Give me some advice, please.

ClassicRockerDad
Mon, 15 Nov 2010 11:02:55 +0000

By the way, I forgot to mention they put me in Pre-Algebra maybe because I just came in as new student this year. Though, almost everyone is in Algebra 1. Is this going to affect my high school transcript because I will be studying Algebra 1 next year and some of them will go to Geometry some of them to Geometry Honors?



Actually, I think it could definitely be a potential problem for certain schools. If most of the other strong students in your school will be taking Calculus, and you will still be on Precalculus senior year, then I think it could place you at a competitive disadvantage for admission to the top schools. You can try to explain it away, but it would be better to catch up.

If you are currently blowing away prealgebra, see if you can take an online Algebra course like from EPGY or CTY to accelerate so that you can take Geometry Honors next year. Have your parents talk to the head of the math department at your school and see what you have to do to get credit for Algebra. However, Algebra is probably the most important math class if not THE most important class overall that you will ever take and you need to learn every ounce of it thoroughly so that it’s all second nature.

If that is not feasible, see if you can take Geometry and Algebra II at the same time sophomore year to catch up. That’s another common way to do it.

However, if you struggle at all with math, then it’s far better to learn math slower but learn it well even if it costs you the admission to an elite college. Like I said before, getting into an elite college should not be the most important thing at this stage in your life. Developing yourself into who you want to be is far more important.