Just reading now that you want to major in Bus-Econ. I'm going to back-pedal on my AP physics C suggestion. But I think having strong CS skills would be an asset. Do you already know a language like python? I should add that my dd's did well in AP CS A, but they'd already had a strong foundation in python before beginning the class, although the course has not prerequisites. Good luck.

Are you looking at a STEM major at UCLA? If so, then I would try for AP Physics C concurrently with AP Calc, if you have the math ability to handle it. And I would drop AP Euro. AP Stats is easy, and I suspect has that reputation, so it's probably also skippable. Both my dd's took AP CS A at Edhesive in 8th grade and both got 5's.

We're a few years away from that class, but I can assure it is very good. Mrs. Dovi's lectures are excellent.

Wikipedia is actually a good starting place for research of this sort. For example, if you want to know the origin of the order of operations, Wikipedia links to this interesting Dr. Math explanation: "The basic rule (that multiplication has precedence over addition) appears to have arisen naturally and without much disagreement as algebraic notation was being developed in the 1600s and the need for such conventions arose. Even though there were numerous competing systems of symbols, forcing each author to state his conventions at the start of a book, they seem not to have had to say much in this area. This is probably because the distributive property implies a natural hierarchy in which multiplication is more powerful than addition, and makes it desirable to be able to write polynomials with as few parentheses as possible...." We take parentheses for granted, but apparently there were other methods to indicate grouping. (This all reminds me of conventions used in knitting instructions!) Another arbitrary mathematics rule is that when a decimal ends in 5, you round up. Who came up with this rule and why? A trip to Wikipedia reveals that while this is the most commonly taught algorithm, it isn't the only one in common use and one could argue that it isn't even the best, since there is asymmetry because 0.5 always rounds up, which may have an impact if your data set is very large. (I did exactly this when I was tutoring a student in Beast Academy and we were discussing rounding.) I suggest that whenever something seems arbitrary, start with Wikipedia because you can quickly uncover some interesting history.

I'm not that involved in her studying anymore, but I'd say they were pretty similar in difficulty and workload. AP chem was the only AP she took that year, and by far the most demanding class. AP bio she took alongside AP stats which isn't that time consuming.

My daughter took AP bio at SOHS last year, and had not had high school biology prior, but she did take AP chem and I think it was a prereq, but not 100% sure. She got a 5.

Wait, what? Is this on YouTube? Link please! I need to know what an AoPS commercial would look like!

More information regarding the elimination of AP CS AB: Mr. Packer said the decision was made principally because of demographic considerations. Only a tiny fraction of the members of underrepresented minority groups who take AP exams take the tests in one of those four affected subject areas, he said. The College Board has made it a priority to reach such students, including those who are African- American and Hispanic. “For us, [the question is], are we able to achieve our mission of reaching a broader range of students?” Mr. Packer said.

I agree that even if you don't place out of a course, taking the AP course and exam isn't a waste of time. You don't want to be the only student who hasn't taken AP CS when everyone else has. (Or AP chemistry before your introductory college chemistry course, and so on.) And I don't mean to put any preference on AP classes. You want to show up at college fairly well prepared for those introductory weed-out courses, using honors, DE, self-study, or AP. I believe I heard on these boards that the AP CS A was dumbed down a few years back, which explains why the better CS departments no longer allow students to place out of introductory courses on that basis alone. From Wikipedia: AP Computer Science AB (discontinued) AP Computer Science AB included all the topics of AP Computer Science A, as well as a more formal and a more in-depth study of algorithms, data structures, and data abstraction. For example, binary trees were studied in AP Computer Science AB but not in AP Computer Science A. The use of recursive data structures and dynamically allocated structures were fundamental to AP Computer Science AB. AP Computer Science AB was equivalent to a full-year college course.[6] Due to low numbers of students taking the exam, AP Computer Science AB was discontinued following the May 2009 exam administration.[7][8]

We aren't going for a Congressional award, so I'm not tracking hours. You may be asked on college app's how much time per week she devotes to each volunteer gig. I figure it won't be too hard to figure, since for example she goes in once a week to a local school to teach for about an hour. If she's doing any prep work she may add that in as well. A couple of years ago she volunteer coached a MathCounts team, again, one hour a week, not too hard to track. My own public high school did not have a volunteer requirement, so it was only when I needed to complete college apps that I needed to think back. My dd's homeschool graduation requirements (defined by me) also do not require volunteering for graduation, just because I'm somewhat philosophically opposed. (But I don't feel strongly about it either, it just seems silly and outside of the scope of education per se.)

Well, before you posted I would have thought that was useful information to have. But as you pointed out (and I am learning for the first time), you could potentially have 1 student who gets into all the ivies, while everyone else enrolls in state U, and suddenly the whole class looks very impressive.

While I think chapter 1 is technically skippable if you are already familiar with it, I found that chapter to be very difficult, dense reading. Probably because it was so familiar to me. Recall, this is the chapter where we define negation, in contrast to negative numbers. The book also defines subtraction, reciprocals, and division. It's all a great exercise and an introduction to the rigor of formal mathematics. This depth helps provide more of the back story on these previously mundane operations.

I taught my kids using the Singapore Math method, with little squares of paper with labels "1" "10" "100" and they got it. But I recently tutored some kids with the BA partial quotients method, and I like that better.

Mock interviews as advised above are key. Also, you can train him to follow each answered question with a question of his own for the interviewer. "I really improved my fluency during my trip to France. Did you go overseas while you were at AlmaMater College?" People love to talk, and the more time your interviewer is talking, the less time your student will need to. And it will feel more like a conversation, and your student will appear genuinely curious about the school.

It does sound like a difficult situation for you. I got lucky because dd's homeschooled friends happened to be Waldorf-y, and as a consequence, low media. I don't consider myself Waldorf-y except insofar as we're low media, minimal screen time. Looking back, it was really nice to have homeschooled friends who had a similar philosophy that way when the kids were young. My advice would have been to join a Waldorf homeschool group!

This is nonfiction, but the book Why?: Explaining the Holocaust by Peter Hayes really helped me wrap my head around this.

Doesn't this student have friends? Friends who are a year or two older? My dd, now a junior, is hearing from her high achieving talented senior friends about which colleges admitted and notably rejected them. That has been cautionary tale for all of us, and I hope it is grounding my dd in reality and alleviating some disappointment next year. The gal who organized the hackathon for 1000 students is going to UC Merced? (I'm exaggerating, but only a little.) There's no excuse to not apply to your state's flagship schools.

We just returned from some college visits, during what for many is spring break. It was pretty rough sometimes, mainly because of bad weather (It's hard to focus during the tours if it's raining with a cold wind.) Also the CROWDS! Some schools don't schedule additional guides during this busy time. Remember to ask for a list of courses that are open to visitors, so you can see how engaged the students are. (I've seen students shopping on Amazon, applying for a drivers license, and checking on a visa application. Also PM-ing friends.)

Congratulations to her for stepping up. You'll never know the answer unless you ask. Better to know than to always wonder whether more money would have been available. Plus if you get in the habit of asking, you're more likely to get a yes in the future.

I am so sorry for your poor daughter. Also thank you for reminding me why I homeschooled my kids from the start.

This happened by accident, but I spent my first year tutoring/teaching math in a variety of situations, and it helped me learn what I like and am good at, and what I'm not. I've supported students enrolled in AoPS online classes who need homework help, I had a small group of schooled kids who come to a center after early dismissal once a week, I had a pair of girls who were new to AMCs so I was prepping them on old AMC 10's, I did some old MOEMS with a half dozen students out the home of a homeschooling family, and I worked at a homeschooling co-op. I learned about myself: I do not excel at classroom management, and I do better with 1-2 students at a time. And I want to move to older students who are more mature. Supporting the online AoPS kid was a great fit, too. Now for next year I have a better idea of what jobs I will be taking. It was a great year for self-discovery, although I hadn't planned it that way at all. Good luck!

We only used AoPS online for the fun test prep classes like AMC and MathCounts. We otherwise only used the textbooks because at the time the only online option was super-fast paced, and I wanted to make sure my dd's didn't skip or speed through any material. I would add that if your student is very talented in math, they may be able to work through it by themselves, but my dd's did need guidance from me as they proceeded.

I didn't need to ask; I checked my dd's pediatrician on the website: Stanford undergrad and UCSD Med. She trained in pediatrics at UCSF. I outsourced my dd's writing to a tutor who got her PhD in English from Brandeis. So yes, I do check these things.

I agree with the PP that the Intro NT book is not the best in the lot. However, the second half of the book that covers mods is quite good. I'd just skip the first half. Graph theory is covered in the Intermediate C&P book, while the basics of C&P are covered in the intro book. Here's the Intermediate TOC.

Since she enjoys art, you can have her try to draw tesselations.