I don’t have any illusions about my son’s capabilities. There are many kids better than him academically in terms of grades.
I am just trying to play the hand we are dealt optimally. Keep as many doors open and see what the choices are.
He might not even get into LSE or Imperial. They aren’t a sure bet. Just got to make sure we meet the requirements and submit the application.
There are many routes to landing a job I finance — clearly kids from NYU, RIT and Fordham are making it in too and finance is not the only route to a successful career.
Just got to keep options open. I am just a bit surprised people would be so negative on a schools like Imperial and LSE given their reputation and at least the latter has a substantial number of American kids.
I do agree most likely Canada will provide us the optimal route. I do think something will work out here in the US too as well as the UK.
I looked into buying an investment property there last year but it did not work out. If you are a HSBC Premier client in the US you can get a mortgage.
Property has to meet stringent criteria like not too many rentals etc but assuming the property passes it will get done.
They had preapproved me but what I wanted to buy didn’t fit their requirements. Also Skipton International will do it. Rate is higher but it can be done for sure.
I don’t think anyone is negative about the two schools. And if you had posted that your kid was finishing up BC Calc with A’s and wondering if AP Stats was going to be too easy for him senior year, you’d be hearing more anecdotes about the people we know who went to the UK and had extremely challenging and successful experiences.
But you’ve posted about a “works hard and has a great attitude and has terrific EC’s” type of kid, which the UK schools won’t care about, and you’re posting on another thread about how to bring up his verbal SAT score which is just average… and so many of us are drawing our own conclusions. Which at least in my case is: he’ll have better options in the US and Canada, and the time spent prepping for the very long shot on Imperial could be devoted to other things- which could give him more choices in the USA (and you’re trying to keep his options open). And I’ve seen kids head off to the UK with an imperfect understanding of the educational system (nobody cares that you play hockey; there is no tutoring center or sympathetic Dean to intervene with the professor who is prepared to flunk you, there are no “gut courses” which you can use to manage a stressful semester- if you’re reading Econ you aren’t taking a poetry seminar or sociology for fun.
So you are surprised that “people” are negative, and I am surprised that your appreciation of these two schools are based on “reputation” and cost savings. Think of it like Yale’s grad program in music- or NYU’s medical school. Because they are free, they attract the MOST competitive students in the world. You aren’t the only one who has done the math on the costs. So if it was hard keeping up at NYU med before it was free (which it was… all med schools are hard, and succeeding in your rotations has always been challenging, let alone being competitive for residency) imagine what the curve NOW looks like.
But your son sounds terrific and I’m sure is going to do great things.
My son is a sophomore. I am sure there are kids finishing Calculus BC in Sophomore year but my son isn’t one of them. I know though by the time he is a senior the minimum advertised requirements can be met. He can probably do better than the minimum. That should give him a legit chance at these schools.
From my own experiences I don’t give much weight to SAT scores. I struggled with verbal myself and only after a lot of prep did I get a 1350. I was rejected from the top schools like MIT and Stanford but got a spot at Carnegie Mellon. Had a solid GPA and went onto to do my PhD at Caltech and landed my first job at Goldman Sachs.
Without the countless hours I spent memorizing word lists from Barrons my SAT verbal score wouldn’t have been more than a 400! I don’t think the SAT measures very much. For sure it didn’t measure very much back in the day when I took it. And no I wasn’t the smartest kid in my class in high school, just in the top ten percent.
One should keep in mind that in the UK, students spend the last two years focusing on 3-4 subjects (with math possibly counting as double and thus being studied twice as intently). LSE economics, in particular, is world class and similarly selective. The acceptance rates can be misleading, as UK students are only able to apply to 5 universities, so only the strongest among those who meet the minimum requirements risk applying to LSE.
Has he done past TMUA tests under timed settings? How well does he do on those?
OPs son can’t take TMUA practice tests, timed or untimed, because he’s in Algebra 2H. That’s +1 year advanced compared to the regular college prep track but -1/2years below the British track preparing for LSE and similarly math-heavy British university programs.
However seeing how he handles TMUA could help OP’s son see whether it’ll be worth preparing for British programs.
Canada is a better idea: only the last 2 years and 6 best subjects are counted, Math senior year is supposed to be Precalculus or Calculus.
Right, my bad - although he could try his hand at the GCSE further math exam and work on learning AS math, which is an 11th grade course that is the foundation for TMUA
As for opening as many doors - consider looking at D3 hockey colleges, like Tufts, Wesleyan, Middlebury, Colby, Trinity, etc. Wesleyan is in an urban-ish area (no NYU, certainly) which might help with internships
(GCSE= national exams all British 10th graders take - 10th grade is called Year 11. These students currently have 2 weeks off in order to prepare for the exams. They’re supposed to learn&review independently although they can go to school and sit there as rooms are set aside for “revision”. A couple exams take place today/tomorrow but most start next week and go through the end of June. Students have several exams per subject.)
Note that GCSE further maths is not a prerequisite for A level maths, only GCSE maths is. Realistically, algebra 2 + geometry should mostly be sufficient.
I was looking at sample questions. I don’t think algebra 2 + geometry is sufficient. As I did see some Precalc and calculus questions on it. The test did not seem too difficult — I did run one geometry question by him and he seemed to know how to do it instantly. It can be done with prep. But I need to think about if we want him to put his time into it.
The requirements can be met. He already meets the minimum GPA requirement. He is hoping to be done with four AP classes end of Junior year. And do three more senior year. Being on track to Calc AB as a senior. Math needs work to get to Calc BC and TMUA prep.
All this is very doable with a gap and postgraduate year. I regret not holding him back a year when he was little. But effectively a postgraduate year would go the same. I do agree the easier path is Canada and test optional SAT scores.
GCSE 10th grade doesn’t seem too difficult. Probably a little bit of practice to review stuff he has forgotten and some time to fill in gaps. Could easily be done over the summer although he is travelling for a summer program.
GCSE math exam seems a good idea. I am going to start on that. It preps him for SAT, TMUA and gets him ready for math next year too…kill three birds with one stone.
LSE has also confirmed AP Micro and AP Macro are seperate subjects.
And if uou do all that and he still doesn’t get in? Will it have been worth it?
You keep saying things like “he will meet the minimum requirements”. Meeting the minimum requirements is exactly that - the minimum. It is far from a guarantee of admission. There will be many who exceed the minimum.
So, I am with @Hockey_Dad in that I also want to maximize my kids’ chances of “success”, and I also value prestige. But @Hockey_Dad you seem to be defining success extremely narrowly! Your path worked for you, but it’s unlikely to work for your son – because he’s not you!
Like you, my son also ended up at Goldman, but he did it straight from undergrad at SMU.
But also, is your son quantitatively-oriented? If he has some softer skills – like excellent social skills – why not leverage those?
And taking a giant step back – while I think earning money is an important goal, the ultimate goal is a happy, satisfying life. I would view any college or career decision through that prism.
Working on these questions will help him master the math concepts he’s learned in class since they’ll either be a repeat or another take on something he knows.
I know meeting the minimum requirement isn’t a ticket in. I presume though if you do meet the minimum requirement you have a 10%-15% chance to get in. Those odds are pretty good compared to a top notch college in the same league as the United States.
One you add in he will be applying to multiple schools in the UK, not to mention top notch Canadian universities where the odds are even better something good will work out.
At a minimum he can take more risks with colleges he applies to in the US and afford to be more picky.
In the end where he goes, what he studies or where he works will be his choice. Most definitely he does not need to follow my path. Even if he exactly as outlined, the path would be similar, not exactly the same, and in some ways quite different.
For one I did comp science plus PhD, he would be doing economics and an MBA.
Yes I completely agree this is not the only route to have a successful career. One of many. And in the end personal satisfaction and happiness do not always relate to career success.
He is a sophomore, doesn’t quite know what he wants. Given what he is excelling in, I have identified one path. I will put him on that path. As he grows and discovers other options he can go in the direction he wants.
Why would you presume that a college picks randomly amongst those who meet the minimum requirements to apply? That’s no more logical than assuming any random person can apply to every Ivy and have a 20-30% chance of admission (8 colleges with a 3-5% admission rate at each).
Universities try to pick the best candidates. That selection may be imperfect because they have limited information, but at least the U.K. universities make it clear what they want: they’ll select for better academic qualifications over lesser ones basically every time, barring some clear and compelling reason (“contextual admissions” which in the U.K. means adjusting for socioeconomic disadvantage, but only amongst domestic applicants).
Interviews and tests are part of that selection for more academically qualified candidates. FOIA requests allow you to see how Oxbridge admissions rates vary based on scores in the admissions test, and remember these are all candidates who meet the minimum requirement or they wouldn’t have applied (you can ask for the same data from LSE and Imperial if it’s not already been released, the U.K. site is https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/):
