Be sure to cover some Statistics along the way which will be useful as a life skill.

The good news with AP (especially if you didn't spend a fortune on the class) is you can decide in Feb/Mar not to take a particular AP exam and concentrate on the ones you like or feel you would do better in. BUT if I paid $600 for a class dear kiddo would be taking that exam.

so for Senior year APs it might be better to just send them to the college When did you accept to that college? When did you "send" your AP scores (paid for the scores)?

four is fine, DS did that his Junior year and so did my nephew a few years back My nephew just completed his Freshman year in college and due to the AP classes was quite ready for College level material

Is he going to write any papers? I can't see giving credit for a HS level History course without some writing.

buy it used ?? ================== other ideas: school website http://tigersciencealvarado.weebly.com/notes-and-powerpoints.html https://amblesideonline.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=27768 get 10 day free Safari trial and review: http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920017691.do review http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/science/topical-areas/biology-and-life-science/illustrated-guide-to-home-biology-experiments https://www.weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/homeschooling-science-in-middle-and-high-school/ http://www.thehomescientist.com/kits/BK01/CK-12-correlation.pdf See what they use for: https://allinonehighschool.com/biology/

the new generation likes to share everything - maybe if all 1s and 2s he wouldn't have

he should have been quite happy - his predicted versus actual scores

Interesting article but it shows academic factors which are OK with the NCAA for division 3 just not extracurricular such as sports. Of course, Division 1 sports might as well be pros since they get a big preference (such as a top Football player at Ohio State). Good old PrepScholars has a blog: http://blog.prepscholar.com/what-are-ncaa-divisions-1-vs-2-vs-3 [Oh by the way there are a few schools with Division 1 for only one sport such as Lacrosse at JHU and Ice Hockey at Clarkson to further muddy the waters. These were granted on historical competitiveness in the sport. ]

seems to be free: http://bubblescan.com/tutors/answer-sheets/ or you could always get one from the ACT folks.

What actual Trinity academic course do they give credit for?

" What are qualified education expenses for IRA? That is because your IRA is intended to be used for your retirement. However, an exception to the penalty allows you to take a penalty-free distribution from your IRA if you use the funds for qualified higher education expenses. Qualified higher education expenses include tuition, fees, books, and supplies. "

DS wants to live off campus with a bedroom of his own! Sometimes a parent has to push an opposite agenda for long term success. He has never experienced anything like this ... well actually he "failed" summer camp back in middle school 4 or 5 years ago - I had to pull him from the dorm and drop him off each day at the camp. Luckily it was only 25 min or so from my mother's house where we were staying. He enjoyed the outdoor activities but freaked out about sleeping/staying in a crowded noisy dorm.

for Western US it is next weekend :mellow: How do you guess/predict scores? I have no idea what DS will get.

I believe PrepScholar started with SAT prep so I would assume that is "just as good" as their ACT prep. There is a free trial: https://www.prepscholar.com/sat/s/signup

IMHO you should try to visit a college while the students are "in session" so you get a feel for the place.

Unless DS chooses to go to local U - I want to convince him (white lie :closedeyes: ) to live in a dorm his Freshman year (2018-19) so he can make friends etc. He has had his own bedroom for a long time and he has only a small circle of friends. He has never been on a "travel team" for sports, band, etc so he needs to experience some form of communal living. What do y'all think?

This is for an English Language Learners program: http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/06/28/534396017/i-am-learning-ingl-s-a-dual-language-comic but I was always disappointed that DS' elementary school did not teach some Spanish through the first four grades or so. We live in AZ, Spanish is very common. DS kept putting off taking it until he hit HS and by then he thought he had to spend too much time on it versus the STEM stuff he liked. So he ended up just checking that box and completing two years of Spanish. (By the way his mother is almost fluent in Spanish - but our second child is special needs and consumed her free time). I would recommend that parents pick a second language early on and try to get their child to learn it. What do y'all think?

great review! I have a question on: "Every so often they give you full length, official practice tests. These are taken from the ACT Official Prep guide*, which is included in the course. Then you transfer your answers onto the computer and they are automatically graded. I wasn’t a huge fan of this method, because there were no bubbles filled in" Was this a PDF download or how was the practice ACT presented to the test taker? It seems like you could have printed a bubble sheet and filled that out in the allotted test time and then transferred your answers back off the clock. Would this have been possible? Feedback to PrepScholar. I do enjoy their blog - very informative.

We run GNU Octave (Matlab clone) just fine on a older Lenovo Thinkpad T400 running Ubuntu Linux. (purchased the laptop/notebook used) [by the way, Linux is a great way to extend the life of an older PC that can't keep up with all the Windows updates which slow it down.]

great research !! Are you concerned about over specialization and job availability? How many Audio Engineering jobs are out there? I read an interesting blog a while back about how a person ended up in the music industry in California as an Audio Engineer / sound person but the path was mostly internships and the pay was not that good at all. Sorry I don't want to burst any bubbles if that's your child's dream. I tend to be very pragmatic.

maybe look at http://cathyduffyreviews.com/homeschool-reviews-core-curricula/math/grades-9-12/a-fresh-approach-high-school-math-series for Algebra 2 =================== IMHO I think everyone should have at least basic knowledge of Statistics to be a "good citizen" so maybe you could create an Algebra 2 class which also focused more on stats.

no you would need to get your home course AP approved

that's pretty old a few that may help: https://www.bssd.net/cms/lib8/MO01910299/Centricity/Domain/3113/Pre-APCalc-Syllabus-Davis.pdf http://www.norwood.k12.ma.us/curriculum/242_Sr_Precalculus.pdf http://comet.lehman.cuny.edu/calculus/MAT172_Precalculus_Syllabus_S2011-2.pdf http://neville.mcschools.net/UserFiles/Servers/Server_36999/File/Elizabeth%20Smith/Advanced%20Math%20Syllabus%201516.pdf different editions but may be useful http://www.larsonprecalculus.com/pcwl3e/content/worked-out-solutions/ https://math.ufl.edu/files/Tornwall-MAC-1147.pdf http://www.kkuniyuk.com/NotesPrecalculus http://www.kkuniyuk.com/Math141SyllabusS17.pdf https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g5ANFCBl6H7dFScrtZosvBqUt_TnqEFl9L4FLD5BE74/edit PRECALCULUS, 9th edition, by Larson. http://flexible.dce.ufl.edu/media/flexibledceufledu/documents/mac1147b_syllabus.pdf

sample using 2007 edition Precalculus Syllabus Textbook: Larson and Hostetler, Precalculus with Limits, Boston, Massachusetts, Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007. Precalculus is a preparatory course for Calculus. The course expands on the Algebra 2 curriculum as well as polynomial functions, exponential functions, logarithmic functions, circular functions, trigonometry, inequalities, rational functions, complex numbers, sequences and series, parametric equations, conic sections, and vectors. There is an expectation of higher level thinking with an emphasis on applications and graphing with and without a calculator. First Nine Weeks Chapter 1- Functions and Their Graphs Plot points in the coordinate plane and use the distance and midpoint formulas. Identify x and y intercepts, symmetry, even and odd functions and use to sketch the graph of an equation. Find the slopes of lines and use slope to write and graph linear equations in two variables with point-slope form, slope-intercept form, general form and parallel and perpendicular slopes. Use function and interval notation, Evaluate functions and find domains. Use the Vertical Line Test. Find zeros with and without a graphing utility. Identify increasing and decreasing intervals, and determine an average rate of change. Find relative minimums and maximum using a graphing utility. Identify and graph linear, quadratic, cubic, square root, reciprocal, step and piecewise-defined functions. Identify and graph shifts, reflections, and vertical and horizontal shrinks and stretches. Find arithmetic combinations and compositions of functions. Find inverses of functions graphically and algebraically. Write mathematical models for direct, inverse, and joint variation. Use the least squares regression feature of a graphing utility to model data interpreting slope and correlation coefficient. Chapter 2- Polynomial and Rational Functions Sketch and analyze graphs of quadratic functions in general and standard form. Write the equation of a quadratic given the vertex and a point. Sketch and analyze graphs of polynomials utilizing transformations, end behavior, zeros, and multiplicity. Use long and synthetic division to find quotients, factors and zeros of polynomials. Use the Remainder and Factor theorem to evaluate polynomials. Perform arithmetic operations with complex numbers including complex conjugates to write quotients of two complex numbers in standard form. Solve quadratic equations with complex solutions. Determine the number of zeros of polynomial functions using the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra. Find the possible rational zeros using the rational zero test. Find conjugate pairs of complex zeros. Express polynomials as products of linear and quadratic factors. Sketch and analyze the graphs of rational functions by determining the domains, x and y intercepts, and horizontal, vertical and slant asymptotes. Solve polynomial inequalities and rational inequalities by finding critical values and testing intervals. Chapter 4.1-4.4 - Trigonometry Describe angles and convert between degree and radian measures. Evaluate the six trigonometric functions using the unit circle. Use domain and period to evaluate sine and cosine functions. Evaluate the trigonometric functions with a calculator. Solve right triangle problems. Evaluate the trigonometric functions of any angle using reference angles. Chapter 4.5-4.8 - Trigonometry Sketch and translate the graphs of sine and cosine functions noting period, amplitude, horizontal and vertical shift. Use the trigonometric identities including co-functions, reciprocal identities, quotient identities, and Pythagorean identities. Model periodic data using trigonometric equations. Sketch and translate the graphs of tangent, cotangent, secant and cosecant functions. Evaluate the inverse trigonometric functions and compositions of trigonometric functions. Use the calculator to evaluate inverse trigonometric functions Solve applications using trigonometric functions. Precalculus Syllabus Second Nine Weeks Chapter 5 – Analytic Trigonometry Recognize and write the fundamental trigonometric identities. Use properties of logarithms to evaluate, rewrite, expand, or condense logarithmic expressions. Solve exponential and logarithmic equations. Use exponential growth and decay models to solve applications. Chapter 9 – Sequences, Series, and Probability & 12.4 Limits at Infinity Use sequence notation to write the terms of sequences. Use factorial notation. Use summation notation to write sums. Use sequences and series to model and solve real-life problems. Recognize, write, and find the nth terms of arithmetic and geometric sequences. Find nth partial sums of arithmetic and geometric sequences. Find sums of infinite geometric series. Recognize patterns and write the nth term of a sequence. Use the Binomial Theorem to calculate binomial coefficients. Use Pascal’s Triangle to calculate binomial coefficients. Use binomial coefficients to write binomial expansions. Use permutations and combinations to solve counting problems. Chapter 10 – Conics and Parametric Equations Classify conics written in general form. Rewrite equations of circles, ellipses, hyperbolas, and parabolas from general to standard form by completing the square. Convert equations from rectangular to parametric and vice versa. Use rectangular and parametric equations to model real-life problems Use the fundamental trigonometric identities to evaluate trig functions, simplify trig expressions, and rewrite trigonometric expressions. Verify trigonometric identities. Use algebraic techniques to solve trigonometric equations. Solve trigonometric equations involving quadratic types and multiple angles. Use sum and difference formulas to evaluate trigonometric equations, verify identities, and solve trigonometric equations. Use multiple angle and half angle formulas to rewrite and evaluate trigonometric functions. Chapter 6 - Additional Topics in Trigonometry and Vectors & Section 11.2 -Vectors in Space Use the Law of Sines and Cosines to solve oblique triangles. Find areas of triangles including the use of Heron’s Area Formula. Represent vectors as directed line segments. Write the component forms of vectors. Perform basic vector operations and represent vectors graphically. Write vectors as linear combinations of unit vectors. Find the direction angles of vectors. Use vectors to model and solve real-life problems. Find the dot product of two vectors. Find the angle between two vectors and determine whether two vectors are orthogonal. Find the component forms, magnitudes, dot products, and angles between vectors in space. Chapter 3- Exponential and Logarithmic Functions Recognize, graph, and evaluate exponential functions of base a and e. Solve problems with interest compounded periodically and continuously. Recognize, graph, and evaluate common and natural logarithmic functions. Use change-of-base formula to rewrite logarithmic functions with a different base.