USMAPS Math Courses

Classof83

10-Year Member
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Nov 22, 2010
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Does USMAPS test for math level at the beginning of the year? DD has already taken AP Calculus AB. Will she start at a lower math level or will she be able to continue working on calculus?
 
I thought prep school was for the kids who weren't the brightest?
 
The 'brightest' is definitely the wrong term. People get sent to prep school for a variety of reasons; academics being the primary reason. Academics can be for a variety of things. I have seen folks attend the prep school with 4.0 GPAs. Maybe their test scores weren't the highest or were very high in one area and lower in another. It could be someone attended a very small high school without a lot of higher level class options like AP courses or Calc (maybe they only got pre-Calc). I have seen those attend the prep school finish at the top of the class. It's a great path to a SA.
 
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I thought prep school was for the kids who weren't the brightest?

WP22, I assume you didn't intend this, but by posting this comment about "not the brightest" immediately after someone posted about their daughter as a USMAPS appointee and a serious question about the curriculum - I don't feel it moved the conversation forward in a positive way. There are current prep appointees and former prepsters who post here - if I were them, I would feel a bit taken aback by the categorization of their intellect.

The SA prepsters and funded scholarship prepsters at civilian schools have essentially been told the SA wants them, is willing to wait for them, and wants them to just do this one more thing to ensure success at the SA. Clearly, the SA loves everything else about them to offer them this chance. Many have superb records, many are prior enlisted who have been out of school a while, most gain their appointments and succeed at their SA. The matter of "brightness" is only one element of the whole candidate evaluation. Candidates can be "bright" in many different ways.
 
I just found it weird that a student taking AP calc is going to prep school. If they can handle AP calc they can handle any math class at WP
 
My son had AP Calc in HS and did well in it, but the math classes at WP have been anything but easy. Both semesters so far he started very strong, but struggled during the second half. My son had a 34 math score on the ACT, so this is not easy stuff. This is true for almost all of the classes at WP.

I would have loved it if my son was offered a spot at USMAPS. It is a blessing, not a place for unworthy kids. It is a year to get acclimated to that type of life, and get an edge academically at the same time. I am positive my son would have benefited a great deal if he got MAPS. He was 17 until September, and although he has managed well, it has been a learning experience.

The kids at MAPS are quite bright, but they are fortunate too, because MAPS is an opportunity, and the kids from MAPS do very well at WP.
 
At each of the SAs, someone is going to get the C, D and F grades, and given the HS grades and courses of incoming plebes/doolies/swabs, it could well be ones who already had AP Calc or other advanced classes, plus high class standing and GPA.

At USNA, with which I am most familiar, Chem and Calc are plebe-killers, with some percentage of the class failing one or both and having to re-take them during mandatory summer school.
It's a real wake-up call for those used to the view from the top of a HS class.
 
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Does USMAPS test for math level at the beginning of the year? DD has already taken AP Calculus AB. Will she start at a lower math level or will she be able to continue working on calculus?

Does anyone have an answer to this question? Will USMAPS test for math level and start student at the tested math level?

I think we all got distracted by WP22's comment.

Thanks.
 
I looked up the USMAPS website and it points to the fact that they have tracks that "range in difficulty from fundamental to advanced placement." It also says students can move between tracks and upward growth is encouraged. The website didn't provide anything further on how it is determined where a candidate is placed, but it leads me to believe they either have a test system, look at past performance or professors have a say in this placement based upon performance. Either way, it looks like to me there will be opportunities for growth.
 
I just found it weird that a student taking AP calc is going to prep school. If they can handle AP calc they can handle any math class at WP

A SA is very rigorous in the STEM area, but you have to be able to read and write too. I have no idea to the OP DD's situation, maybe English is a second language and a 25 was the score they got after raising it from an 18, but they got a 34 on the Math? It happens! Heck writing and speaking are probably the two biggest skills you can take away as an Army Officer. You soldiers won't care if you can solve a differential equation, but they will care if you can't write a LOR well enough that they don't get a school seat, promotion, award, etc. I do not know the OP's daughter, but I am sure she had a great resume and USMA wants her, but for some reason thinks a year at the prep school would help her. I do not know why USMA thinks prep would be a good year for her, but USMA has been in this business for a very long time and know what types of candidates will succeed. Prep schools are a great path to a SA. The candidates are high quality and bring all kinds of things to the table, just like a direct admit candidate does. Just a fun fact about Prep Schools... in 2006, USNA had a Midshipmen selected as a Rhodes Scholar. He had actually been a high school drop out, who enlisted in the Marines, attended NAPS and then thrived at USNA ultimately being selected for the Rhodes (OBTW... technically you don't have to be a high school graduate to attend USNA). If you attend a SA, you will meet people from all over the world who bring so many different things to the table outside of GPAs and test scores. This will teach you very quickly to not judge a book by its cover.

To the OP's DD, congrats on her appointment to MAPS. I am sure will do well!
 
Thanks for the answers everyone. I also read the USMAPS website which indicated various levels of instruction.

I agree that competency in math does not guarantee commensurate proficiency in language (and vice versa) especially if English was not the first language.
 
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