Can a local high school student take math at UCB?

My daughter was on the same math track as your son and took three semesters of post-BC Calculus at UC-Berkeley.  (She was at Berkeley High, and then in Independent Study, at the time, but my understanding is that Berkeley High no longer allows students to take math at UC-Berkeley (or to accelerate in math beyond its advanced-math track).)  As of last spring, when she took her last class as a high-schooler, she had to enroll through UC Extension/Concurrent Enrollment:  https://extension.berkeley.edu/static/studentservices/concurrent/  It's not an easy process -- basically, you have to get into a system and then find a class that has room for non-UC-Berkeley students (which wasn't easy for the first few post-calculus classes, especially given that my daughter had limited availability because of her high-school schedule).  Then there's a form that the professor has to sign and that has to be delivered to the chair of the math department.  Then the student has to wait for the paperwork to be processed before official enrollment in the class, which may not happen until well into the semester.  It's also expensive -- a few thousand dollars per class.  It's also not a sure thing that a college will accept credit even with an official transcript from a UC-Berkeley math class.  Feel free to contact me if you want to talk further and good luck. 

He could start with the summer session: http://precollege.berkeley.edu/precollege-commuter. It looks like you need to start the February prior to summer that he would go, which is not for another year. Your son should check with his high school counselor to see what requirements the school has to make sure he gets concurrent high school credit. Since this is actually more than a year away, this is an excellent opportunity for your son (rather than you) to find out the process. My daughter is now in college, but when she was in high school I was way more excited about her taking college classes than she was, which is why you should have your son actually work on this, because if he is interested, he will do it.

The teacher must be referring to the UC Extension but his information is completely inaccurate because colleges WILL accept math classes from community colleges. Maybe he thinks a UC class will be more impressive to colleges, but since it's through the extension, and it doesn't require acceptance into Cal, it's not going to impress anyone over the CC (but, yes, that level of math will impress the colleges, no matter where it's taken). It will also be more expensive at the extension. Have your son contact his counselor about doing concurrent enrollment next year at a community college.

Lisa Spencer (college advisor)

I think that you have received poor advice from your student's high school teacher re: community college classes. I would call a potential college of your choice and ask them. For example, all of the UCs take community college classes. They are articulated at the state level so that each community college's class meets the standards of a UC class. Community college students transfer to Ivy league schools and top schools in the country all the time. 

If you're set on UC Berkeley, have you looked at concurrent enrollment? Those students have lowest priority for registration. (https://math.berkeley.edu/courses/enrollment/concurrent-enrollment). 

Another option is to take a class during summer school, if it's offered. Anyone can take UCB summer session classes. 

It's not true that colleges are less likely to accept cc classes for credit. Your teacher doesn't understand the cc system. If it's a college level class that shows "UC" next to it, it transfers to UC or presumably other 4 year colleges, it is designed to be the same as the equivalent UC class. In terms of UC Berkeley all i know is that anyone can take summer classes. Your son's HS counselor should know about UCB school year classes. But if you can find the class at nearby CC that would be cheaper way to go.

Try Summer Session or Concurrent Enrollment. 

https://math.berkeley.edu/courses/enrollment/concurrent-enrollment

A math circle is also mentioned on that web page. You may want to look into that as well. 

A high school student CAN take math at UCB, but it is really expensive. The appropriate program would be Concurrent Enrollment through the Extension School, and a 4-unit course will cost you more that $4,000. The student needs to have the professor's permission to enroll, and there has to be room in the class (UCB students have first crack). I doubt your teacher's remark that colleges are not likely to accept community college credit. If the courses offered at community colleges cover the same material, they should be good for transfer credit. Certainly that credit would be good at a UC system university. If I were you, I would do a little research; if you know which colleges interest your son, get in touch with their registrars and ask about the process for transferring credit. They may not be able to answer with great particularity, but you can ask: "do you accept credit transfers from community colleges," and you can get their answer. I would hesitate to 1) spend the money and 2) put my kid into a high pressure social situation at that age at Cal. Having said that, it can be done! 

I think your son's teacher is wrong about community college courses not transferring. Of course they do! That's how many kids do college these days--2 years at cc, then transfer credits to university.