<p>My counselor says yes. I know that the requirement is four years for most, but does it really matter to have a math all four years of high school? I'll have finished four years worth after junior year (our school's schedule). I know that it's good to be prepared and not go into college without having taken math for a whole year but would like to hear if it is important for admissions and from anyone who has done this. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>It really is good to have math for four years, especially if you want to consider a career in math/science/engineering etc., but also even if you don’t. Showing at least competency in math reveals academic well-roundedness, which colleges love. You probably CAN get in to good schools with only three years, but it’s really preferable to have four.</p>
<p>Most colleges do recommend 4 years of math. However, they also take into account how far you’ve made it into math courses.</p>
<p>What level of math will you have finished by Junior year?</p>
<p>If you have not yet completed precalculus, take another year of math (presumably precalculus). In general, university freshmen should be “calculus-ready”.</p>
<p>If you have completed precalculus by 11th grade, taking calculus is still a good idea. It is very important for math-based majors (STEM majors and economics; take BC if available), useful for biological science and social studies majors (e.g. it can help with understanding statistics that is used commonly in those fields), and useful for general knowledge for humanities majors.</p>
<p>I’ve taken Geometry, Alg 2, and Math Analysis. next year it’s between stats and pre-calc, but they only offer pre-calc honors. I nervous about that because I took alg 2 honors and had to switch out. I will definitely not be a math or science major - english, history and language are my best subjects. so basically the options are:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>have geom, alg 2, math analysis, pre calc honors, then stats senior year</p></li>
<li><p>geom, alg 2, MA, and stats junior year with nothing senior year.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I know that the first is better but am nervous about getting a bad grade in pre calc honors. I got a C in the last honors math class I took and am barely getting a B in math analysis.</p>
<p>“Math Analysis” is not another name for precalculus? The typical progression is:</p>
<p>9th grade: Algebra 1
10th grade: Geometry
11th grade: Algebra 2
12th grade: Precalculus (including trigonometry)</p>
<p>In a typical school, a student who is one year ahead (taking geometry in 9th grade) will take calculus in 12th grade after completing precalculus in 11th grade.</p>
<p>The other question is, if math is not something that you are good at, why does it look like you are two years ahead of the normal sequence?</p>
<p>In any case, it is best to take whatever courses you need to be “calculus-ready” at the very least, because you may have to take it in university (although many universities offer an easier “calculus for business and social studies majors” sequence).</p>
<p>
I did this, by taking two math classes junior year, giving me four math year “credits,” so I didn’t have to take one senior year. The several selective schools that accepted me did not seem to mind. When they require X amount of years of a subject, they mean credit-wise.</p>
<p>Keep going. I went till Calc BC. But I have a friend who in 12th grade went to Calc 4.</p>
<p>I’ll have taken Multi Variable Calc by my graduation. Go for all 4 years.</p>
<p>Your taking another year of math should be dependent on what types of colleges you are applying to. Both of my D’s encountered this during the admission process. Call the admission couselor from each of the colleges you are interested in & ask the question “how many years of math does your typical applicant have”? My oldest D ran into this with science. She had 3 years & was continplating taking AP Bio her serior year. She ended up not taking it & was admitted to: George Mason, Towson St., Goucher, & Wagner…but not James Madison (who told her that serious applicants from our state would have 4 years of science). The more competetive the college the more you need to take the most challenging classes your high school offers.</p>
<p>ucbalumnus: our school is on a “4 by 4” schedule which means we take four classes each semester and go to them everyday. Because of this schedule and our longer school day, we complete a year’s worth of credit in one semester. So I took geometry freshman year, and this sophomore year I’ve “doubled up” and taken algebra 2 first semester and am in math analysis right now.</p>
<p>thanks for weighing in on this guys!</p>
<p>I have taken Algebra, Geometry, Algebra 2, Statistics, Trigonometry, Pre Calculus, and will enroll in college full time as a senior, so I will take college level math courses. I have also taken AP calculus, AP Statistics, and several CLEP tests (studying on my own, testing at other schools) to advance to more challenging college math courses. I like math.</p>
<p>i thought math analysis was another name for precalc?? it is in my hs</p>
<p>also, many applicants will be or have taken calc ab by senior year so at least go up to precalc. i recommend option 1 and to try and be the most competitive applicant u can be.</p>
<p>The usual advice is not to make any choices that could close doors. So, it all depends on were you want to go and how strong a candidate you will be. I realize you aren’t ready to choose colleges, but you probably have some vague idea. Are you doing well in hs? Is it a rigorous hs? Top colleges like you to get through calc. Even if you aren’t great in math, it shows you stick with challenges. </p>
<p>I suspect your counselor is not just saying that you need four years of math, but that colleges will notice stats and then nothing in senior year. Stats doesn’t replace other math choices at top colleges. (Because the competition will have gone through calc and sometimes beyond, as Addy and Evan show.)</p>
<p>If you are thinking of less competitive colleges, and are a super candidate for those, you could be ok with plan 2 (partly because of the 4x4.) I’d take a hard look at how they describe their requirements on their web site. It sounds like you have a decent counselor. If so, I’d try for a deeper conversation- since most agree MA is the same as precalc- why take pre? Is there some huge difference in honors pre? Or, is calc really the choice? Good luck.</p>
<p>While your school will send a report/profile, “Math Analysis” is a fairly vague subject and probably won’t be explained to the adcom. They might think that it’s a slacker class for students that didn’t want to go into Precalc right after Algebra 2. Precalculus and Stats are a lot more standardized of courses. </p>
<p>Having taken a ton of math classes (Precalc 9th grade, Calc BC 10th, Calc 3/Diff Eq 11th, Lin Alg/Abstract Math/AP Stat 12th), I’ve found that only Precalc -> Calc -> Calc 3 really built off of each other that much. My classes senior year were actually a lot easier than the earlier ones even though they’re higher level. Stats in particular doesn’t require you to be all that great at algebra; most of the material is brand new, and it’s definitely a different kind of math from the traditional algebra/calc route. My recommendation, if it’s possible, is to take Stat junior year and then Precalc senior year. While it wouldn’t directly help with Precalc, the extra year of exposure to math is a big plus, as would be the extra mental and academic maturity.</p>