high school: 4 years of math and science mandatory?

<p>I've been reading this thread with interest, as my junior daughter is facing much the same decision...with a twist. She is currently in pre-calc, and it appears highly unlikely that her performing arts high school will offer calc next year (there will only be about 5 students eligible to take it). Her schedule this year is:</p>

<p>Pre-calc
Anatomy
Geography
English
Concert Choir
ASL II
Acting II (she was taking a band class but had to switch when she had to give up playing her French horn for medical reasons; this was the only class that would fit in her schedule [not that she's complaining, but I would have liked her to get her health requirement out of the way])</p>

<p>Her schedule for next year won't be determined until May, but right now I'm assuming it will look something like this:</p>

<p>Concert Choir (required arts class)
Show Choir (will be taking to meet gym requirement)
Health (state-required; it's only one semester. She may have the option of taking Psych for the second semester but that's still up in the air)
English
Social Science (probably Political Theory)
Senior Arts Project (required for graduation; she'll probably either do a senior recital or produce/direct a play)
Elective</p>

<p>If she has the choice, she would like to fill that elective slot with an English or social science class. She has brought up the possibility of taking a math class at the local CC, because like Carolyn's D, she is looking at colleges that will require a math course or two. If she takes the CC math class route, does it seem OK to skip physics? If she doesn't go the CC math route, would it be best to make her take physics (with the full-blown battle that will ensue!)?</p>

<p>I'm sorely tempted to tell her to take what she wants, and let the chips fall where they may. It just seems ridiculous for someone who is also going to be preparing for college auditions to kill themselves with higher-level math courses or a physics class that is known to be math-intensive. Although I understand her college major(s) might change, it would take a total personality transplant before she would consider anything in the math or science areas. I guess a part of me just wants to believe that the adcoms will see the person and her passions, rather than following a formulaic breakdown of classes.</p>

<p>mezzomom - wow, your daughter's schedule is so different with that performing arts aspect! What is ASL II? </p>

<p>Hope you get some good pointers! :)</p>

<p>Mezzo, I think I'd lean towards the math class at the CC and skip the physics. Make SURE to remind the guidance counselor to note calc. wasn't offered when she does the rec. And yes, I think the adcoms are going to see that your daughter is obviously very passionate and special.</p>

<p>Blumini: ASL is American Sign Language. My daughter will probably be continuing with ASL but with a private tutor. Going to a (public) performing arts school has been a great choice for my daughter, but it does lead to some unique situations when it comes to the college search. On the other hand, if she'd gone to her hometown high school, she would still lack AP classes and have virtually no choice in terms of the arts. At least this way (we hope), the colleges will be able to see her commitment both through her ECs, as well as her choice to drive almost an hour each day to go to a different school.</p>

<p>Carolyn: Thanks for the kind words about my daughter; your mouth to the adcoms ears! And thanks for the "vote" re: skipping physics. It was a battle royale waiting to happen, and one I don't really have my heart in (I HATED physics). At least I don't have to go through the math battle, since my daughter is the one who (grudgingly) suggested the CC route. May I pick your brain about one other thing? My daughter will have to take a placement test at the CC, and it really wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't place into calc. I'm hoping she would place high enough to take statistics, but what if she just places into Alg II? Is it really worth taking then? Yes, she needs math next year so she doesn't go belly up when taking college placement exams, but another round of Alg II on her record would look just plain silly, wouldn't it? Arrgghhh...this whole process can be so confusing!</p>

<p>My son who has a definite humanities lean. He likes math and likes science very much, but they are not his priorities. He was adamant about not taking a fourth year of science OR math. I had read all the college web sites and how-to-get-in books and I was sure this was the road to disaster. </p>

<p>He was in the IB program and had completed the IB's math/science minimum requirements junior year. At our school Theory of Knowledge straddled second half of junior year and first half of senior year, which made adding full year courses difficult. He had to get in a minimum of two years of a practical foreign language and had decided to drop Indonesian and go for Spanish (a mistake, by the way.) Plus he really needed to continue art studio (his passion, not negotiable), He really wanted to take creative writing poetry and religion since the teachers were excellent.</p>

<p>The advice from the GC was follow your interest, the rest will sort itself out. Since no one but I seemed to appreciate the difficulty of getting into one of the selective schools that he was aiming for, this advice was less than comforting.</p>

<p>So his senior year played out: English, history, TOK, Spanish, Art, Creative Writing first half, Religion second half. </p>

<p>He applied to Williams ED and was accepted. Since Williams is one of those schools that strongly recommends four years of math and science, there are clearly exceptions.</p>

<p>In retrospect, I think he benefited as much from the creative writing and religion classes as he would have from the math/science. The ironic thing is that Williams has distribution requirements so he's taking math/science after all! (And liking it.)</p>

<p>mezzomom, I know how you feel about letting the chips fall where they may. It's so hard to persuade/enforce a "jump through the hoops" mentality unless you strongly believe it will make a difference. We have the same issue with the CC regarding math placement, and I suspect my daughter's PreCalc correspondence course is insufficient for her to place out of it. And I wonder too, whether it would look strange to have two different PreCalc courses (neither from the HS on the record). Momrath, your post is music to my ears, of course. I wish I didn't worry so much and could just let my daughter take the Anthro class which I know she will LOVE and learn from- unlike the math which she would only endure or the science which would be marginally interesting. My daughter's IB program offers TOK class senior year, so if she ends up taking a math or science class next year, I won't feel too terrible because TOK is a class she'll have and enjoy. Congrats to you and your son for taking the road less traveled.</p>