Why is it necessary to take math courses outside of school?

It is not uncommon for students to take math classes outside of school or learn math in advance. Students typically have several reasons for learning math in advance.

 

Firstly, pre-studying high school math courses can provide students with the necessary knowledge and techniques to excel in more advanced math courses and courses that use math as the foundation (such as physics), giving them an edge at school. Additionally, excelling at school math allows students to devote more time to other subjects, which increases overall GPA. This is especially important when high school GPAs are a crucial factor in college admissions.

 

Secondly, for students planning to apply for STEM majors in college, meeting the basic math requirements in high school may not be sufficient. Upon entering college, they may face a noticeable gap between the math skills acquired in high school and the math skills required for their STEM majors. Therefore, supplementing the school math curriculum with additional math training is often necessary to meet the math requirements for STEM majors.

 

Lastly, students interested in participating in school math clubs can benefit from extending their knowledge beyond what is covered by the school math curricula. Taking math courses outside of school can give them an advantage, particularly for those aiming to be selected into their school math team, such as MathCounts teams.

 

Path A vs. Path B - what is my type?

We have defined two paths for students depending on their goals. Most students may identify themselves in one of the two paths below.

 

Path A focuses on excelling in school math curricula. The students choosing Path A usually do not have more ambitious goals such as winning awards in math contests. They usually have a goal of achieving excellence in school math curricula, participating in school math clubs; qualifying for school-level MathCounts teams, and preparing for future STEM major in college. 

 

Path B students usually have the goals of excelling not only in school math curricula but also in math competitions. They may wish to make some achievements in math competitions such as qualifying for AIME or more advanced contests such as JMO and AMO.

 

Path A students - what math courses to take outside of school?

Dr. Shi offers a comprehensive range of core courses to fully cover the need of Path A students. The core courses provide a comprehensive coverage of the school math curricula at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced stages. The core courses include the following. Refer to “Roadmap” for the help to select the right course to begin with. 

  • Prealgebra 1
  • Prealgebra 2
  • Intro to Algebra 1   
  • Intro to Algebra 2   
  • Intro to Geometry    
  • Intro to Counting and Probability  
  • Intro to Number Theory  
  • Intermediate Algebra 1
  • Intermediate Algebra 2
  • Precalculus

 

Students may choose to join the multi-year flex program offered by Dr. Shi to study the core courses in advance of their taking similar courses at the school in later years. This will help the students gain advantage at the school. The multi-year program has a comprehensive coverage of all core courses for middle and high school students: including beginner, introductory, intermediate, and advanced level courses. Lectures begin in September and conclude in August of each year. 

 

Refer to “Multi-Year Flex Program” for more information about using the multi-year program to achieve your academic goal. Also refer to “Course selection to achieve your goal” for more information about course selection to gain advantages in school math curricula.

 

Path B students - what math courses to take outside of school?

Students interested in math competitions can begin their path by taking the core courses to establish a strong foundation in the fundamental mathematical knowledge necessary for math competitions. The core courses provide a comprehensive coverage of the school math curricula at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced stages. They can consider joining the multi-year flex program offered by Dr. Shi as well. 

 

Notably, highly motivated students may opt to accelerate the study of introductory level courses by combining Year 2 and Year 3 in the multi-year program into a single year, achieved by attending two lectures per week, or to accelerate their study by using our self-paced courses. Refer to “Roadmap” for the help to select the right course to begin with, and “Multi-Year Flex Program” for the accelerated approach in the multi-year program.

 

To gain additional knowledge and enhance problem-solving skills for math contests, students also need to take supplementary courses specially targeted at competition courses, such as AMC 8/10/12 and AIME preparation courses. The supplementary math competition preparation courses include:

 

  • AMC 8 Preparation
  • AMC 10 Fundamental Topics
  • AMC 10 Advanced Topics 
  • AMC 10 Preparation
  • AIME Geometry 
  • AIME Counting 
  • AIME Algebra and Number Theory 
  • AIME Comprehensive 

 

Refer to “Why taking extracurricular math courses”, “Course selection to achieve your goal” for more information about course selection for math contest preparation.