<p>At the beginning of the schoolyear, I was enrolled in Algebra II Trig Honors, but I was forced to drop it after failing the first two tests. Now, I'm enrolled in Algebra II Trig Non-Honors and I currently have an A-. However, I'm having to work pretty hard for this grade and I'm starting to doubt whether I could pass Algebra II Trig Honors at a community college in the summer. </p>
<p>Based on my previous struggles, do you guys think that I am capable of earning an A or a B in Algebra II Trig Honors during the summer and then taking Pre-Calc during my junior year? Or should I just take Algebra II Trig Non-Honors this year and AP Stats next year?</p>
<p>Also, I'm most likely going to major in philosophy, political science, or economics. My goal is to attend Wesleyan, UCLA, UCSD, or NYU CAS. I understand that these are quite prestigious schools, but I earn straight A's in my other subjects quite easily.</p>
<p>If you are taking other honors courses and doing well then taking a non honors math course will not seriously hurt your chances. chillax. i had the same problem:) math sucks.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reassurance! I figure that I probably won’t get into these schools as an econ major, but after browsing the chance threads it seems like I’d have a chance for philosophy and political science.</p>
<p>Regardless of honors or non-honors, it is best to complete precalculus before graduating from high school.</p>
<p>Economics will require a year of calculus, and significantly more math if you intend to do graduate study in economics.</p>
<p>Philosophy will not need calculus directly, but it involves logical thinking, which is like mathematical thinking, so having more mathematical experience will help.</p>
<p>Political science will not need calculus directly, but may find statistics useful. College level statistics courses may have calculus as a prerequisite.</p>
<p>Check each school whether specifying a major in the “arts and sciences” division matters for admissions selectivity.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure I can take non-honors Pre-Calculus if I complete non-honors Algebra II Trig, but I’d rather take Algebra II Trig Honors over the summer and at least give myself an opportunity to try taking Honors Pre-Calculus during my junior year.</p>
<p>By the way, this response is directed at Sikorsky. It seems like the “quote message” option doesn’t work or maybe I just used it incorrectly?</p>
<p>Taking calculus in high school is not mandatory or expected other than for a very small number of schools like MIT, Caltech, Harvey Mudd, and WUStL (engineering majors only). However, some admissions committees might question why you stopped taking math before exhausting the offerings at your high school.</p>
<p>Obviously, if you are in algebra 2 as a sophomore and precalculus as a junior, you have the opportunity to take calculus as a senior; this is well worth doing if you plan on studying a subject that uses calculus (including economics). If you have a choice between AB and BC, AB is more of a gentle introduction at half the pace of a college calculus course, while BC is more like a full speed college calculus course.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the info, ucbalumnus. I suppose I’ll try to take Algebra II Honors during the summer, Pre-Calculus Honors during junior year, and hopefully, some form of calculus during senior year. I just hope I have the mathematical prowess do be able to do so at that point, especially since I only have a 93% in non-honors algebra II at the moment.</p>
<p>I have to wonder: if you’re working hard and getting a 93, could it be that you’re properly placed in your current math class?</p>
<p>It’s important to try to figure out what was going wrong for you in Honors Algebra II. </p>
<p>Were you struggling because you didn’t have a proper foundation in Algebra I and geometry? If this is the problem, then a summer class at community college might help. (I learned one summer that this is even more important than I had previously understood. I was taking a Calc I at community college because I wanted to watch somebody teach it with a graphing calculator. I am old; we used pencils back in the day. Everybody in the class had taken precalculus; most of them had gotten a B, or maybe even an A. I had just taught precalculus; I knew the prerequisite material way better than anybody else in the room except the teacher.)</p>
<p>Or were you struggling because Honors Algebra II moved fast, and the test questions were hard? If the problem was the honors-level class itself, rather than your preparation for it, then a summer class won’t really help very much.</p>
<p>Have you talked about your plan with your current teacher? He or she may be able to help you figure out whether you plan is likely to succeed.</p>
<p>I definitely struggled mightily in Algebra II Honors because I had a weak foundation from Algebra I. Also, the teacher had a pretty poor teaching method, or at least that’s the general consensus at my school.</p>
<p>Anyhow, I suppose I’ll just try my hardest this year in Non-Honors Algebra II in hopes of building a large enough foundation for me to take Honors Algebra II over the summer.</p>