I’m a high school freshman with ambitions of applying to a lot of great schools even though i havent finished my first semester. In middle school 8th grade i took alg 1 and now im taking geometry. After i take alg 2 in sophomore (no honors alg 2 available) i will only be eligible for college alg ghp. Is this a problem to schools like uc berkeley or cornell if i take honors everything else? Btw im thinking of majoring in biology and then going to law school or med school.
I will also register for AP courses in place of honors in my sophomore and junior years because no AP clases are given to freshman.
Are you taking the most advanced math classes available at your school?
No. The way it works in my school is you’re locked in once you pick your path in middle school. I did Alg 1 in 8th grade and now I’m in Geometry GHP. Next year i have the option of Alg 2 GHP or CP. There are no Alg 2 Honors courses available to anyone. The problem is i can’t take college alg honors i can only take college alg cp or ghp in junior year. Will the likes of berkeley NYU and Princeton care that a guy who wants to become a doctor or lawyer only finished Precalc in high school? Also should i take the cp or ghp since both are viewed the same in colleges eyes? Thanks for any advice.
What will you take in your senior year? Why can’t you take calculus?
I will take precalculus in senior year. Unless they change the curriculum again.
Also we cant skip courses over the summer you’re kind of stuck in your course.
That doesn’t make any sense. If you started with algebra 1 in middle school, how can you not reach calculus? Assuming you don’t fail and you don’t have to retake any classes, wouldn’t your course progression look like this:
8th - Algebra 1
9th - Geometry
10th - Algebra 2
11th - Precalc
12th - Calculus
College algebra is a mandatory course for us
Where in the sequence @IAmNotCreativ mentioned does that fall? Is it kind of like Algebra 3?
How is college algebra different from Algebra II and/or pre-calculus? (When it’s offered at colleges, it’s usually just pre-calculus.)
Does anyone in your high school take calculus? If so, how?
Competitive to highly competitive schools will want to see that you’ve taken Calculus (honors or AP) in high school, especially if you’re a science major. Make sure you’ve finished Algebra 2 before you start taking the PSAT/SAT (both geometry and algebra 2 in the math section.)
I’m a freshman so i’ll have finished Alg 2 and Geometry going into junior year. The SAT shouldnt be a problem but you’re saying precalc isnt good enough right? Unfortunately im locked into my path so would taking both precalc and trig in senior year help me? At least ill be ready to learn calculus when i reach college. Because in my school one must take college alg and trig to do calculus and calculus AP is two years. Thanks
People take calculus in 12th grade that are one level above me and people who are two levels above me take ap calculus. Precalc is supposed to “prepare” students for calculus so i dont know.
What is their path? Did they take Algebra I in sixth grade?
Yes. AP calculus is a two year course. AB and BC. The regular advanced kids just take calculus.
@faizzybear At my school, there is no non-AP option for calculus. Do you have some sort of AP Calculus preparatory class? I thought AP Calc AB was for people who have finished Pre-Calc…
What is the difference between trig and precalc at your school?
Precalc is supposed to reinforce some trig elements from geometry and calculus elements that were covered by college algebra.
AP calculus is for people who finished precalc. If youve finished precalc you can take calculus or college level calculus which is 2 years.