<p>And, fwiw, that is why there is a summer! Sign up for a STEM course or one course a la Apex. By August, the kid should have the Rice qualifiers.</p>
<p>IF, if your child needs an additional math, do an online one. I realized sophmore year of my d’s hs that she would need an additional math, so she signed up for a summer online course.</p>
<p>From the OP–
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<p>I can’t believe you said that…wow…maybe you should ask them why they turned down Yale to attend OSU? Maybe they got full ride at OSU or maybe they just didn’t like the pressure cooker at Yale??? WOW!!</p>
<p>Agreed with above. “schools like that” provide very fine educations. Rice is a fine school but it isn’t the only fine school in Texas, and Rice grads are not the only successful college graduates.</p>
<p>I agree that there is some miscommunication that took place when talking to the Rice person on the phone. And NO I do not suggest that you call them back.</p>
<p>If you talk to anyone knowledgeable in the competitive college field and ask about the chances of admissions for a student who is taking NO math or science junior year, they will tell you that it’s likely to be slim. I don’t understand this myself, and I have seen many block plan schedules. Heck my son went to a block plan college. Absolutely, just taking three academic courses in the year is going to be a problem even if they are all AP. Block plans do not typically reduce the subjects taken, it 's just how they are taken. My son had to take 8 courses a year in college just as most other student did, just in different way, and options of mini courses as well. </p>
<p>What I would do, is look for a local college or an AP correspondence course for your daughter to take. Some of my kids took calc at a local public college during the summer. Let her get the math and science this summer in that fashion and then take the AP version as a senior as well. But I think you need to talk to your DD’s school counselor and find out what the story is regarding this type of scheduling and elite school admissions.</p>
<p>In retrospect, you DD should not have taken that French AP and taken the AP calc instead.</p>
<p>Wow, SteveMA’s quote I have missed, hopefully OP you are listening, really listening to what people are saying. If you actually believe that top kids don’t go to all kinds of schools you have alot of learning to do this year while your D is a junior. Take a deep breath, have your D’s guidance counselor clarify what she needs to be an applicant at Rice, adjust her schedule if need be and then start reading.</p>
<p>And remember, your daughter might not get accepted at Rice anyway, or she might not receive sufficient aid to attend. “Those schools” might be an option she will be considering.</p>
<p>Just curious–why is it ok for your son to go to Cornell College or Austin College and not your D?</p>
<p>If she’s graduating on the Distinguished Plan, and will at some point complete Calculus in high school, my guess is she’ll be fine as far as class requirements go. Summer school and/or night school at a community college helped my kids overcome some scheduling issues.</p>
<p>Dealing with schedules can be tough for kids in AP and Dual classes that also have year long electives that are important to them (Athletics, Art, Drama, Band, Choir, etc.) I had 3, all on an advanced/distinguished path - wanting to take the most rigorous coursework available. The first one wasn’t too much of a challenge, but the others had band and choir. It was always a NIGHTMARE! We’re DONE with high school schedules now, we’re in the spring semester of senior year for D3. (YAY!) Our community college was always a lifesaver. Even though classes at a community college will probably not transfer to Rice, your HIGH SCHOOL may grant high school credit for them. Talk to your high school GC about it! :)</p>
<p>You still have time to deal with these issues. Keep calm and carry on, adapt and overcome and all that stuff. You’ll get it sorted. You just have to keep your head about you.</p>
<p>I was not clear in my post that my son took Block courses in college. I brought it up as he took a full load+ at a school that used the block plan, but it was a college. </p>
<p>If the rules of the OP’s DD’s high school are that no math AND no science can be taken with 3 AP courses, the way the schedules are set forth, then students should take fewer AP and take the math and science. Our school district gatekeeps AP courses viciously so that it is not unusual for very qualified students to take “only” two AP courses junior year and do quite well. Many highly selective colleges are not putting a whole lot of weight on AP heavy schedules anyways. If those are the rules, then your kid is taking the heaviest course load possible. But not taking math AND science junior year is a red flag for selective college admissions.</p>
<p>SteveMA, I don’t understand your question regarding Cornell College and Austin College. I think the issue here is that the OP wants her daughter to be a contender for Rice and right now according to Rice, she is not due to her junior year schedule. No one can guarantee acceptance to a school like Rice even with the ideal academic schedule and top grades in them, but you are not even on the starting block with admissions if you don’t have the right slate of courses, and the OP’s DD is in the unfortunate position of being a junior in high school not taking any math or science, which , yes, would be a flag and an issue for most selective college admissions.</p>
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<p>OP compared D’s situation to current senior S’s situation/admissions in her original post: “She will not be capable of any school any better than where her brother has gotten in.”</p>
<p>The feeling is that DD has worked very hard all these years, while DS has slacked and played video games. She should be able to be rewarded for all her hard work. That is the point on that. </p>
<p>Nothing wrong with Cornell College or Austin College. They are great schools. But, since my daughter worked so much harder than him all these years, there should be something in the end for it.</p>
<p>OP- there are dozens of great schools (I don’t know Cornell or Austin so can’t comment) with national reputations where your D would find kindred spirits. So it’s great that Rice is on her radar- now she gets to add to the pile!</p>
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<p>However, she is sufficiently advanced to have already fulfilled Rice’s minimum math and science requirements for science and engineering majors (see #8), with the opportunity to complete additional math and science as a high school senior.</p>
<p>Of course, Rice is no guarantee for admission, so being fixated on that one school when there are plenty of good schools around may lead to disappointment if she does not get admitted (or does not get enough financial aid to make it affordable).</p>
<p>It is not that she is fixated. It is that it gives the impression that every other school might have the same opinion. It is not her fault that she did not get math or science this year. Ironically, if she were not ahead of grade level, most kids, even the advanced kids, at her high school are in preAP precal (1 block, fall or spring) or algebra 2 (regular level kids, but also just 1 block), and then preAP physics (1 block, fall or spring). But she already completed the preAP physics and the preAP precal so she could not take either. All that is left is AP math and AP physics, both of which would have started in the fall and gone the entire year equally 2 credits. I am putting in a call to the GC to see if he can clarify.</p>
<p>Does your high school offer dual credit?</p>
<p>LMKH- I think there are likely to be two types of schools your D is interested in- the “admit by the numbers” schools, where if you don’t have exactly what is listed as requirements, she is likely to be denied; and then the holistic review type of schools. If a school requires four years of math and science, and if in reading your D’s transcript she only has three, that could be a problem at the first type of schools but less likely at the second, where they will realize that she has indeed fulfilled the requirements albeit in a different way.</p>
<p>If your school offers both AP Physics and BC Calc, it would be a red flag for a kid taking the most demanding curriculum not to be enrolled in either (or both). But if your D is indeed taking those classes then I don’t think you should have a problem. A well written GC letter with the application to explain the scheduling constraints should be sufficient.</p>
<p>OP, I think all of us in Texas get it and aren’t really that concerned. Your D is probably on the Distinguished plan, and regardless, she has/will have all Rice requires. It is just a matter of sequencing and details, e.g., don’t forget that 8th grade algebra will count on the HS transcript = 4 yrs of math, which is why she got on the advanced math track in the first place. The GC will simply need to do a good job explaining your block plan, AP limits, etc. on the GC’s rec. The only impact of how this all came down is that she may not get to present herself as a math/sci applicant to some schools–she may have to choose a stronger liberal arts presentation to get in and then backdoor the pursuit of math/sci. Which brings me to this:</p>
<p>I encourage you to give serious consideration to the suggestion upthread that you engage a private college counselor to assist your daughter with her search. Based on this and your prior posts, there are many issues going on: (1) You think this public school has poorly educated your children–an outside third party familiar with Texas high schools can offer advice and recommends regarding her education in the context of getting into and succeeding at competitive schools. (2) You think this public school offers inadequate college counseling–a private professional can fill that gap better than you can. (3) You hold a mostly poor opinion of your daughter’s in-state options. Accordingly, your daughter needs a carefully-devised list of mostly OOS schools to go along with Rice. (4) Rice is very competitive, especially among in-state applicants. Your daughter needs expert advice on how to maximize her chances of getting into Rice, whether through additional coursework, strategic selection of SAT subject tests, tweaking ECs, crafting essays or other. Considering what you’ve said about your D, her best shot may be via Humanities instead of Natural Science or Shepherd (although I seem to recall she had already ruled Shepherd out). The good thing about Rice is, your choice of major for purpose of pitching yourself for admission isn’t binding! They employ a much more liberal approach than that taken by the universities that require you to apply to a particular college/degree program and then make it very difficult for you to change to another college. That is the kind of information a private counselor will know and can employ to optimize your D’s college search and application process. (5) A private counselor frees you to just be a supportive parent–that can be a boon to the parent-senior relationship, plus all the time and emotional investment you’d give to helping her can be re-directed to other places where you’re needed! </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>It’s been a few years, but my daughter got into Rice and didn’t take calculus until her senior year of high school. I have trouble believing your daughter’s situation can’t be explained to Rice in counselor comments with the application. Chill!</p>
<p>My son got into Rice and didn’t take calculus at all. His highest math course was pre-calc in senior year.</p>
<p>I agree - chill!</p>