<p>Here's the deal: I'm going into my senior year having only three math classes (Alg 1 and 2, and Geometry). I know I need one or more math classes my senior year, and my school offers pre-calc, calculus, and AP stats. </p>
<p>I'm not really a math guy -- it is <em>highly</em> unlikely that I major in anything math intensive. I'm also going to be taking the hardest, most time consuming classes available in addition to whatever the math class is (AP history, physics, AP English, assorted comm. college classes, etc).</p>
<p>I'm in a position where I <em>can</em> take both AP stats and pre-calculus/calculus -- but do I need to? I'm pretty much set on taking AP Stats, so essentially my question is...</p>
<p>... do I need to take at least pre-calculus to get into selective colleges? If I do need pre-calculus, do I need calculus, too? </p>
<p>Stuff that might be relevant:
- Specific schools I'm interested in: Reed, Oberlin, Whitman, Carleton, Grinnell, Berkeley, Claremont, and WashU amongst others on the high end.
- School offers 4 APs total; not competitive in any capacity
- 3.95+ GPA, 2050 SAT 1st try w/o study (750 ish in CR and writing... you can do the, uh... math for the math score)
- Schedule set up so that pre-calc is 1st semester, calc is 2nd semester. AP stats is year-long.</p>
<p>Doing pre-calculus one semester and then calculus the next semester just makes you look desperate, and colleges will probably wonder whether or not you understand either of them by the end of the year.</p>
<p>well its worth a shot and your strength of schedule definitely increases. Good plan OP :), go for the precalc and calc with year long stats because a lot of students who apply will have up to calc AB at least by the end of their senior year.</p>
<p>It is best to be at least “calculus ready” when you enter university. I.e. take at least up to precalculus (and calculus would be a bonus). Many majors in the social studies do require some math and/or statistics. The math is often a lightweight “calculus for social studies and business majors”, but calculus nonetheless. Statistics requirements may be greater than AP statistics for some majors.</p>
<p>AP statistics is typically equivalent to the lowest level non-calculus-based semester long course in university. It is widely regarded as one of the easiest AP courses and tests (especially if the course is a year long).</p>
<p>Thanks for the responces, guys. What looks like the most likely scenario for me is to take pre-calc and AP stats. I’d really rather not take pre-calc (because I feel like the rest of my schedule is really intense, not so much because I’m afraid of not getting an A), but I suspected that it’s something I need.</p>
<p>If you aren’t headed into a math-intensive major, a year of pre-calculus should be just fine. What you do want, is to be certain that you are ready for whatever math course your college will require you to take. At some colleges and universities, that will be College Algebra, or Intro. to Statistics, but at others the lowest math course offered will be Calculus. In which case, a solid grounding in pre-calc. will be a lifesaver!</p>
<p>What is “College Algebra”? The only algebra courses that I can think of are either high school level algebra (normally 9th and 11th grade, but often taken earlier) that would be considered “remedial” at the university level, or university sophomore level introductory linear algebra for physical science and engineering majors, or university junior and higher level abstract algebra and intermediate / advanced linear algebra for math majors. None seem to be the type of course that typical university freshmen would take as a graduation requirement.</p>
<p>I agree, though, that a student entering university should be ready to take calculus, as it is a typical university freshman level math course that is sometimes a graduation requirement, and is often a requirement for many majors, including some social studies majors.</p>
<p>I have no idea what the course content is, but there are plenty of institutions that offer a course named “College Algebra” or “Algebra for the Liberal Arts” or “College Math” for students who aren’t headed into an STEM field. At Happykid’s community college, in addition to umpteen remedial math courses that don’t carry college credits, there are college credit courses in “Intermediate Algebra”, “Algebra for the Liberal Arts”, and “Trigonometry” which don’t meet the college graduation requirement. For that students must pass “Survey of College Mathematics” or a higher level course.</p>
<p>I have my fingers crossed that Happykid can drag her dyscalculic brain through “Survey of College Mathematics” without too many tears this fall. Perhaps the OP will have to slog through more than one college math course in order to graduate, but all he/she needs for admission is enough math to get into the lowest level course offered.</p>