My daughter is graduating senior who is interested in art. She is always straggling with math. She got B or C in past 3 years. Now she took AP Statistics but told me she want to drop. I would like to ask suggestion does it really matter with 4 years of math for art student? She is focusing on some art school like CCA, Otis or Art Center. Also some public school like SJSU or UC Davis. Thanks.
@Shirleyyukang I would check the websites of each of those schools to make sure three years of Math is enough. Both SJSU and Davis recommend four years so your D will want to trade off the lower grades (which will negatively affect her eligibility index) against the college prep recommendations.
As for art schools she may have a bit more flexibility. Most of the art colleges that my Ds were considering recommended a college prep high school course load but award scholarships based on GPA and test scores. You should definitely check these websites as well to see what they are recommending or requiring for high school coursework.
And then, what is your daughter planning to major in? If architecture, for instance, she would absolutely need those four years of math, solid-to-outstanding math test scores (and perhaps even the SAT II Math subject test). If painting, math may not be directly or obviously so important. Still, I do believe there is a high correlation between mathematical ability and artistic ability. The subject tends to train the brain for a lot more than just “math’y” stuff. Abstract thinking, 3D and 4D design, ability to understand and apply color theory, and even to do well in her liberal arts/general ed. courses are all going to be easier for her if she continues to take a rigorous load which includes math while still in high school.
Can she not trade down from AP stats into another, less demanding, math course or one that suits her unique talents - for instance, a class that relies more on spatial concepts rather than algebraic ones?
My D2 is relatively poor at math as well. She has worked at it for years now with lots of outside tutoring. Now in her senior year, she is taking AP Stats and applying to art/design programs at some dedicated schools as well as university programs, just like your daughter (in fact, she is planning to apply to SJSU although as an OOS student she most likely won’t be accepted). My D2 strongly believes she needs the math in order to excel at her chosen major which is animation. She will be up against some brainy creative kids for jobs and internships so her mathematical training now will help her later on. Art and design work is becoming increasingly complex and dependent on computer and other “high tech” media which strongly points to having a decent mathematical preparation. Plus, she realizes that college is NOT easy and her hard work now will better prepare her for the more demanding work later on. College is demanding - art school is actually more so.
Good luck to her!
My D’s guidance counselor wanted her to take a 4th year of math, insisting colleges wanted it. She was planning on going to a stand alone art school, headed for either MCAD or KCAI, (illustration major) and neither had any specific math requirement. She only did well in geometry (because it’s so visual) and an advanced algebra class would have killed her GPA. She ended up taking Marine Biology instead and loved it, getting an A. She graduated from MCAD in December, none the worse for skipping the 4th year of math. YMMV.
I had a disagreement with my son’s guidance counselor when he was entering his Sr. yr of HS. GC was insisting that he needed a 4th yr of math but that would have meant that DS would not have been able to take art history (no room in schedule). That 4th yr would have been Pre-Calc. He was applying to a mixture of art schools and universities for either illustration or graphic design. He didn’t need the 4th yr for the art schools. The universities recommended it - but didn’t REQUIRE it. We compromised with him taking Intro to Computer Programming which was only 2x/wk vs 4x/wk for Pre-Calc. It gave him a 4th yr of math but also allowed time for art history.
I’m pretty sure Otis doesn’t put emphasis on your daughter’s grade in math. Art schools put more emphasis on the portfolio moreso than the grades, and what classes they took (well, unless they took AP Studio Art and passed it), so no, not really. Most art schools don’t even care what level of math it is, as long as you took a class in that subject to fulfill your GE. What matters is the portfolio.
But if she’s considering going to a UC, it is best to take four years of math.
I think, math will still be in any course she will apply to though less focused on it. Because you never really know where she’d end up working even if she’s from an art school she still needs the basics of math. But that’s just my thought 