I’m currently a junior in Algebra II. It’s a breeze, and math has been throughout high school. I was having issues with my teacher in 8th grade, and so I moved to a lower math class. This set me behind, and took me off the track to take AP Calculus. I wasn’t aware of the ramifications at the time, and the teacher said that it couldn’t do me any harm.
I’m planning to take Pre Calculus at the local community college this summer so that I can take AP Calc next year. However, I can only take an online version, as my family is going on a vacation for a week. High school students register last, and so I may not be able to get into an online class.
As of right now, I registered for Math Analysis (honors version of Pre Calc at my high school) and AP Statistics for next year. I figured that if I don’t get into Pre Calc at the community college, AP Stats would show that I can handle an advanced math class.
If I am not able to take AP Calculus next year, will this destroy my chances to get into Stanford? I plan on majoring in Biology. I’m also applying to UCSB as a backup. I’m a local student, and I am very confident I could get in there.
In my opinion, AP statistics is nothing like an advanced math course. It’s likely to be easy if you’re allowed to use a graphing calculator to do all the work.
You can always email or go to the professor’s office and ask them for a sign-off to enroll despite the class being full, especially if the class is online, there’s really no limit on seating, but rather how much email the professor wants to answer each day.
Check the degree plan requirements for each degree. If calculus 1 and 2 are listed in freshman year, then it shouldn’t put you at too much of a disadvantage for admissions.
Neither Stanford nor UCSB requires completion of calculus in high school for admission or for any major, and both offer calculus 1 courses to their students. It is true that many frosh entering those schools will have had calculus in high school, though.
Stanford is so competitive that it’s a reach regardless of whether you take Calculus or not. My son was accepted at UCSD and Davis (he didn’t apply to UCSB) without Calculus. He took IB-SL “Math Studies” (similar to Pre-Calc, I think) as a Junior, and AP Statistics as a Senior. Many students are in your situation, and I can’t imagine any college holding your eighth-grade record against you, although a high percentage of competitive students will be eligible for Calculus in high school. Are your grades and test scores competitive for Stanford?
The question I have is will your GC state you have the most rigorous classes or not without AP Calc. If there are a good number of students in Calc then you may not get that notation. But the grades and test scores question from @woogzmama are probably more important right now.
Getting to precalculus in 12th grade is probably the most rigorous math that is reasonably possible for a student who was not placed into algebra 1 in 8th grade (or earlier). Of course, that presumes that the student chose the most rigorous honors version when offered. Whether a counselor marks such a student’s schedule as most rigorous, or how admissions readers look at it, is another story, however.
I think I’m competitive. My GPA freshman year was 4.0, sophomore year 4.5, and currently 4.43. I’ve never not gotten an A. By the end of high school, I will have taken AP World History, AP English Language, AP Environmental Science, AP US History, AP Biology, AP English Lit, AP Stats, AP Microeconomics, AP US Government, and AP Calculus if I can get into it.
I just got my PSAT score today, and it was 198. I hope to get around a 2100 on the SAT.
I’m under no delusion that I have a great shot at Stanford, but I’d like to think I have a small chance. My other reach school is Berkeley, which I feel I have a higher chance at, as it’s public.
Stanford will likely expect Calculus from a stem applicant, so, apply undecided.
AP Statistics is “AP Lite”, so it wouldn’t really replace calculus. It’s a good-faith effort at taking a math class senior year if there’s no community college where you could dual-enroll for precalc over the summer. You could start working with the Khan Academy videos though.
What will be decisive, though, is whether you’ve reached a national-level in one of your chosen activities.
Agree with MYOS that Stanford STEM applicants will have Calculus on their transcripts. Even students with AP Calculus BC get rejected though. Do what you can, and best of luck.
If you can’t take AP Calculus, at least take an honors calculus course. You’ll need it and it at least shows that even if you can’t take it, you’re still trying to take Calculus. AP Stats won’t really do that imo. You want to get into these good schools as a Bio major but you’ll need the rigorous college prep courses to back it up. AP (despite what everyone on here may tell you) isn’t the world. I would think a college would rather see you take Honors Calculus over AP Stats. Calculus will prepare you for the higher math you need in science.
The OP will only be in precalculus in 12th grade, so s/he won’t be able to take calculus at all, except possibly a college “calculus for business majors” course that only requires algebra 2 as a prerequisite, or a high school non-AP calculus course modeled on a “calculus for business majors” course.
The OP can take AP statistics because that course only requires algebra 2 as a prerequisite.
Stanford and UCSB are not like Caltech and Harvey Mudd which require calculus in high school. Both Stanford and UCSB offer calculus 1 courses for students who have just completed precalculus in high school.
"I'm planning to take Pre Calculus at the local community college this summer so that I can take AP Calc next year. However, I can only take an online version, as my family is going on a vacation for a week. High school students register last, and so I may not be able to get into an online class."
OP probably shouldn’t have dropped down from the track but I guess there’s nothing to be done about it now. I still stand by OP striving to take AP Calc or Honors Calculus but if not, then do AP Stats. Possibly GC can explain the situation. Just make sure you know how GC will mark the rigor of your curriculum!
If the OP completes precalculus in the summer, then taking an AP calculus or college calculus course would be the desirable to sign up for. However, it is not certain that the OP can enroll in precalculus in the summer.
It appears that the situation is self-explanatory – a placement decision made in 8th grade has the OP at regular level in math, rather than a year ahead which is normally needed to take calculus in high school. Admissions readers seeing the math progression starting with algebra 1 in 9th grade should know that this is the case.
Hm, add a few more!
Cal Poly SLO, CPP, SDSU Engineering, Cal State Long Beach Engineering, if you stay in California. (And if you keep with the “Stanford” level, HarveyMudd and Caltech). But of course you also have Olin, Rose Hulman, Northeastern…
Check out the Johns Hopkins University/Center for Talented Youth. If you have the money, you can take an online AP Calculus (AB or BC) course with them in 3 months or 6 months. It is a high school AP course, not a college course, so it prepares you to take the AP exam and might even count toward your high school GPA if your school will put it on your transcript! http://cty.jhu.edu/
If you can take calc, you should. You appear to be able to handle it considering what you’ve accomplished.
Let me let you in on something that may sway your decision.
UCs don’t look at your senior year grades; as long as you maintain a 3.0 come decision time,you’re good. They do, however, look at the rigor of your senior year schedule, and taking calc as a STEM applicant would be at your best interest. Again, this is only for the uc’s – Stanford and other schools will look at your mid year senior report. With that in mind, however, it’s still better to take calc.
