Hi ! My daughter is starting junior year in high school this fall. She wants to major in financial actuarial mathematics. She took AP Human Geography freshman year. AP Calculus AB and BC, AP World History and Honors Chemistry in sophomore year. Scored 5 in all APs. She wanted to take 6 APs junior year but due to school policy she was only assigned 4 APs. She gets an early release from school this semester which leaves her with plenty extra time.
My question : Is it better she does another unweighted class at school (which she is not interested in) or work as a math tutor at a local tutoring company? Current extra curriculars → She has been tutoring Math privately since freshman year, volunteers for a local social work organization, is a board member on the city’s teen council, worked as camp counselor at the city’s children’s summer camp. Plus she took 2 community college classes in summer and is taking another in fall.
So which is better - another job or more classes?
Thanks for reading through my long writeup. Any advice is highly appreciated!
I don’t think it will make any difference in either case. At my son’s alma mater, Cal Poly, the job, which is major related, would help, and the extra class would hurt the GPA, even if it’s an A, by diluting the power of the AP/IB weighting in the UC/CSU calculation. I don’t know of any other school where it would matter.
Will she have four years of core classes, including bio, Chem and physics, and foreign language by the time she graduates?
If so, I think working would be great.
If not, I would take the classes. The GC can note the school policy of limiting APs if it isn’t already in the school report. (It’s very common for HSs to have those limits).
Will she have four each of English, Sciences (and enough lab sciences), social studies and math…and foreign language to level 4. Will she have an arts class, and enough PE and health to satisfy HS graduation requirements too?
Are there no fun electives at your high school. My kids both took culinary arts and loved it. Is she not in a music ensemble at school?
There is a standard set of recommendations for core classes that will satisfy the recommended HS curriculum at a wide range of colleges. So doing that keeps your options as open as they can be.
Otherwise, what you do in terms of electives is much more a matter of interest, and if she is more interested in being a tutor than in taking an elective then that seems fine to me. Assuming she would still be satisfying those core recommendations.
I wouldn’t do anything based on what you perceive as being “better” for college applications.
I do think colleges are looking for students who do things other than just academics. It looks like that is your kid’s focus. That being the case either an elective course OR a job would be good. Or something that shows she doesn’t just go to classes, and study.
If she isn’t interested in any of the class offerings and likes to tutor my vote would be to continue tutoring. It could also be a nice gig during summers when she’s in college.
If the concern is college admission, the CDS should tell you the importance of admission criteria. Some schools weigh jobs more heavily in admissions.
JMHO but I’m a believer in internships and co-ops in college. Small sample but I think it helped my son’s job search this year compared to his cohorts.
My answer assumes that she has already completed all her academic requirements. A reason why people take an additional class is to demonstrate academic interest and strength. This class would usually align with the student’s academic interest as well. For example, someone interested in business may decide to take an additional Econ class.
Given that you mentioned she’s not interested in the class, I would assume that this additional class does not align well with her intended major either. In that case, the tutoring job may be more suitable.
In essence, do what makes the most sense. Admissions Officers don’t want students to do things just to please them, and they are usually able to tell if something is done only for admissions without too much meaningful impact on the students’ life
Thank you all for your advice! It helped me gain clarity of thought. She has completed most high school requirements including language social studies and science and wants to take the fun electives in senior year. She enjoys working and it is a great way to learn many life skills. We will look into internships too. Thanks again!
In my opinition, Given your daughter’s strong academic profile and desire to major in financial actuarial mathematics, focusing on math tutoring during her extra time would be beneficial. This allows her to deepen her subject matter expertise, develop essential skills, and maintain her strong extracurricular involvement. While an additional unweighted class could boost her GPA slightly, the potential returns from tutoring align more closely with her long-term goals.
Just coming back here and agree that the math tutoring is a great idea (IMO better than interning).
Colleges will be looking for math tutors as well, so she will have experience!
