i am a sophomore this year taking all honors and advanced classes. math is my weakest subject and i’ve never done spectacularly in it, getting Bs and Cs in my honors courses. however, every other class i’ve gotten at least 90s in and my GPA is unweighted ~ 94.5. i am probably going to take around 3-4 AP classes next year and all honors again, and 5 APs my senior year. i have great ECs, i’ve entered and won some writing competitions and plan to enter more, i am working on my girl scout gold award and will get it soon, i am the yearbook editor, i have kept a steady job at a law firm and plan to keep it, and i want to major in something english/history/political. would it be detrimental to my chances of getting into my dream schools, (Barnard, Fordham, NYU, and Brown as my very reach) to not take a math class senior year and instead take a SUPA or AP psychology class, or something else closer to my interests? i would be replacing the math class with something equally as challenging. i don’t want to risk my chances of college acceptance but math gives me the most stress and the least payoff
You did not mention what math course you are in now, what math course you will complete in 11th grade, and what options of math courses are offered to you in 12th grade.
Not taking a math course in 12th grade because you completed the highest level that your high school offers in 11th grade is different from not taking a math course in 12th grade after completing algebra 2 in 11th grade and then choosing not to take precalculus in 12th grade when it was offered to you.
Additionally, many colleges have a math or quantitative reasoning graduation requirement, so if you stop short in math in high school, you may find it more difficult to complete that requirement in college. Social sciences like political science will also benefit from strong math knowledge (consider statistical analysis of elections and polls). In addition, if you want to go to law school, the LSAT and law require logical thinking similar to what is practiced in math.
i am not planning on going to law school, and want to do something along the lines of publishing or political journalism. right now i am in honors algebra 2 with trig, and next year i would be taking precalc.
I would take a math class senior year. You’re going to need one in college, so getting a good foundation will help you later.
Colleges state their requirements on their websites & it may be worth considering those. NYU for example as one on your list says 3-4 years of HS math (plus languages & other requirements) but notes that the strongest applicants have 4 years. I’m assuming the other colleges are similar, but check. My feel is that it’s not a dealbreaker but it does weaken your application. Those are competitive colleges on your list. Make sure you have some good safeties too.
Since it’s only half year I would suggest getting some help from your teacher first. All the schools you mentioned want you to tackle your weak subject. Just not liking it could be you just need a better foundation in it. Many courses have math in them that are not math classes also,especially in college. At least taking Stats in senior year might be useful for you in college. But if you do well in precalc, having Calc prior to college would just make your math experience in college that much more tolerable.
Also look up the 4 schools mentioned and see what they expect you to take in high school. Also challenging yourself to do well in your weakness shows something to the schools and yourself. Could even be one of the essays like “what hurdles did you have to overcome”. But I am sure there is better subject matter.
https://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/ask/preparing-for-brown
So when it says preferably 4 years of math… That is code for… You can take 3 but the students that take 4 years are going to be a more competitive applicant. If it says recommended that also means… If you want to get in then take the course.
Same if a school says interviews are suggested. Yes, do the interview…
Hope that all makes sense.
Why are you staying in honors if you’re struggling there? CP level math looks better than no math at all IMO.
Have you checked the requirements at your high school? My kids had to take 4 years of Math in order to graduate. I agree with @fretfulmother that you should drop down to CP level rather than drop Math.
Take precalculus regular junior year and statistics regular (or AP Stats if your precalculus teacher thinks you can handle it). It’ll be better than no math or a C in precalculus honors.
Senior year, you should try to take PhilosophySUPA and another SUPA course in the Humanities/social sciences.
Your optimal schedule, based on the colleges you’re aiming for and your desired major, would be something like:
Junior
AP English language, APUSH, Foreign Language 4(H), precalculus regular, physics regular, a course of your choice in the Humanities/social sciences/writing SUPA, AP, or honors, or AP CS Principles (or2 of them if 7-period day)
Senior
AP English Literature, AP euro or world history, AP gov/econ, AP Foreign Language, statistics, SUPA Philosophy+Humanities/Social Science
For my next year schedule, I’m probably going to be in AP lang, APUSH, honors french, regular precalc, honors bio, maybe AP European history, TV Media, and my gym class
Senior year will probably be AP lit, AP gov, AP french, AP stats, maybe AP physics, advanced media project, and gym
thank you, i wasn’t sure if AP Calc would boost my application for an english related major
@flynnf21 - I think AP Calc would only boost your application if you are able to do B- or better in the course and get 3 or better on the exam, but others may disagree.
If you choose not to take calculus in 12th grade, it may be a good idea to take statistics, since it is likely that those in your intended career path will encounter statistics (e.g. analysis of polls and elections) and have to be able to understand it when writing about it.
High school statistics (including AP) does not generally use calculus, and colleges typically offer non-calculus introductory statistics courses (that AP statistics emulates) and possibly major-specific quantitative methods courses in subjects like political science. However, more in-depth statistics courses do use calculus.
All in all, a Humanities student will not take calculus in college. They may need to take statistics and some colleges offer Math for citizenship (elections, etc), Geometry in art… Which are designed for students who won’t need abstract math nor calculus but, obviously, need quantitative abilities to understand the word around them.
If a student struggles with algebra2H, they should take math at the appropriate level but should take math all four years, rather than taking calculus and getting a C (or lower, which may result in their being rescinded) or no math at all senior year. They should however push third areas of strength - take maximum rigor in humanities and social sciences.