I am a 7th grader about to go to eighth grade and throughout the summer I took a ap test to get into algebra 1 in 8th grade. The bad part is that I failed. I didn’t make it. I want to major in engineering and I heard from a lot of places that having one year of calculus in high school is key. Right now i’m scheduled to end out at pre-calculus not calculus. I feel like a failure. I simply don’t know what to do anymore. Any advice on what I should do?
You’re a rising 8th grader. Many many things will change between now and the time you apply to college. Don’t be so melodramatic. If you are concerned, take Algebra I next summer, and then you will be on track to take calculus as a senior. As an FYI, there are many students who get accepted into engineering schools with only pre-calculus.
My goodness! Don’t beat yourself up or give up on your dreams! Just keep doing your personal best and all will fall into place for you. You may be able to accelerate your math at some point in high school or may take a non-traditional route to engineering. You may even change your mind about what you want to study in the future. Push yourself, but don’t forget to love yourself and enjoy life now without worrying about the future.
If your parents have some money, consider getting math tutoring to help you catch up.
You can also talk to the head of the math department of the high school to see what his or her advice is.
There are even free quizzes and so on online that could help you get better in math. And some community colleges have summer programs for middle school and HS students to brush up on their math.
Algebra 1 in 9th grade is normal level math, which will have you completing precalculus in 12th grade (so that you are ready to take calculus in college). In other words, it is not behind, though not ahead either.
Don’t beat yourself up. If you really feel the need to improve, there are many online classes you could take, many for free. Additionally you could purchase books and the like to help you out. Don’t worry, there’s still lots of time.
First of all, don’t worry. You have plenty of time. Taking Calculus 1 in college even for engineering major is common. If you insist to take Calculus in HS, you have time to catch up such as testing out geometry or take a summer class. Note that you have several summers even before you start thinking about college application. Nevertheless, having a strength in math is a good indication of success in engineering. You do need to get a good Math section score in order to get into top engineering schools. But for that, you don’t need Calculus at all. If you do take AP Calc BC in high school and received great score in AP exam, then you may accelerate your course schedule in college by skipping Calc1 and 2.
It’s fine and you can’t do anything about it. Like @ucbalumnus said, Algebra 1 in 9th grade is not behind, it’s normal. The majority of high school freshman take Algebra 1 (at least at my high school).
If you really want to skip Algebra 1, then perhaps go to your GC and ask her?
Alegebra 1 as a freshman is okay, but definitely a bit behind if you’re applying to top schools. Most applicants to top schools have Algebra 2/trigonometry/precalculus as a freshman class.
@maaz97 Thats not completely correct. Most students applying to top schools have algebra 2 or geometry freshman year, depending on their schools math sequence. Most of them are taking Calc BC or AB as a senior. Very few students actually take higher than Calc BC in high school.
Very few students are actually two years advanced in math (algebra 2 in 9th grade) and even fewer are more advanced than that. Being one year advanced in math (geometry in 9th grade) is reasonably common, though.
But except for a very tiny number of colleges that expect calculus in high school (e.g. Caltech, Harvey Mudd, Cornell engineering, WUStL engineering), the normal expectation is to be ready for calculus in college, with anything beyond that being a bonus. Algebra 1 in 9th grade leads to precalculus in 12th grade, so you should be ready for calculus in college.
As echoed above, the norm is that students in 12th grade be taking pre-calc. It may be that being on CC may have colored your perception just a bit.
Algebra 1 as a freshman is standard. From what you’ve described, it seems you’ll have to end 12th with pre-calc. In college apps (when the time comes), this should be stressed. Some schools nowadays see some form of calc as a HS subject, but there are plenty of HS around the country that offer up to pre-calc only.
I’m sure that it won’t be marked against you too much. However, it might put you at a disadvantage to select schools which expect some form of background in calculus, as ucbalumnus says.
Maybe you could self-study for AP Calc AB/BC and take the AP test in your senior year, to offset any disadvantage?
All I have to do is just ask my counselor and she will put me into algebra 1 in 8th grade. I have my teachers approval. In freshman i’m going to take geometry and algebra 2 in the same year. Precalculus in sophomore. Calculus in junior, and some other AP math elective in senior. Is this a good math pathway?
Unless you are a top-end math student who wants to take post-calculus math at a local college while still in high school, you will see diminishing returns beyond one year ahead in math (calculus in 12th grade).
I’m a rising junior and yes I was in Algebra in the 8th grade but I’m going into AP calc this year because I took precalc over the summer. Relax I know quite a few people who were in Algebra Freshman year and are going into precalc their junior year because they took geometry over the summer.
Nationwide, it is much more common for a student to take Algebra 1 in 9th grade than in 8th grade.
Please stop worrying about this. A good grade in Algebra 1 in 9th grade, and a solid understanding of the concepts taught in that class will do you much more good in the long run than trying to get through it earlier when you may not be as ready to master the concepts. If you should find out at some point in the future that you need to take math past pre-calculus level in order to be considered for admission to the college programs of your choice, then you can work those extra math classes into your calendar by taking some of them in the summers or doubling up during the school year.
I’m currently taking math 8 in eight grade, and that will result in taking algebra 1 in high school. The bad part is that my high school does not allow summer courses. Every one of my friends are 4.0 students and so am I. The only difference is that they all are taking higher math courses than me. I feel like I am way behind. Is algebra 1 in freshman year shameful? What percentage of people take algebra 1 in freshman?
I have a question for you, OP, and some of the others on this thread. With the new Common Core standards, is it actually allowed to go ahead in math? I heard that every single ninth grader starting with the HS class of 2020 will have to go into Algebra 1 and are not allowed to go ahead or take summer classes. Is this true? My sister is like OP, wants to get ahead and is eligible to do Alg 1, but is not sure that they will have the class as option due to Common Core standards.
Deep breaths.
Know that the CC audience is NOT a typical audience of high school and college kids. Most/many of the kids here are uber-achievers…
As a math teacher, I would much, much, MUCH rather my students be On level, but really KNOW the material, then to jump ahead for the sake of being ahead. It’s not a race. There’s no prize for cramming in more courses than your neighbor.
You’re right on track if you’re taking Algebra I in grade 9.
@sprights no, that’s not true. Many school are eliminating accelerated programs (or cutting back) by choice. Some of the new standards seem too advanced for many of the kids in accelerated programs and/ or because of the specific order things are required to be taught, they feel they are unable cover gaps. Personally, I also believe that since many of the accelerated kids are also then not required to take their grade level standardized tests and schools are concerned and need those high numbers, it’s also influencing decisions. Anyway, as I said, school are not being forced to eliminate accelerated math.