My daughter is currently taking BC Calculus in 11th grade. My question is she has an option to take a Multi Variable Calculus and Linear Algebra Class in 12 th grade, But she has to travel to local university to take the class as it is not offered in high school. Unfortunately she has to miss few hours of high school, and we have to provide transportation back and forth from high school. She has to sacrifice history and foreign language to accommodate this course work. Unfortunately, course is not offered in summer and she is working full time for a company this summer. She has a free scholarships at the University to take this class? Is it worth it? She loves math.
I am looking input from people who are majoring in computer science or are working in the field. Any parents if they can ask their kids, this is very crucial. So any help will be appreciated. Thanks
Gender does not matter for this decision.
It is not essential to take math beyond calculus BC in high school.
The decision depends on whether she would prefer additional math or history and foreign language, and how much of a hassle scheduling and commuting are. This assumes that she already has plenty of history and foreign language, so that her overall high school course selection would not be deficient in history or foreign language if she chooses the additional math.
Are there are other available college math courses which do not conflict as much schedule-wise, such as discrete math or calculus-based statistics?
If you are going to do math then just multivariable calculus is fine. Taking that with linear may be too tough. Stokes, greens, and divergence theorem as well as line integrals are tough. Combined with college apps and linear algebra and that sounds very overwhelming. Linear algebra can either be computational (easy) or proof based (hard). Ether way Calc BC is typically more than sufficient. Also remember that for language and history, they are core classes and may be required. Also check what math is required for CS. My school requires up to differential equations and discrete mathematics.
A year off from math is not recommended. You’ll need to determine, however, whether the logistics makes taking Calc 3 and linear possible or too much trouble. And she should not sacrifice a core class (history).
@ultrapradesh, I’ve seen your threads and would like to make a suggestion. It would be helpful for both you and your daughter if you made an effort to stop filtering so much through the lens of her gender. Sure there are some STEM issues that are gender-specific, but the vast majority are not. This thread is a perfect example. When thinking about possible math courses, it doesn’t matter one bit whether the student is a girl or boy. You will be doing your daughter and yourself a great service if you work to stop thinking of her as a GIRL interested in STEM and start thinking of her as just a STUDENT interested in STEM.
Perhaps I have misunderstood and this is just a language issue. If that is the case, please note that you will likely receive more helpful responses if you stop mentioning “girl” in every thread title.
Yes, I was a girl in STEM in 1980 and I didn’t think about my gender! I knew I was capable and that’s all that mattered.
@ucbalumnus AP stats is only course available @ Highschool
@traveler98 thanks for a very good suggestion.
@itsgettingreal17, I guess that I will ask her to keep taking history and foreign language course and AP stats in her school.
No, I would definitely do the multivariable and linear algebra. AP stats is primarily designed to be a one semester college course spread out over a year. It is ideal for lesser math students for whom this would likely be their last math class.
Your daughter is much better served by taking MVCalc and LinAlg especially if you have the support of the high school. My academic superstar D1 did this and loved it. She had a bunch of cohorts in the class too.
@ClassicRockerDad I think just multivariable and taking the history and language would be better. Multi takes place over a year anyways if they split multivariable differentiation and integration separately. Taking linear on top would be a disservice for her unless the course is computation but that’s not real linear algebra.
If the main drawback is transportation, I would look into online classes at artofproblemsolving.com They specialize in advanced math and are used by kids training for the Math Olympiads and such as well.
There are a number of different offerings, and they may suggest exploring a topic besides calculus. Email them about your daughter’s background and see.
The school would have to provide a location to take the class (perhaps in the corner of an office or the library) but there would be no transportation issues.
^ Multivariable is 1 semester.
My D and her cohorts who did BCCalc as a junior took MVCalc in the Fall and Linear Algebra in the spring at a local college.
Don’t overlook taking something non-math related. She gets to go to college and will have PLENTY of capacity to take all the math her heart desires. Taking something that will round her as a person, like Art History, Comparative Religions, World History, etc. are not often considered by STEM focused kids, but they should be.
If you think she’ll apply as a math major- and if you’ll want her aiming at top colleges- she’ll need math each year. Make sure you’re looking at the colleges’ hs course expectations, including enough history and foreign language.
This is why some of us keep pointing folks back to the info the colleges provide.
If the intention is to impress colleges, I don’t think it’s worth it. Your daughter can take MV Calculus and Linear Algebra in college.
It is because she likes math, math is a way to solve problem.
When my daughter interviewed at Carnegie Mellon (interested in the School of Computer Science, which the interviewer described as math on a keyboard), she was told that that for CSC, at a minimum CMU expected AP Calc BC, but even better was Post AP math (MV Calc, Linear Algebra). The interviewer said that students who max out the math at their high school typically found options to keep on going online or through local universities. That kind of mindset was expected.