college ds reports on what worked

[Ms. Riding Hood]

Hello to the board! Sadly, I have not been keeping up with goings on here for quite some time, but I did think it might be worthwhile to post this.

 

Ds is a freshman this year at MIT. Most freshman take the same courses--physics, chemistry, calculus. I've repeatedly questioned ds about whether he feels he was well prepared for these classes with his high school coursework. He's come to the decision that he's doing well, comparatively speaking, and keeping up with his classmates in every way. He did say that his high school chemistry (Apologia, both levels) and calculus (Thinkwell w/Ed Burger) were excellent. He feels that, conceptually, both of these were stellar.

 

He *volunteered* this information (in other words, I wasn't specifically asking for names of programs).

 

He has been a fan of Apologia sciences, because for him they were very "user friendly". He enjoyed them. He also liked Dr. Burger's lectures. But aside from liking them, he was very happy to tell me that "they worked!" He also used Apologia physics, and beyond that Halliday & Resnick for calc-based physics. He's doing well in physics, too, but for some reason he thought that the chemistry and calculus courses were exceptional.

 

Anyway, I am passing this along not to say that these are the best for everyone, but just to say that they have worked very well for us. If your dc like Apologia, then maybe that will be a comfort to you. :)

 

And on a side note: the only subject I really helped ds with was writing. He did everything else on his own. He just told me about a very nice complement he got on his first paper for a film class. It's the one thing I can take a little bit of pride in...(patting myself on the back). :tongue_smilie:

[KnitWit]

Thanks for posting this.

 

My dc love and are excelling with Apologia. Then, I come here and read of so many who are not fans....but then, even locally I have been hearing great reviews from kids who've gone onto college and feel MORE prepared than their classmates. I was wondering if I am totally MISSING something! LOL!

 

Glad your ds is doing well!! Thanks again! I think we will *stay the course* here. :)

Edited October 18, 2009 by MSPolly
left out a word

[FourOaks]

Thanks for the post. I have a daughter who is in General Science now and I am looking to the next several years, wondering what would be best for her. She loves Apologia, so it's wonderful to hear some positives about the curriculum that she really wants to continue in.

[Cedarmom]

Thanks, this is nice to hear.

 

My son did Apologia Physics and part of Apologia Physcis II. He is now taking a Community College Class in physcis. He is having no problem understanding and keeping up with the material. I was relieved because some people have questioned whether Apologia as was indepth as it needed to be.

[Kareni]

Lynne,

 

Thanks so much for sharing! It's great to hear that your son feels so well prepared. Good luck to him.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[choirfarm]

Here on the board everyone seems so ANTI Apologia. However, a dentist and homeschool dad and doctor homeschool dad recommended these heavily before I started. My dh is a surgeon and has been very impressed. He said the Anatomy book was as detailed as he learned in medical school. The dentist's son is now in dental school and his son got awards his freshman year as the best science student. All they ever used was Apologia. So we are going to continue to use it.

 

Christine

[creekland]

Thank you for posting this. I'm another Apologia fan here - it's almost all we use (we do supplement for Evolution). I know my kids are better prepared than their public schooled counterparts (since I work in the high school and see their work). I also know I've heard of students going to college and feeling they were well-prepared compared to their peers, but it never hurts to hear more of the same. I appreciate it.

[Janice H]

Thanks for posting. I've never put a tag on anything on the board. Would a tag called "positive Apologia" or some other words make sense?

 

I was looking at Thinkwell calculus late last week. Thus both of your son's unsolicited recommendations are of great interest (and a relief in the case of science).

[MBH]

Thank you Lynne,

 

It helps to know Apologia works! We will continue with Chemistry and Biology. After Biology, my son wants to move unto Advanced Biology and Marine Biology. I feel much better knowing that your son was well prepared for college.

 

For AP Biology and AP Chemistry, does he need to complete the Advanced classes? If I recall correctly, that's what your son did for AP Biology. Didn't he take it after completing Apologia Advanced Biology?

 

Thanks for posting this.

[Jenn in CA]

How wonderful to see the fruits of your labor!

 

For those of us still laboring, what did you use for writing?

[Ms. Riding Hood]

We did TONS of AP English and SAT writing prompts over his junior and senior years. He wrote, I critiqued. You can find rubrics to help with that. Other than that, no formal writing program. He did some Abeka grammar in 9th/10th, but his writing was in subject areas. Wish I could be more help, but I will say he made very good progress using this method. Answering a prompt, and backing it up with specific examples within a limited time frame was very good for him.

[Jane Elliot]

Thank you so much for posting, Lynne. Last I remembered he had gotten into MIT, but you weren't 100% positive he would go. I searched your name the other day to see if you had posted recently, but nothing. I'm so glad to hear he did go and that he's doing well. You and he are an inspiration.

 

It's great to hear a positive report on Apologia. It's all we've used for high school and my dc have also felt well prepared by it. They aren't in MIT, but they are science majors (biology and aeronautical science). We didn't even do all the labs, but one ds was asked by his professor this week to apply for a research project, something rarely offered to freshmen at his school.

 

I've been wondering what to do about Calculus for 17yods, so thanks for the recommendation of Thinkwell.

 

Again, congratulations and thanks for the update!

[Ms. Riding Hood]

He didn't do AP Biology, but he did do AP Chemistry & Physics "B" after completing the advanced level of Apologia subject matter.

[Tullia]

Hello Lynne,

 

I'm excited to hear about your son's experiences. :thumbup: Please drop in from time to time with updates. I've been too busy until the past few months to post often, but I'd read your posts and been wondering about how things were going for your son.

 

 

My son has been an Apologia fan since middle school, and always wanted to use Apologia as his core texts especially after helping Dr. Wile unload cartons of books at the CAPE convention several years ago. :D He's taking chemistry at the local CC this semester, enjoying it, and doing well. Ds has had some lessons in time-management this semester, though. He learned in the first couple of weeks to double his estimate of how much time it would take to do the homework.

[Michelle in MO]

It's great to hear a good report about this, Lynne! I know there are many programs out there, but we did use Apologia through Chemistry, and my oldest had no problem transitioning into the Campbell's text, which is considered to be pretty advanced.

 

I'm also glad your son is doing well at MIT and enjoying it! Congratulations to both of you!

[Miss Marple]

MIT - now that's cool! I have a son who would like to go there, but unless he gets his act together (meaning structure, responsibility, etc.) he'll never make it. Congratulations to you and your son - what an achievement!

[Janice H]

Thanks to whomever thought up "Apologia validation" for the tag.

[Kareni]

Well tagged.

 

Thanks to whomever thought up "Apologia validation" for the tag.

 

Thank you kindly!

Regards,

Kareni

[Tullia]

Thanks to whomever thought up "Apologia validation" for the tag.

 

:iagree:

[Nan in Mass]

Cool! It is always nice to know what worked. And congratulation!!!