First-day-of-school jitters are to be expected. It is even more possible to be a little nervous when that first day is also the first time you’re starting classes away from home. For the members of the Classes of 2021 and 2022 at The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, the first day of official classes was Monday, Aug. 18.
ASMSA does its best to help mitigate those concerns by having students participate in a two-week Fortnight program. Move-in day for new students was Aug. 3. During the following two weeks, new students had opportunities to meet faculty members and learn more about the classes they teach, meet with their student success coordinators to begin planning a schedule and participate in various activities to get to know each other.
The Fortnight activities are garnered to make each students’ transition into the school year go more smoothly. There was one major difference this year. Instead of one class of students, ASMSA welcomed two new classes of students.
Historically the school has welcomed an incoming class of juniors each summer. This year, an inaugural cohort of sophomores was added to this unique community of learning in Arkansas. In addition to the Class of 2021, 20 members of the Class of 2022 began their ASMSA journey this fall.
Eureka Smith of Hot Springs is one of the 10 females chosen for the first sophomore cohort. When she first learned about the possibility of joining ASMSA’s community of learning, it was an opportunity to take more advanced classes earlier in her school career that she felt she couldn’t pass up.
“I am very excited to have an opportunity to take more classes at ASMSA,” Smith said. “Being a sophomore means that I’ll have more opportunities to learn at a higher caliber. I anticipate having to manage my time more to get all of my work done.”
The ability to add sophomores was added through updates to ASMSA’s enabling legislation by the Arkansas General Assembly in 2017. The goal in exploring this pathway was to ensure students who are in need of accelerated learning opportunities were able to receive appropriate academic challenges.
“For years, we’ve had profoundly gifted applicants in a ‘holding pattern’ through their sophomore year as they waited for this opportunity,” said ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice. “For a school such as ASMSA, we believe the emphasis should be placed on student ability and need more so than traditional timelines for learning.”
ASMSA is not alone in having a sophomore class among its peer institutions. The Illinois Math and Science Academy has always admitted students exclusively as sophomores. Other peer schools in Louisiana and Alabama have shifted to the sophomore year as a preferred point of entry, Alderdice said. ASMSA’s primary point of entry will continue to be for students in their junior year, with the sophomore program limited to specific needs.
Admitting students as sophomores has several advantages. Beyond simply having more time with a student, a three-year experience allows them to focus on their first year on transition into the school and establish connections with the campus community.
“This helps place a focus on the junior year in which they really begin to access the special parts of the curriculum and research. By senior year, they have an even more robust profile for college admissions and scholarships,” Alderdice said.
That doesn’t mean it’s easy to gain admission as a sophomore, however. Standard junior-year admission requirements include a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.25 and a composite score of a 19 or higher on the ACT with a minimum 19 subscore on the English, Math and Reading sections.
Early sophomore admission requirements include a minimum unweighted GPA of 3.75 and a composite score of 27 or higher on the ACT with a minimum 24 subscore on the English, Math and Reading sections.
There were 33 candidates for early admission for the 20 spots that were reserved for sophomores. As for meeting the ACT requirements, the incoming Class of 2022 averaged nearly a 29 composite on the ACT. Composite ACT scores in recent years for incoming classes have averaged 26 to 27. ASMSA’s Class of 2019 averaged a 30.1 as seniors.
To help the sophomore class adjust to the rigors of ASMSA, students will participate in a class called “Transitions” and was created by the Office of Student Success. It will be included in each sophomore schedule for the first eight weeks of school.
“The class was developed to increase their academic, career and personal and social growth as well as get them acclimated to their new environment both academically and residentially,” said Bret Vallun, one of ASMSA’s three student success coordinators. “The students will become aware of useful study strategies, helpful communication techniques, supportive on-campus resources and daily living skills. All of these skills will make them a more dynamic learner and increase their ability to succeed at our school.”
In addition to the Transitions class, sophomore student schedules will include an appropriate math and chemistry class, a core course to meet an Arkansas graduation requirement, a foreign language and an English course focused on exploring and writing about literature.
“It is a well-rounded schedule that will help them transition smoothly into ASMSA while allowing faculty to assess their skills,” Vallun said. “Next semester, their schedule will become more flexible and allow for individualized plans.”