Can you check the ex-missions on the schools? See if they are sending kids to MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Georgia Tech and other schools which require a perfect score on the SAT Math section. If, so, how common is it? Besides having a hook to get in, some kids will take advanced math while in HS at their local college - you could call their guidance departments and see if that is offered and judge by response how unusual it is to do so.
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Great insight and something I probably underrated. Thank you.
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C, on paper, seems the outlier, not in the best way to match your need.
However, they will know where theyāve placed kids. Maybe they place in top schools.
You can find out.
in theory, youāre not penalized if a school doesnāt offer a class and at many schools you donāt need calc.
Does one school stand out for the student in regards to comfort?
Is Calculus Necessary? As Caltech Drops Requirement, Other Colleges Stay Course (yahoo.com)
Caltech drops ācalculus classā as a requirement. But you need to demonstrate you are proficient in calculus. I interpret this as they are looking for Will Hunting.
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Pepper, good thought. Option A is sending kids to the elites (MIT, Stanford, Georgia Tech). Options B and C do not publish that data, but Iād guess itās rare.
As far as taking a true college course, my concern would be the logistics of getting to campus and back during the academic day.
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But also, back to the ālike-mindedā concept, is this (albeit common) a good substitute?
Our CC offers online as options.
There are also zoom for synchronous. S24 does math in- person for the evening sessions. Cal 1 was in person M/W from 6-8. Now Cal 2 is T/Th 645-9.
Also separate transcripts and classes are not conflated.
This is where āparental advisoryā comes inā¦ Hope OP knows whatās best for his kid.
Good thought and something I have not researched. Iād strongly prefer in-person (again, like-minded comment). Evening hours isnāt super appealing simply because he enjoys sports and I have two other childrensā extra-curriculars to consider, but this is something I need to dig into.
In addition to the logistics of DE courses, you need to consider the rigor.
I teach at a CC and have had high school students in my classes, in addition to teaching full sections of DE. While every CC is different, the Bio 101 course that I teach at my CC is a gen-ed course to meet the āscience with labā requirements of our state schools. It is NOT an AP or elite college-level class. The upper level courses are equivalent to what a major would encounter in college, but it is exceedingly rare to have DE students in these classes.
The students at our public HS that have taken every available math class (Calc BC and AP Stats) go to the CC for MV calc. Thatās rigorous. But filling a HS schedule with DE classes does not automatically indicate high rigor. Be wary if that is all that the high school is offering for kids that need more. Definitely look into the specifics of your local CC.
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This. Peer effects are huge. Iāve watched how much sonās shifting peer group has affected his attitude about school (in a positive way, thankfully). Itās not a given that the school with all the advanced math will have peers that will be āhis peopleā and affect him in a positive way ā but heās less likely, maybe, to be an academic outlier, which can be lonely (especially if heās taking a bunch of classes online).
Option A sounds like a larger school, which is often correlated with more robust extracurricular opportunities. Of course, larger schools are easy places in which to get lost. Is your kid the kind who will connect with faculty and peers in a less personalized environment?
Iām curious about why Option B doesnāt have AP languages. Do they not offer advanced languages at all, or are they merely opting out of teaching to the AP test? (same with science ā are there advanced science classes or justā¦nothing beyond the standard Bio/Chem/Physics?)
How are the faculty at the different schools? are there good science/math/etc teachers who have been there a while and know the ropes? Are there good college counselors who really get to know the kids (and the admissions officers at various schools?) Whatās the college acceptance/attendance track record of kids from these schools? (subtext: will he have good teachers and will they know what to do with a kid at his level?)
re: AP vs DE credit, I think the goal here is to challenge your son and demonstrate to colleges that he can push himself and hack the curriculum. I wouldnāt expect any private school of the MIT/Caltech caliber to be giving actual college credit for high school coursework.
Finally, if your kid is truly too advanced for regular school, Iāll advance the (possibly controversial) opinion that early college programs/STEM academies can be a blessing for gifted kids. Places like NC School of Science and Math, TAMS, Simonās Rock, etc. can be havens for the right kids. (I tend to value keeping kids at home as long as possible but for my sister, leaving was a Godsend.) Iād also start now investigating summer programs where your kid can find their people.
Good luck!
Your CC sounds like my CC. This is where something liek Assist.org is very helpful.
Most CC classes have different levels, the STEM major classes will always be harder. My kids are not interested in bio, but like your CC, our 101 will not transfer to UC for credit. They would be something with higher number.
My son takes calculus for engineers. His CC instructor also teaches at the local State College. Only difference is the class curveā¦
Interesting that they donāt publish it, b/c I believe they do have to submit them to each college. Have you google searched their websites for āschool profileā? try site:schoolA.com Profile
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School A seems like it offers the most academic choices - is there something you donāt like about it?
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With privates, how receptive are they to this idea, going off campus to a real college?
My kid went to a K-8 private and started CC in 7th grade and the local uni in 8th. The principal took him to/from class every day. Of course, she also spearheaded his acceleration starting in 1st grade. She also did all the legwork to make sure it was free to us.
Starting in 9th, we had him in the local public that is ranked at the bottom of the state. That being said, there are some good avenues/programs for the few college bound kids. The 9th grade guidance counselor worked his schedule so he was free for first period and it fit nicely with the math course at the local uni. We were lucky that he could walk from home to the uni and then to the HS.
Unfortunately, then the counselor retiredā¦ and the replacements were beyond bad. But thatās another story. 10th grade, the school switched from regular schedule to block, but couldnāt tell me what they were doing until 2 weeks before school started and after it was too late to register for the uni. So he did AP stats that year.
Junior/senior years, he went to our local governorās school across town for 1/2 day. They cover math, science, and English. They too were awesome with him, adjusting the schedules, so he could take in person classes at the uni. By this time he had his driverās license and could drive himself. Would this be an option for yours once he turns 16?
Anyhow, just some ideas. Private schools may be more willing to work with you than publics. Maybe not. It doesnāt hurt to ask.
I will also add that I did NOT want him to take math classes in front of a computer. Other classes, I didnāt mind so much. But I really didnāt want him online for math. Thatās just old-fashioned me. And also, while being so accelerated isnāt uncommon in CC, in my land itās VERY VERY uncommon. Only 1 other kid in ~20 years had gone to the local uni for math, and he had a parent teaching there.
In terms of selecting a high school, what matters more than anything else is the schoolās track record of getting unhooked students into those colleges. It sounds like School A does that. Do you have any info on how well schools B and C do on this measure?
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This is very true. Your childās chance for getting in to a school is definitely tied into the performance of previous admits from that school. If the school sends someone every year and they do well, colleges know they can have some confidence an applicant with similar qualities will perform. On the other hand, if the class president / valedictorian drops out after one semesterā¦
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Easy access to advanced level courses in high school will prepare him well for college regardless of where he ends up in college. Option A is my vote.
What does your son want?
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Highly recommend you get the school profile from each of these schools - key information should include: colleges student apply to, colleges accepted, ED, RD, EA rates, average ACT/SAT score, % of students taking advance classes plus how many years of each core subject. If an independent school will not provide you the information or does not produce this document, I would eliminate it. Admissions should also arrange for you to speak with the college counselor at each school to review their process and results.
Here is an example from 2 schools - you can see how the information varies a bit by each school. This document should be on each of the schoolās websites for both families and college admission officers.
scroll down for college list: https://resources.finalsite.net/images/v1694815438/seattleprep/sikzebfg25qejjrasw9i/CollegeProfile23-24FINAL1.pdf
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