Hi, im writing today hoping to get some suggestions for my next year in highschool. Im currently a junior and im taking (ap us, ap comp principles, chem honors, spanish 3 honors, regular math, and literature honors). Now i realize its a bit ironic that im trying to go for a computer major in college and i have taken nothing but on level math. And thats what concerns me today. Will i still get into my desired colleges considerig that i havent taken advanced or even ap math?(im good at math but math can easily get overwhelming for me in ap classes)
It depends on what your desired colleges are.
Computer science is odd. They’re not necessarily as impressed by CS classwork as they might be with someone who has taken on major coding challenges outside of class.
I’ve been a computer programmer for over 30 years. I was terrible at calculus, flunked out of it in high school. CS requires the ability to think abstractly and recognize patterns, which math can teach you, but it also requires a lot of unique skills.
So look for ways of getting engaged in computer competitions outside of class. Competitions, hacking challenges, etc. Get good grades in your schoolwork (first priority!) and make sure that you understand what you’re being taught and you’re not just learning for the test and forgetting the day after. You should do fine.
What is “regular math”? Is it Pre-calculus? Geometry?
99% of colleges assume you will start with calculus freshman year for any STEM Major.
I think that you will want to get through pre-calculus by the time that you finish high school. It would help if you get good grades in algebra, trigonometry, and pre-calculus, since all are important prerequisites for calculus.
Personally I took calculus in freshman year of university, and ended up graduating as a math major at a highly ranked university. Calculus in university had the advantage that it was a relatively moderate sized class because so many freshmen had AP’d out of it. I didn’t see any disadvantage at all of waiting until university to take calculus.
I took algebra one and geometery thus far. And right now im taking algebra 2. By regular i meant not like ap or advanced
there are no AP classes for geometry or algebra (though there is for calculus).
There are AP classes for other math subjects. Physics, stats, calc, etc. Having them would definitely help but it really depends on what level of a college you are shooting for. You probably won’t need those classes to get into a city or community college.