My dd is a junior and was set to take AP physics C and AP calc BC this year. Against my advice, she added AP Lang and Comp (Maya Inspektor). Then she added APUSH. She's doing fine. She is enjoying Inspektor's class so much she signed up for AP Lit with her next year. It is funny how she has friends overlapping between PAH, AoPS, and SOHS classes.

Stanford online high school. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

It's tough to say as both were fairly challenging, but only in the sense that you need to not fall behind and take responsibility for your own understanding. i.e., if you don't understand something, then ask the teacher! In our case, AP chem was a prereq for AP bio, so the sequence worked out well.

My dd took AP chem in 9th and AP bio in 10th, both with the corresponding SAT subject tests at the end of the year. It was fine.

You can use google as a calculator. You can even graph things like z= x^2-y^2 (copy/paste this equation for a pretty picture) or do counting functions like 5 choose 2, just by typing it in. I would wait to buy a calculator for when she has her next standardized test so she will buy the right one. Or buy one that uses RPN.

Also, there is something so relaxing about assembling Lego kits.

Knitting while watching Great Courses, or listening to a pod cast, or chromecasting an interesting youtube video. Urban hiking with a friend while venting. Reading magazines.

I'm curious to know why they don't recommend Ivies for undergrad?

I'll go on to add that you can approach applying to a school with the assumption that the college wants to admit your student, and it is looking for reasons to do so. Give them lots of good reasons!

FYI, Stanford Online High School offers a variety of APs (including physics C), and you can take it as a single course (without enrolling full time), and students meet regularly live online with a teacher and other students, who are serious about the course. There are also office hours and some social connections (somewhat) with other students at the school. The negative is that it is expensive (tuition is almost $5000) and you need to apply to the school well in advance of enrolling (January preferably, but March at the latest).

PAH with Mr. Kernion.

I wondered what sort of hoops does a school go through to get a given class a-g approval. Can there be more oversight than say, the approval the College Board gives in approving an AP syllabus? And here is how to do it: "The A-G CMP is open annually for the "a-g" course submission period from February 1 - September 15. New courses may only be submitted to UC for "a-g" review during this time. Courses are approved beginning with the academic year corresponding to the submission period the course was approved. Institutions are encouraged to submit their new courses early to ensure that their courses are "a-g" approved prior to the start of their school year and the opening of the UC application in August. "All new course submissions are placed in a queue in the order received and reviewed by one of our articulation analysts. To provide a more objective review of the course content, UC conducts “blind†reads of all new courses, where the name of the institution submitting the course is hidden from our analysts. A-G approval is based on the course demonstrating compliance with the "a-g" subject area course criteria established by UC faculty. Generally, new courses are reviewed within two to four weeks of submission. However, depending on the time of year and volume of submissions received, it may take longer. When a course completes the review process, an email notification with the results of the course review is sent to the course's author and institution's course list manager. The results of a course review, in addition to the analyst's comments, are also available in the My Courses section on the A-G CMP. "Before beginning the “a-g†course development and submission process, review the subject area course criteria to ensure that the curricular focus of the course meets the requirements and guidelines of its respective subject area. The course criteria for the seven “a-g†subject areas was developed by the Board of Admissions and Relations with Schools (BOARS), a committee of the University's Academic Senate that includes faculty representatives from each UC campus. Become familiar with all aspects of the “a-g†subject area course criteria. Look out for requirements specific to each subject area. Some subject areas require courses to include appropriate pre- or co-requisite work, substantial reading and writing, laboratory activities and relevant information addressing how students are developing and using critical thinking and habits of mind skills. A-G approval is based on the course demonstrating compliance with the "a-g" subject area course criteria. "Submitted course descriptions should emphasize the core knowledge and skills students are expected to learn, including concepts, theory and texts. Provide adequate detail about the content, outlining and describing major themes, topics and sub-topics. There should be clear evidence of the level of rigor of the course and the development of essential critical thinking skills. Explanation of key assignments should include the intent and significance of each, in addition to a general description. For courses that integrate academic and career-technical content, provide a detailed description of the academic and technical content in your course submission. Discuss how the career-technical content is used as a strategy to deepen understanding of theoretical concepts and brings the curriculum to life through real-world applications. "All sections of your course submission should be expository in nature. Bulleted lists of topics and assignments do not provide our analysts adequate insight into the content, intent and rigor of the curriculum. UC expects to see information that shows specific, detailed evidence of the academically challenging content and use of essential skills and habits of mind." and finally here's a Quick Start Guide.

Don't forget, Californians also have special milk.

Public high schools must also get their courses a-g approved. But I do agree that this is weirdly controlling. I mean, the UC system has a database of individual courses offered by what? thousands of California public and private high schools? And now online classes?

Volumes 2 and 3 are divided into elementary and middle school levels, making a bit easier to "level up" when your student finds them too easy.

MOEMS contest problems

How about Math Olympiad problems? I'm guessing the middle school level would be most appropriate for her, and the book has full solutions. If that's too easy, you can have her work through old AMC 8s. the AoPS site I linked also includes full solutions.

I agree that taking algebra in 8th won't help with standardized tests. The only advantage I see is that taking algebra in 8th grade puts your student on track to be taking calculus in senior year. If that's a goal. Calculus can be saved for college if needed.

Stanford Online High School

Is your son a psychiatrist or an EMT trained to care for this student? I am appalled the RA is expecting him to monitor this person. This student's mental health is not your son's responsibility, not only because it isn't his job, but also because it is now affecting your son's mental health, and there are probably privacy concerns as well. I agree with others that he should do his part to escalate this with the university administration--call 911 if that will get their attention--and then request a new dorm room, so he can get himself healthy again.

Like PPs, I'm concerned that you refer to "the Ivies" as a group, not as individual schools. Cornell is very different from Brown or Yale or UPenn MIT or Stanford. If your son sees something at Princeton that really appeals to him, some special program or major, a particular research lab or overseas program or anything, then by all means throw your hat in. And for heavens sake, don't let one aberrant SAT score stop you from applying!

I agree with katilac. Sometimes getting a low percentage correct can result in a higher score than expected. Take some practice tests and score them; she may be pleasantly surprised. (My dd has gone through this the past couple of years.)

I feel ya. <Turns the page> "Another chapter on polynomials?!?!?"

They are excellent. I only wish he would do the B side as well.

How are your students' handwriting? Poor fine motor can lead to numbers that look more like scribbles, that aren't lined up in straight columns. Would you consider scribing for your students? Or maybe have them demonstrate solving a problem at the white board as they explain it to you? ("Then I carry the one...")