-AP
Aiming to get at least 210 on PSAT (just for practice, not NMSQT, hoping to get attention of colleges and prep schools early, though)

Tenth Grade:
Taking AP Stats
Taking Pre-IB Accelerated Science II (2nd Semester of Pre-AP Chem and Whole year of Pre-AP Physics is taught in one year)
Taking Everything else Pre-AP
Aiming to do something special, like volunteering, getting that black belt in Taekwondo or winning a tournament, at least.

I must take the SAT’s early so I can apply for TAMS, which requires a student to acquire 600-800 on the mathematics portion of the SATs.

Applying for TAMS program, which allows a student to take first two years of college in University of North Texas during Junior and Senior year (which means living in their dorms and taking classes with college students and other TAMS participants) and apply for another university (such as MIT) later. Strong focus on Science and Mathematics, which are my fortes.

Eleventh Grade:
Hopefully I’m in TAMS and I don’t have to retake AP Calc and Stats. By this point, I will have already done all 3 of my Pre-AP sciences with use of the 2-year Pre-IB Accelerated Science program.
If I’m not in TAMS, I’ll just proceed with taking IB classes.

Twelfth Grade:
Hopefully I’m still in TAMS and I don’t have to retake anything I’ve already done.
If I’m not in TAMS, I’ll still keep taking IB classes instead.

So, is this a good plan for going into a decent college?

Blackroses216 · July 8, 2009, 3:25pm

Live in the present, my child.
You will achieve wonderful things.

lost_in_thought_1 · July 8, 2009, 3:30pm

Jesus… i wish I had thought ahead like this kid is doing… christ.

musicallylatin · July 8, 2009, 3:32pm

I’m with Blackroses on this one.

jamesford · July 8, 2009, 3:34pm

Don’t fall into the calculus trap

ansar · July 8, 2009, 3:45pm

I agree with lostinthought.

Seems good…just don’t burn out.

california_life · July 8, 2009, 3:55pm

I applaud you for taking such an immense amount of interest in your high school career at such an age, but you’re so young that the type of pressure you’re putting on yourself can lead to what many call “burning out”, and what I experienced first-hand. I, much like yourself, immersed myself in the college process and admissions much too early and towards the end was so fed up with it I had a bit of a falling out period at the worst possible point, Junior year. You are obviously a great student and will achieve great things. Your course schedule is already giving you a large advantage over others in your class and can only stress one thing, and that is too relax. Given the information, it is obvious you will be a top candidate for many competitive schools. So, take a breath, and enjoy your high school career. Find your passions, experience life, and, most of all, have fun. Come the end, you’ll be happy you did.

davematthewsxvii · July 8, 2009, 5:42pm

I would also stress blackroses comment.

HiPeople · July 8, 2009, 5:46pm

To be honest, that quote is a really bad attitude to have. It makes it seem like you are only motivated to do this just to impress colleges and not because you want to challenge yourself.

Remember that if you want to do this, do it because you love math and you want to challenge yourself.

However, I would have to disagree with this “burn-out” theory. If you really love math, I don’t understand how you can “burn-out”? Of course, if you are taking the classes for all the wrong reasons (just for colleges), then yes, you can burn out. However, I think if you really like it, you will not.

EDIT: This is just an example to contradict this “burn-out” theory, and it’s a slightly a different situation than yours, but this year, we had a student from my school take AP Calculus BC in 9th grade. He really enjoyed taking the class, and I never saw him stressed out or anything. In fact (I did not take Calc with him), but from what I have heard, he was considered the least stressed out student in his class and the one that knew all the answers. Most of my friends said that he was very outgoing and was not intimidated by all the 11th graders. He is going to be taking Multi Calc next year, and probably will have learned Differential Geometry and Linear Algebra (college classes for both subjects) before he is done with High School. However, there is a huge factor that I would have to point out with this story. He never did any of this for colleges; he took it because he found all the other classes too easy for him and wanted to challenge himself.
Now, I would also like to point out another thing because it is important if you are considering this perspective: this student qualified for Red MOP this year and I would say has a 50%+ shot at the IMO team by college, so he has a unique mathematical mind, and honestly, with all due respect to your accomplishments, is probably more qualified than you are, but I don’t see anything that he did different than you in terms of school classes.

Thus, I believe if you are doing this for the right reasons and you really love math, this is achievable, and you will have fun learning new concepts.

If you challenge youself, you will have fun. I think some of these people are sort of implying that you should not take it because it is too advanced and you should have fun doing other things, but if you really like math, why can you not have fun taking calculus? Of course, you will have to change this attitude:

but if you do, you will have fun while challenging yourself.

Yakyu_Spirits · July 8, 2009, 6:30pm

Man…why do people want to do everything so fast? I’m still trying to hold on to my childhood while I can.

aigiqinf · July 8, 2009, 7:04pm

There was an 8th grader in my AP Calculus BC class online. Of course, he got a perfect score on the AMC-8 (which you might want to check out).

In the end, taking AP Calculus BC in 9th grade will not get you into MIT. What will you take afterward? Do you really even like math?

Protagonizer · July 8, 2009, 7:12pm

I have to agree with Blackroses216 and HiPeople.
Stressing your math and science studies relentlessly in an attempt to consolidate a “good plan for going into a decent college” can really destroy your teenage experience.

Also, you might not want to portray yourself as taking all these classes to advance in a frenzy of college lust, which is kind of how you are coming off as by asking if this schedule (which should be arranged so that it includes classes that interest and challenge you) is how you get into a good college. What are colleges going to think about you when they see a transcript loaded with advanced courses but nothing else?

(I don’t know whether you have any notable/passionate ECs that you really hold interest in, seeing as you want us to critique this as your “plan to get into a decent college” but it doesn’t include any ECs other than a fleeting mention of TKD or “aiming to do something special”.)

ThisCouldBeHeavn · July 8, 2009, 7:28pm

Obviously you’re not eligible for the NMSQT. I got a 214 in 9th grade and it really did nothing for me fyi.

I don’t see how taking advanced math/science classes would deprive someone of their childhood though. That’s an incredibly silly idea and possibly one reason why this country struggles so much in those subjects.

Ivybound11 · July 8, 2009, 10:00pm

I’m jealous and this makes me feel utterly stupid.

Freshman going into AP Calc BC

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