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Currently, i am a sophomore in AP calc BC. Also, i have taken Bio, AP Chem, and am currently in AP Physics. My question is, is it worth it to go much further, like Multivariable Calc and all that? Do colleges see that as a major plus? Or would it be more advisable to advance myself in music or some other area? Thanks for any input!

By Texas137 (Texas137) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 06:10 pm: Edit

It depends on what you plan to go into. If you want to go to MIT or be a math major at Harvard, obviously you need to go forward with math. If you're going to be an English major, it doesn't matter as much although even then some of the highly selective schools want to see 3 or 4 years of math in high school to prove you challenged yourself.

By Haithman (Haithman) on Monday, May 26, 2003 - 10:02 pm: Edit

Your a sophmore and in AP Calc BC and AP physics??? wow!, i'm not gonna be in AP physics until probably junior year, and AP calc until my senior year! (iam currently a freshman)
Well good luck!
-Haitham Said

By Hahaha (Hahaha) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 12:40 am: Edit

Thanks Haithman, but with so many of the stat postings on this site, and so many people so much more advanced than me, i hardly have any right to be proud. lol.

By Nyu2010 (Nyu2010) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 03:57 pm: Edit

Yeah thats pretty amazing. I'm only going to be in pre-calc by SENIOR year and AP bio or physics as a senior. I'm adv right now in science but normal in math.

By Sixtoes (Sixtoes) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 06:47 pm: Edit

do what you want. do you love math? (sounds like you do) then go for it! they'll want to see steady advancement in math, as long as your school/cc offers courses. don't change your life based on what colleges want- because thats exactly what they /don't/ want.

By Bkwrm98 (Bkwrm98) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 06:50 pm: Edit

Keep in mind that most of the students on this site are extremely good students (after all, who else would go on a message board about education? lol) so just simply taking those courses is a major accomplishment, even if there are students here that might be better.

Did you take physics H already? In my school we pretty much start taking AP's jr. year because no one manages to fill prerequisites soph. year, and the only reason I'm taking AP physics at a jr. next year is because I'm skipping physics H.

By Doofus (Doofus) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 07:03 pm: Edit

What schools offer classes further than that? What the hell? Did you take algebra in 5th grade. How did you get in all those classes as a sophomore?

By Azn_Cowboy (Azn_Cowboy) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 07:15 pm: Edit

Wow, you sure are far ahead. I'm gonna be in AP Calc BC next year as a sophomore, but not in that much advanced science! Man. What math are thinking of taking next year as a junior? I might just enroll at a local CC or something. Best of luck to ya.

By Hahaha (Hahaha) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 07:15 pm: Edit

hehe. I took algebra 1 and 2 in 8th grade at the local cc, and i skipped geometry by acing the final. They wouldn't ordinarily let people do that, but i argued my way through. So i took precalc over the summer, and went into AP CALC AB 9th grade. as for science, i took CP bio 9th grade, and CP and AP chem at the local cc, so i'm in AP Physics B. For my school, physics H is not a prereq for AP Physics. Supposedly, my school does not "allow" me to have these classes, but i kept arguing. Yeah, i love math and science ALOT, but then again, i should portray myself as well-rounded. I know i shouldn't be bending over backwards to please colege adcoms, but hey, i can't get over my silly dream to get into MIT. So, given that i want to go to MIT, should i go more in math and science? Or pursue music further?

By Azn_Cowboy (Azn_Cowboy) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 11:15 pm: Edit

You'll be fine at the pace your going. I don't even know why I'm taking so much math when my true interest lies in business and politics. I guess it's just the Chinese norm. I'm taking AP Bio next year too. Is it hard?

By Hahaha (Hahaha) on Tuesday, May 27, 2003 - 11:35 pm: Edit

From what i've heard, AP Bio is pretty easy, less natural smarts and more plain memorization.

By Sixtoes (Sixtoes) on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 02:04 am: Edit

no- the general trend now is wanting a well rounded CLASS- including a mix of "well rounded" and "well LOPSIDED" people. so if youre superb in one/two things, focus on that and become a star- do you have any math/science ec's? teams? research? -- unless you love music too, in which case- youre going to be a busy person- or have to make some tough decisions--

By Hahaha (Hahaha) on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 10:28 am: Edit

I'm trying to do research with a UCLA lab professor. But no, my school has NO math or science teams, does not sponsor entry into any competitions...nothing.

By Texas137 (Texas137) on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 11:30 am: Edit

Don't rule out the possibility of entering contests, even if you are the only person at your school who is interested. Quite a few are based on individual, not team performance. If your parents are willing to pay the registration fee, there's no reason for you school not to let you enter. And maybe it will pique the interest of administrators and other students. Here's info I posted elsewhere about specific contests (I don't know why some of the links are "hot" and others aren't. Just cut & paste those):

HIGH SCHOOL MATH/SCIENCE CONTESTS

The U.S. participates in 5 int'l math/science olympiads. These are
basically for high school students, although occasionally a middle
schooler with unusual talent will have some success. Selection of the US
team is made based on a series of 2-3 exams, leading to invitations to a
free olympiad preparation camp for the top 15-30 students. Based on
performance at the camp, a team of 4-6 is chosen to represent the US.
Planning and registration
needs to take place during the summer or early fall. Here they are:

1) math
http://www.unl.edu/amc/
The oldest (50 yrs) and best known. Over 200,000 kids take one of the
preliminary exams (AMC 10 and AMC 12). The top 5% take an intermediate
exam (AIME), and the top 300 take the USA Math Olympiad (a 9-hour
proof-based exam). Camp is usually 3-4 weeks in Lincoln, Nebraska. The
2003 Int'l Math Olympiad will be in Japan.

If you know a middle schooler interested in this sort of thing, the
premier math competition for middle schoolers is Mathcounts,
http://www.mathcounts.org/

2) physics
www.aapt.org
Students are nominated by their teachers to take the prelim exam. So
unlike the math exam where everyone in a school might take it, generally
only the top few physics students at a school take the prelim exam (half
complex problem-solving), given late Jan or early Feb. The top 200 take
a semifinal exam (all complex problem-solving) in March, as well as
submitting transcripts and teacher recommendations to be considered for
the 10 day camp (in Maryland). The 2003 Int'l Physics Olympiad will be
in Taiwan.

The same organization also sponsors a contest called Physics Bowl in
April which is much more accessible to a range of students. You need 4 kids, exam is all
multiple choice and includes recall of definitions/factoids. There are
separate divisions for 1st and 2nd year physics students, as well as a
separate division for students who attend specialized
math/science/technology high schools.

3) computer programming
www.usaco.org
there is a series of contests during the school year which kids take as
individuals (usually from home rather than school) over the internet.
The contests involve problems, usually
mathematical, requiring a complex algorithmic solution before any
programming can even start. There is great (free) training material at
the site, but students need to already know how to program. US
participants usually program in C/C++. Int'l students often program in
Pascal. No one uses Java (it isn't even allowed), which is unfortunate
since the College Board (and hence high school AP classes) is switching
to Java with the 2005 AP exams in computer science. Camp is 10 days,
usually in Kenosha, Wisc, but in 2003 will be in Colorado Springs. The
Int'l Olympiad in Informatics will be in the US for the first time in
2003, in Kenosha, sponsored by Microsoft.

4) chemistry
http://www.chemistry.org/portal/Chemistry?PID=acsdisplay.html&DOC=education%5Cstudent%5Colympiad.html
Multiple choice prelim exams are going on now at schools. Top students
in each city or region will be invited to take a semifinal exam in late
April or May, administered by a local coordinator at a central site. The
semifinal includes problem solving and a lab part. Based on that, 24
students are invited to a 10 day (or so) camp at the US Air Force
Academy in Colo. Springs. The 2003 IOCh will be in India.

5) biology
http://www.cee.org/usabo/
I don't know much about this one. 2003 will be the first year the U.S.
is fielding a team. If you are interested in biology, also
check out the Brain Bee (neuroscience trivia) http://apu.sfn.org/baw/bee.cfm

6) not an olympiad, but if you've made it this far you might be
interested in Science Bowl. Teams compete against each other in a
fast-paced hit-the-buzzer type event answering math/science trivia
problems. Regional winners advance to the national contest in Washington
D.C., and the nat'l winners get things like a free trip to Munich to
participate in a meeting of prior Nobel Laureates in chemistry.
http://www.scied.science.doe.gov/nsb/default.htm

By Hahaha (Hahaha) on Wednesday, May 28, 2003 - 09:19 pm: Edit

wow! thanks ALOT Texas 137! I'll be sure to look into those competitions.

By Aoe2guy (Aoe2guy) on Sunday, July 06, 2003 - 05:38 pm: Edit

yea its great that you could go ahead Hahaha - schools should really let people move at their own pace, above the normal "honors/regents" classes if they can handle it. i know that some schools, other than the schools for talented kids, allow precalculus in 9th grade with out much of a fight, but i think summer study or enrollment at local community colleges should be encouraged and embraced by a high school if the student is interested that way. Schools should have a specific link to certain local schools to send accelerated students, but the main problem is usually that most public schools, even great ones, just dont want to have to worry about all this because there might be 3 or 4 kids in a grade wanting to actually do this type of an academic path- which i think is enough , considering how much interest it takes for those 3 or 4 ppl to go ahead anyway.

By Joe124 (Joe124) on Sunday, July 06, 2003 - 06:12 pm: Edit

I'm taking graduate level biochemistry and writing a doctoral dissertation on the nature of the metaphor and I'm only in kindergarten-NO, not really. Honestly, the fact that you are a good student and are accelerated in various areas is fantastic-power to you. But, my advice to you is to chill out a bit over the summers, etc. before you enter the working world. There's always plenty of time for work in life, so take it easy every once and a while. All I'm saying is, live life to the fullest, and if for you that means studying differential equations and linear algebra and not exploring the great outdoors or reading a good book, my sympathies. I concur with the latter view myself, but I guess that's me. The reason they call it college is because the philosophy of college is to do college when you are of college age. If you take every AP ever written and place out of everything, you will probably skip your undergraduate years and start grad. school at the age of 18. That's wonderful, but I think that I would burn out eventually. But then again, my views entirely.
Carpe diem, Bona fortuna, Nota bene!

By Hahaha (Hahaha) on Monday, July 07, 2003 - 03:41 pm: Edit

i hear ya, Joe124, and trust me, i don't work as hard as it seems i might. i'm lucky to have a really sturdy upbringing. my dad used to teach me math and all that stuff, so i had a good foundation, and now this stuff comes easy. i don't work like a robot, and i have somewhat of a social life, although less than i would like to have. but oh well. that's the way my priorities go. anyways, i'm not trying to go for soph standing or anything. The reason i take APs is not to skip out of the classes in college, but to actually learn so i can take the classes in college without flunking out. Even though APs are college level, i doubt that they are as hard or move as fast as college classes, and like you said, i don't want to burn out in college.