This is on freshman application requirements to a number of colleges such as UMD. These colleges require 4 years of math. My D took Algebra 1 and Geometry in middle school. Then took Algebra II in her high school freshman year, AP calculus AB in sophomore year (because her school allowed students who got a 95 or above in Algebra II to skip pre-calculus), and AP Statistics in her junior year. She is not planning to take any math course in her senior year. So, in high school, she took only 3 years of math. Will that be a problem in meeting this basic math requirements? We sent emails to some of these colleges but they haven’t responded back.
In particular to UMD.
As prescribed by the Board of Regents, the university expects you, at a minimum, to have completed the following course work by high school graduation:
- Four years of English
- Four years of math, including Algebra I, Geometry, and Algebra II. Students who complete Algebra II prior to their final year must complete the four-year mathematics requirement by taking a course or courses that utilize non-trivial algebra. Examples of courses meeting this requirement include Algebra II, Trigonometry, Precalculus, Calculus and successor courses, Statistics, and College Algebra.
- Three years of history or social science
- Three years of science in at least two different areas, with at least two lab experiences
- Two years of foreign language
The most competitive applicants exceed these minimum requirements, earning a strong A-/B+ or better average in their high school coursework while taking several honors and/or Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate courses and additional academic electives. Be sure to review our application checklist for a list of all required materials for a complete application."
Thanks, My question is does the “four years” include the two years of courses she took in middle school even if those courses don’t appear in the transcript? Reason her high school allowed her to take Algebra II in her high school freshmen year is she completed Algebra 1 in middle school. But, it won’t appear in her transcript. How do colleges see this situation?
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Students graduating from high schools in Maryland currently have to take four years of math while in high school. That is a current high school diploma requirement. It doesn’t matter what they took in middle school, they are still required to take four total years of math in high school.
I believe by the reading above UMD requirements that your student’s classes would satisfy their admissions requirements. To be sure I would certainly contact them directly though.
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4 years means 4 years. She has to take math every year in HS. Nowadays, kids take Calc BC, multi v calc, linear algebra and discrete math in hs.
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In my opinion she took high school level math in middle school, therefore both of those classes should count toward her high school math courses. My daughter also took high school math in middle school and the class defniitely counts for a year of high school math. However, after just going through the admission process with my son, I highly recommend going above and beyond and have your daughter take another math class her senior year. For one, senior year rigor is VERY important in the eyes of the admission crews, and secondly, it would look really good on her transcript if she had AP Calc BC or even a college level math class at the local jc etc. Good luck and enjoy the process. Your daughter seems to be an excellent math student and that’s awesome, but have her keep going to finish out her senior year with the hardest classes possible.
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I would ask admissions at each school, unless the specific info is on the website.
Also, if there is some other way to use her time (an EC for instance) there might be some wiggle room, so ask about that too.
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we’re in the same boat with foreign languages.
Do middle school FL classes count? i think i’ll call some of our prospective colleges tomorrow!
While many colleges do consider a higher level math or foreign language course as implying the completion of lower level courses, for any specific college, it is best to verify that specific college’s policy with that specific college.
Usually, it is the highest level completed that matters, but if you want to know the policy of a specific college, check with that college.
One of my kids goes to the university of Delaware, they are one of very few colleges (if any) who don’t count middle school language. Fortunately she got to AP Spanish in high school.
It’s not that they don’t “count” MS FL, it’s that they require 2 years in HS. And really, 2 years is a very low bar.
I agree it’s a low bar, all of mine took 3 - 4 years of FL in high school in addition to FL in middle school.
re FL: i’m going to have to do some reconnaissance here. My d23 switched schools because of covid from a large low SES urban school to a small private; they had a different language and she took off her sophomore year assuming she’d transfer back. But now, shes decided to stay. I’m wondering if she’ll have to an online class to somewhere; taking two years of a new language doesn’t probably help. . . . ??
There are always nuances. Transferring schools where the new school does not offer the FL is a legitimate reason for admissions.
That said, if the target colleges require FL to graduate, the more courses taken in HS may result in fewer courses needed in college.
My D’s class was told by the GCs that they needed 4 years of math (in OH) so if maxed out what was offered at the high school, she would have needed to take a DE class. What she took in middle school did not “count” for the 4 years HS math requirement.
I am in MD as well (AA County), but our school handles this differently. My daughter also took advanced math and French in eighth grade and both will appear on her HS transcripts when she applies to colleges. We can see these two classes when we look at her grade history on Power School (but no other 8th grade classes), and they are clearly marked 8th grade. That said, she STILL is required to take English and math every year, even her senior year, regardless of the level already achieved, because four years of each while in HS is the requirement to graduate. I thought this was a state requirement, but maybe it’s not? Some kids at our HS are able to finish all other requirements for graduation early except those, so they just take their math and English classes early in the morning and then have the rest of their day to do an internship, job, or extra classes elsewhere (CC or online).
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The university that my son is at specifically requires 4 years of HS foreign language. Due to middle school coursework, that meant taking level 4 his junior year and AP in his senior year. Language is particularly hard for him, so it took a little resolve to take the AP course–but he made it through. Definitely check with specific schools to see what they require before your child commits to senior year schedule.
If your student can’t take a 4th year of a subject because they have maxed out the available coursework, make sure their advisor mentions that in their LOR.
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Foreign Language is very different than Math.
In general, schools are looking for the total years/level completed in a foreign language and courses taken in middle school (real courses, not “9 weeks of four different languages”) will count.
In math, four years in high school generally means four years in high school. Yes, there are exceptions - Terence Tao was probably OK getting into college after Linear/DiffEq in 9th grade. But if your school offers another math course, or a DE course is offered, I’d advise taking it. My D is taking AP Stats because she’s maxed out our school’s offerings.
(Yes, some students take MVC, Linear, etc. Not many. And not when the school doesn’t offer it.)
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In my state, the four years requirement means for years. So kids who accelerated take a general math course like financial planning, checkbook usage or Calc BC or multilinear or higher level math at CC