Hi, I’m currently a high school sophomore who is finishing up algebra 2. I took algebra 1 freshman year, and geometry over the summer (that’s a whole other story). In my state I can graduate on the amount of math I’ll have taken after this year. I’m signed up for pre calc next year, but math is currently the bane of my existence. I’m really tempted to stop taking math after this year. Will this injure my chances of getting into schools like NYU or UMich? If so, how severely?
My D thought she was done with Math after 11th grade: UNCSA surprised her with a “very strong” recommendation that she take one more math Senior year. In hindsight, I must be honest-I think that it helped with some out of state acceptances, and with some scholarship dollars. So many schools have so many Straight A/Near Straight A students: Academic rigor may be the thing that sets someone apart.
Perhaps.
For the academically rigorous schools you’ll need to have 3-4 years of math.
Each school has their own individual set of requirements. Check each website and then make a decision
Another issue are the SATs. The new SATs are much more content-based than the old. Higher SATs give you a higher chance of admission in many colleges - including BFA programs - as well as a higher chance of scholarship money.
If you stop at the math you’re listing, you will almost definitely hurt your SAT scores (unless you rigorously study the content yourself). Especially if math is the bane of your existence, I’d advise taking another year just to strengthen your skills.
Btw, if you learn in a different way from the way they teach you at school, Khan academy is free online and has many excellent tutorials (I’m not affiliated)! You can also order many fine supplemental books designed to help you understand the math better, and review over the summer.
If you don’t expect to go any further with math, a class like statistics can be a better option than precalc. My non-STEM D was more interested in her stats class than any other math class she had taken because of its obvious real world applications.
How does the rest of your academic record stack up? Are you taking other “rigorous” classes? If you can show your work ethic in other areas, I’d say save your self some stress and only do what math you need to do to graduate. High level Science, History, English, foreign language - or even Music - can show what you’re made of. MT admissions are often a little relaxed academically compared to what it takes to get into STEM programs. But if other academic areas are also a problem, then taking pre-calc will probably not be the magic bullet to get you into academically rigorous MT programs.
An academically competitive school like NYU or Michigan is generally going to be looking for 4 math credits. I am sure there are exceptions- but why give them a reason to academically disqualify you?
Next year I’m taking APUSH and AP music theory. I skipped 8th grade English, so I’m taking English with juniors right now. I’m in honors physics this year, and will take advanced chemistry next year. I’m also taking honors french. Couple all this with dance classes every day, and it’s pretty rigorous. I actually might end up taking pre calc online, since it’s mostly the size of the class that’s giving me trouble (around 30 kids). Thanks everyone for responding!!
@Dogmom5678 , sounds rigorous 
If you take the Precalc class online, you might consider doing it over the summer. This would make senior year more manageable. My D who went to Northwestern did that, and it was a positive experience.
Not to sound a one-note, but as an SAT tutor, I would argue that PreCalc is a better class to take than Stats for the new SATs. There are no stats on the test (except for extremely basic stuff), but a lot of stuff from Pre Calc.
Again the New SAT is very different from the old one. You don’t have to take honors or AP if you’re very bad at math.And again, you can supplement with online classes.
It really depends on the schools you are applying to! Some colleges/universities require four years of math. My MT kid took four years of math for that reason as two programs required the four years. It was miserable but manageable in the end. Ironically, those two programs ended up not being good fits for my MT kid anyway, even though accepted to MT programs.
My daughter struggled with Algebra 2/Trig but she said pre-calc was really east. You should definitely take math. Many colleges want to see that you can handle a rigorous schedule and it just looks better. That being said, your grade point average will matter as well, so make sure you apply to schools that are a fit for you. It’s okay to have reaches, but don’t get your hopes up to high, because D went down that path and it led to some disappointments due to SAT/ACT scores that were below the bar for certain schools.
AP Stat was a good choice for my D, giving her not just a 4th year of math but an extra point on her gpa for an AP class, and ultimately 3 units of general ed credit at college, neither of which would have been awarded for pre-cal. After doing practice tests for both, she had decided the ACT was going to be her standardized test and found that the stats worked helped her in the Science portion. She did not apply to the most academically rigorous schools because has also decided she wanted to put her energy into performing, but she did received academic merit scholarships just about everywhere that brought the cost of private college down into the range of our instate universities. If you have some top choice schools, it might be worth discussing your options with an admissions counselor.
You can look up the minimum requirements for admission to colleges at the “College Data” website - find the school using the “Search” box and then look under the “Admissions” tab.
Here are some examples for Math requirements and recommendations for some of the more academically selective MT programs:
NYU - 3 units required, 4 units recommended
Michigan - 3 units required, 4 units recommended
Syracuse - 4 units required
Miami - 4 units recommended
Florida State - 4 units required
TCU - 3 units required, 4 units recommended
Illinois Wesleyan - 3 units recommended
UCLA - 3 units required, 4 units recommended
Note that some schools do specifically require 4 years of Math. However, I believe there is an old adage for the college admissions process that goes something like, “if it says ‘recommended’ they actually mean ‘it’s required.’” It is my understanding that Precalculus is generally not a requirement for the 4th year - taking Stats is fine.
My d was accepted to Florida State, TCU, and Illinois Wesleyan with large academic merit scholarships with her fourth year of math being a relatively weak Stat class called “Advance Quantitative Analysis.” She did not take math her Junior year because her 8th grade Algebra I class was formally transferred and credited on her high school transcript. She did very well on the ACT, not nearly as good on the SAT. Hence, based on her experience, its probably a good idea to take Pre-Cal if you want to maximize your SAT score, the ACT maybe less so - however if you take the SAT or ACT in your Junior year, then you may not benefit much from either type of math class because you won’t have completed it yet!
Our state (Ohio) requires 4 years of math to graduate. Some districts count algebra in 8th as HS math, some don’t. My D’s algebra did not count for HS credit - so she had to do 4 years. In her case, she did pre-calc as a junior, and then had to decide between AP Calc and AP stats as a senior.