I haven't read the book, but I subscribe to his blog. He's the reason I gave up facebook a year ago, and I'm so glad I did. I hope it's okay to post here, because I am such a fan of his other books. My goal is to take all the old AMC 12's and create lesson plans particularly for the hardest problems. This is difficult work for me and requires sometimes days of study and research to be able to understand and replicate a solution to a single problem. (Not entire days, but more like an hour or so per day when I can grab it between everything else.) I work best in the mornings, but those are often taken up with chores, coffee, emails, and the WTM forum. WTM is taking a bigger chunk of my life, but it is a lifeline for me. What I need to do is not quit WTM entirely, but check less frequently than say, several times a day, lol. I'm thinking I should cut back to checking the digests once a week or less. That should hopefully free up time so I can have uninterrupted time with my studies and preparation.

Isn't it fun to plan and imagine where she might be in a few years? Good for you both!

This Trixie fan studied engineering a top 5 college, and med school at a top 5 school, so bring it on, Trixie Haters! Of course, who knows what we could have accomplished had we not been reading all that Trixie "garbage." Maybe Trixie has been holding us back from being president of the US all these years? Or maybe we'd be in prison now if it weren't for Trixie?

Would you say that research opportunities for undergrads at smaller schools (w/o grad schools) are better than at universities with lots of grad students? And here's my naive question: is there a lot of STEM research happening at smaller colleges?

I agree the first half isn't so great. I think the AoPS treatment of modular arithmetic is pretty good and does the job, particularly if you are prepping for AMCs. Having said that, I found a couple of number theory books at my local library which were also pretty good, so I suspect there's a lot out there if you are keen on learning about integers. I recommend checking the Amazon reviews. Good luck!

Congratulations! Sometimes at the end of interviews, the interviewer will ask, "Do you have any questions for me?" Make sure she has several questions prepared. Saying you don't have any questions looks like you don't care as much. Or it could look like she already has done her research and is well-versed. I would err on the side of appearing curious. People love to talk, so come up with something.

I think the quality varies. My dd's have had AoPS classes where the instructors are very involved and responsive. But the class my dd is currently taking (AMC12 prep), the instructor never participates in the discussion boards. She has had to rely on the kindness of other classmates for learning. I think some of the text is prepared in advanced, and reused for each class. But much of it is interactive and responsive to student participation. Having said that, while we have taken many AoPS online classes, I never rely on them for core courses, but more for AMC and MathCounts prep. Also their python classes are quite good, though again, the quality of the instructor varies.

Certainly tutoring is expensive, and I don't know your specific situation, but just to play devil's advocate (and give you a different point of view to consider): According to your signature, your dd is 11? That's a pretty early age to decide that she doesn't want to go into a math-related field. On the one hand, she certainly doesn't need AoPS to do something math related, and doing AoPS doesn't mean she MUST do something math related either. I think having a strong math background is a good idea for everyone, whether you are interested in art history or architecture. If you think PreAlgebra is doable but are wondering about Algebra, why not cross that Algebra bridge when you come to it? I think I may have misunderstood your situation anyway. Does your dd want to do AoPS PreAlgebra? If so, I'd say go for it and worry about algebra later. If she doesn't, then there are plenty of other excellent math curricula around. I hope that gives you some food for thought. Good luck with your decision!

Can I say I'm thrilled to hear that people are still reading Trixie Belden! I loved those books.

For fun, you can read or listen on audiobook Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin. If you page down to "Customers also bought..." section, you'll see more books of a similar vein. Sounds like a great learning unit!

There are a fair number of AMC problems (especially AMC 12) that are solved using modular arithmetic. So, to eek out a few more points, I recommend studying chapters 12-15.

Thanks!

Hi: Thanks we did receive my dd's scores this week. Could you elaborate on what you ordered? What the report called and what information does it provide?

If you are already knowledgeable about electronics, you can probably figure out what to buy yourself. If you prefer to go it alone, you can also follow the projects in the book Make: Electronics by Charles Platt. We've used both EEME and that book.

Have you seen ? Priceless! Having said that, we hardly use the videos except now we are relying on them more to review old AMCs.

It sounds like she's interested in grad school for physical therapy? Yes, speak with anyone and everyone you can. Call the grad schools that interest her and ask from which undergraduate schools do they accept applicants. In their current class they admitted, what schools are they from? For the undergraduate colleges she's considering, call the departments of the majors she considering (is PT a major?) and ask where their students are attending PT grad school. Speak with PT professors and PT practitioners, preferably recent grads. Ask about the inside scoop on admissions. Which schools to attend and what you need to do to succeed. Are their separate programs for masters and PhD in PT? Ask which program is better suited to your dd's goals. I don't know anything about PT (except for my old knee injury), but I'm guessing that applying to PT grad school is going to be very different from, say, getting a masters in civil engineering or a PhD in English, or a PhD in chemistry. It's never too early to start asking around.

I second Cal Newport. Do I heard a third? Seriously, he really distills how to prepare for competitive college admissions in a sane way.

LOL, I appreciate hearing your views, even if I disagree. That's why I "like" them. :001_smile: Also, I'm grateful that you all took the time to respond, so I just reward you with a 'like.' I know I enjoy seeing the little red flag at the top of the page.

I love Dick and Jane. Just thinking about the illustrations makes me feel warm and safe.

I agree with this. Your curriculum or class may specify what sort of scope is needed, so you may as well wait until you are required to buy one. I like having a mechanical stage, but if you are only going up to 400X you can probably get by without it. You can probably get by without the 1000x, as they are oil immersion, and it's easy to forget and get oil onto the other lenses, or break the 1000x lens itself. But you do want 1000x if you want to visualize bacteria. I bought a microscope when oldest was in middle school that only goes up to 400x, but now I'm thinking it would be fun to gram stain some bacteria, so I'll probably sell it to another homeschooling family and upgrade to a scope with the 1000x. Good luck!

I guess what I need to do is read through all the definitions in the book and see what else is in there that is archaic or inappropriate or just plain wrong. There goes my afternoon, lol!

Well, the definition he gives is 'the science of monstrosities' and that's the correct answer as provided in the answer key. He doesn't provide a modern definition. I'm just glad I saw the offensive definition so I could point it out to her. Otherwise, how would she know the correct definition?

Yes, I may be sensitive to language here. He does refer to the stem terato means "monster" but I think he could do with a different word definition, something more appropriate for modern ears. My fear is that someone will ask dd what teratology means and she'll respond with the MCT definition.

We're working through WWW for vocabulary, and MCT's definition of the word teratology is "the science of monstrosities." Monstrosities? Is that how we refer to children with congenital deformities? What is this, the 19th century? Okay, venting done.

How long did it take to receive your scores by mail? My dd took the SAT for Duke TIP on Dec. 5 and we haven't received our scores yet. Did you get an online account?