Ok, it’s great that you’re in Advanced English. Continue with Spanish and History Advanced next year too.
What’s your current GPA? Have you received your PSAT score yet?
It’s not your fault but you don’t have the pre-reqs for the studies you want to do, so your choice is either drop down a year and complete this year as 10th, next as 11th, then one more year to complete the pre-reqs for your major… or go to community college or a branch campus and hope it offers what you need AND pay for what you could have studied for free if you’d dropped down a year. That being said, your school may not accept your dropping down a year but you should know whether you have the option.
It sounds like they placed you in “slow algebra”, with Algebra A, B, C and Geometry covering 4 years, making it impossible for you to reach precalculus. Any specific reason? What math class had you taken in middle school and with what grade?
I checked the PASSHE and branch programs for the chemistry major’s recommended plan and they all assume you completed Precalculus and are ready to take a calculus class right off the bat your first semester, as well as several weedout chemistry and physics classes. However they do offer remedial math classes… but would you prefer paying thousands of dollars in college for a class you could take for free?
Look into summer school, too, to get back on track: how about you take Geometry and “Algebra3” over the summer, so that you can take precalculus in 12th grade?
Clearly Cyberschool wasn’t going well, so you need to figure things out at your new school. :s
@CCtoAlaska I did take it in 8th grade, but I don’t remember how I did. I did Algebra 1 in 9th grade, then an intermediate Algebra (not remediation, but not Algebra 2). I do not want to go to cyber- the learning style really does not work for me, I need to talk with my teacher in person, and the social aspect of school isn’t there in cyber- drove me crazy. I am now in Algebra 2 (I took Algebra 1 and intermediate 9th and 10th grade, I am now in 11th).
I have taken the PSAT, where I was highly behind in Algebra, but we are learning the topics I saw on the test so I should be on a better track, along with just normal SAT prep.
You talked about Geometry/Pre-calc, I would probably be put in geometry my senior year.
ETA: I took cyber in 8th grade, only would take PSSAs there. I switched to public 9th grade
I understand you’d be in Geometry in 12th grade, and that would not be enough to major in chemistry in college, even a minimally selective college such as Mansfield or PSU Abington. You’d need to take precalculus in high school to have a shot at a chemistry major. Chemistry majors need to have taken math through precalculus + all three science classes, even if at regular level, because in college they’ll encounter these subjects which will assume prior knowledge.
Can you take summer school classes such as Geometry in order to “catch up”?
@MYOS1634 I have no clue, I do not think I can drop to 10th this late in the year- however, I could repeat 11th grade with a different course schedule (physics, geometry etc) then pre calc (hopefully!) 12th grade.
They thought I would be too nervous being at a new school so they put me behind in 9th grade which has screwed me up since. All my teachers agree they screwed me over. Me being in 9th grade and not having any scheduling experience, I didn’t speak up- I could kick myself now.
I have no clue how that kind of summer school program would work here…I am currently on winter break, I will speak to my guidance counselor when I come back to school.
I didn’t see your other post, as I said I do not know if I could do that- I will speak to my guidance counselor when I come back from break.
The thing is, at least for the 2018-19 school year, they only have Honors Pre-Calc. That doesn’t seem like something I would be able to do…ugh.
Ok, that plan for 11th grade sounds good. It’s important you get through precalculus so that you don’t have to start with it in college. Same thing with Physics, you need an introduction to it before you’re thrown into calculus-based physics (NOT “conceptual physics” which doesn’t use math, but a physics class that uses math.)
Does your school have a website? Often these list the courses they offer, including summer. Also, although it’s Winter Break, you could easily email your GC so that s/he finds your message right away.
Does it offer AP Chemistry? That’d be the ideal class for a future chem major, but it’s very advanced and might not be possible for you. It is NOT necessary to have it in order to major in Chemistry, unlike the other classes.
For now, work on Algebra using Khan Academy or the New York Regents’ website. See if your teacher can recommend a tutor (if it’s not arranged by your school you’d need to pay them a little but you need the strongest possible background - and grade- in Algebra2/Trig.)
I can take Organic Chemistry my 12th grade year (our AP). Although it is a semester class so I would take AP Biology 2nd semester.
Yeah, I plan on using my winter break to work on Algebra (well I am doing so, actually).
I would so much rather take summer classes than repeat a grade, but I’ll see when I return from break.
Again, what concerns me is that we only have Honors Pre-Calc, which…sounds too advanced for me.
Oh, we don’t have Trigonometry here.
@edgeoftheworld it’s weird to hear your story (I did get mixed up and forgot you were already in 11th). I have no experience with PA Cyber but my kids went to another cyber in PA and they have been way ahead in math compared to their peers in public high school. I’m surprised that PA Cyber had you so far behind. Do any students from your school dual enroll at community college? You could try taking the Accuplacer (or a simulation) to see where you would place if you tried to take a community college course in math over the summer but I don’t think that’s exactly what you need since those classes are likely not classes you would test into if your math is weak. Does your school really not have a regular track for math that allows precalc? Do most students normally take physics?
It’s not the worst thing in the world to end up in college and have to redo math courses and schools will let you in without the prerequisites required for your major. I have a family member who was at a PASSHE school as premed or CS (can’t remember which) and then transferred to a cc for his sophomore year (hated the dorms). He’s an intended chem major now but had to start with the most basic college math courses which don’t really count for any STEM major and is just now as a sophomore ready for precalc 2 next semester having taken all of those lower-level courses over the past year and a half. I don’t think he took physics in HS but I’m not sure. It’s not ideal but it’s not the end of the world and it won’t keep you out of college. You’ll just have to do more work when you get there that won’t count towards your major but no one will tell you you can’t enroll. Schools like that don’t require you to be major-ready at the time of enrollment. They will let you catch up.
@CCtoAlaska I would be taking Physics next year, and if I wanted, Organic Chemistry/Honors Biology concurrently.
So would I have to complete all of the math courses before I could major in chem? As in, would this put me a few years behind?
No, they do not have a regular track. It’s either advanced or you’re all messed up.
@edgeoftheworld I think you need 3 years of math and 3 years of sciencein HS. Personally, I think if you have Physical science, bio and chem, you have what you need and if you have Alg 1 +2 and Geometry you have what you need for admission to most colleges in the United States.
You would have to complete whatever you had to complete as prereqs for a Chem major once you got there. It’s not necessarily dependent on what you took in HS. My daughter was able to enter college at the Precalc 2 level having just studied Alg 1 and Geometry in HS (she left HS early) while the family member I just mentioned had to start with the most fundamental college math class even though he had taken all 4 years of HS math probably including Precalc maybe even Calc. I know he took mostly math and science electives junior and senior year.
But he didn’t test out of those courses in college so taking them in HS didn’t really help him. He still had to take them again. It really just depends on if the classes you take really prepare you for college level math. If they don’t you probably would have to start at the bottom or in the middle. Until you take a placement test you won’t know although your PSAT probably offers some clues. It happens all the time, though, and is not unusual for students to have to do math prereqs if they don’t test out. Personally, I would not advise an extra year of high school unless you really love it and can get something very unique out of it.
@MYOS1634 the problem is he could take the HS course and still not test out. That is what happened to my family member. He still had to take the classes again (coming from a blue ribbon school district in a STEM-heavy track, mind you). I don’t think a fifth year of HS is worth the gamble that it might help you test out of college precalc. I would advise my kid to just buckle down and do it in college where it’s a guarantee. Taking Precalc in HS means zilch if you can’t pass the college placement test and all of the schools will administer math placement tests before admitting a student to a math class.
It’s great if you get the exposure, but I would not do an extra year of HS for it.
OP does need to be aware that if s/he is not ready for calculus upon entering college, the risk of delayed graduation (with extra cost for extra semesters) increases.
@ucbalumnus, yes, totally agree but it’s also true that he’d be one of many in the same boat, many of whom would have taken a college prep courseload including calculus at their HS. It’s not all that unusual but it does drive a lot of the financial and completion difficulty that students have. I was pretty sour to learn that my family member at his blue ribbon school wasn’t more prepared for college math. What a waste of someone’s time.
I really do not want to take an extra year of high school for pre-calc if it isn’t guaranteed to help, because if I get a god-awful grade in the class, my GPA will drop exponentially and wouldn’t that look worse on a college application than not taking it at all? I also really don’t want to double up on classes and increase my stress if it isn’t absolutely needed…I don’t want my grades to drop way down because I feel overwhelmed. I would rather, if it is an option, take pre-calc in college then regular calculus 1/2 after that.
But, I also don’t want to ruin my chances at succeeding in my desired major/career…when I was placed in lower level classes in 9th grade, I wish I could’ve seen how that could be pretty detrimental in the future.
@edgeoftheworld you said you were using Khan Academy. Is that going well? You can always keep going to self-study precalc topics or get somebody to tutor you. One thing that I think you want to explore is how supportive an environment your college will be in terms of getting students up to speed in math. Look at the professors’ ratings for the classes you’d expect to take. Talk to the math placement coordinator before enrolling.
@CCtoAlaska Khan Academy is really helpful, I have recently started using it to help me in Algebra 2. And yeah, I’ll try and study pre-calc over break. As for colleges, in January, one of the colleges I’m considering is open to tour, where I would talk with people in their chem/math department.
Good luck with everything! Remember that other students will be in the same boat. It’s really about your willingness to put in the time and be persistent.
What colleges are you considering?
I agree repeating just for that class (+ physics if you couldn’t take it before) would be a waste if you have a good probability of being able to take it over the summer. So, trying to take Geometry over the summer should be your priority as well as figuring out how to take Precalculus and some form of Physics next year.
Optimally, your senior schedule would indicate:
Accelerated/Honors English, Accelerated/Honors History (ie., continuation of this year)
Physics Regular or Accelerated
AP Chemistry
Precalculus (Honors if you want to prepare for calculus; regular if you want a preview and plan on retaking in college)
You could get into a PASSHE school or a lower level PSU Branch without the above, but your odds of success wouldn’t be good.
@CCtoAlaska is right: look into support systems, tutoring, writing center, math center, etc. Ask questions about them during your college tour.
I doubt that CCtoAlaska’s relative’s placement was due to the BlueRibbonSchool. Most kids who do poorly on the university placement tests (esp.in Math) despite having a decent background do so because they don’t take the placement test seriously or think they’re well-prepared and don’t need to review before that test. Then, they find they should have treated the placement test as a TEST; if their results are disapointing, they’re given a second chance to retake but many don’t. Sometimes they think it’s easier to start with an “easier” class and flunk the test on purpose, only to discover they’d have been better off skipping that more-rigorous, weeder class.
All in all, precalculus is a gatekeeper: taking it in college without having seen it, even as an overview, in HS, is the most common reason for failing to proceed to major and most common reason for failing to receive a college degree. (A study has been done about it.)
In addition, college algebra (ie., precalculus) will cover one year’s worth of high school precalculus honors… but over 14 weeks (instead of 38). Not the most comfortable situation to learn it for the first time.
It’s very risky to go into STEM fields without the pre-reqs and it wastes money.
@MYOS1634 I’m considering going to Clarion.
I can definitely take Physics my senior year, it’s just math that is an issue. I went to review pre-calc on Khan Academy and there is little to no chance I will be able to understand this on my own- one of the first things on there is trigonometry which deals with angles and various calculations that I don’t understand at all, it seems like there’s things I would learn before it that I haven’t (I don’t really know how to explain that).