My daughter is in 8th grade and she got A’s in all subjects except social studies (she got a B+). She thinks she might have trouble keeping up with an honors social studies class. Does she need to take all honors classes (in her freshman year) in order to get into a top Ivy League college?
No
First, your sight shouldn’t be an Ivy League College. At the very least, consider Top 25 National Universities and LACs. Those are already extremely hard to get into. The “Ivy League or Bust” is very damaging to kids.
Second, if she got a B+ in Middle School, unless you live in a district where the high school is super competitive, she can handle Honors Social Science.
The key thing is for you to make sure she gets about 9 hours of sleep every night, even if that means no screens till hw is done and if it’s not done at 9pm then no screen at all (no phone in bed! use an old-fashioned alarm-clock… a growing cause for poor sleep in teens is that they sleep with their phone under their pilot or on their nightstand and wake up each time it buzzes… - and at that age the computer should be in the living room where you can check what your child is doing online.)
Another key thing will be to keep encouraging her to read - could be silly novels, graphic novels, comics, anything that’s long-form. The new SAT reading will require students who read a lot and have done so for a long time, as it’s not a skill you can acquire quickly.
With those, you’ll do more than most parents to ensure your child’s success and well-being. 