Can a bad math grade hurt admission chances?

<p>My DS, is currently a high school junior and we are starting the college search. Last week he was given forms to select his senior year classes. His current UW GPA is 3.7. He won't take his SAT until May but received a 58 on the math section of the PSAT (185 overall). His transcript is great, mostly A's (including AP) with a few B's HOWEVER, he has 1 D which was in algebra III his sophomore year. He hates math. He's not terrible at, but hates it because it doesn't "just come to him" like most other subjects. He chose not to work through it and just winged the class even though we warned him of the consequences. Since he fulfilled his HS requirement for math (4) and the only classes left to take are trig and AP Calc, he did not take a math this year. His guidance counselor said no math for 2 years reflects badly on him (as if the D isn't bad enough) and suggested he take a math his senior year. So, here's the dilemma, he can't take trig because he doesn't meet the HS's C requirement in algebra III. The only other option is to do dual enrollment with the local CC and take a semester of college algebra and a semester of pre-calc to prepare him for calc I once he gets in and in hopes that this shows initiative on his part to improve his weakness. I feel absolutely sure he can do any of it if he tried especially now that he's motivated since he knows this may hurt him.</p>

<p>We want to do whats best for him academically and what will reflect best on his college applications. He will be a political science / history major. </p>

<p>Should we do the dual enrollment or let the transcript the way it is? Any other suggestions?</p>

<p>He finished 4 years of math without Trig? As a Poly Sci or History major I would look at Stats as an alternative.</p>

<p>Political science and history majors are generally not required to take calculus in college, unless they attend a school which requires calculus for everyone. However, they (at least political science majors) will need some knowledge of statistics and quantitative methods for their major (e.g. analyzing poll and election results).</p>

<p>Not sure what algebra 3 is, but check whether the colleges of interest require passing the equivalent of that course with a C or higher grade. If they do, then he may need to repeat at least the part of the course where he got a D (or take its equivalent at the CC).</p>