First off, let me say that I am NOT aiming for Ivys or anything similar. I’m aiming for schools such as University of Washington, Rutgers, UCSC, Clark etc. I took algebra 2 last year as a junior. This year I’m taking AP physics, AP chem, AP english, AP french, and art. I have a GPA of roughly 3.4 and SAT 1930. Will I get screwed in college admissions? I LOVE my release period but not as much as I’ll hate community college…Oh and I’m thinking to major in some type of science (not physics though).
it’s very hard to imagine someone planning to major in “some” type of science at college and graduating from a rigorous high school program with math at the algebra 2 level. I encourage you to take a math course in senior year. If you want that free period then do so in place of one of your AP science courses.
Just about any science major (even biology) in college will require calculus. If you do not have precalculus in high school, you will likely have to take it as a remedial course in college before you can take calculus.
You’ve gotten some very bad advising or have ignored good advice. Algebra2 as your topmost math is barely considered a college prep curriculum. The key phrase to avoid as cited in the previous replies: REMEDIAL COURSE. You don’t want to go there. And you’ll make yourself extremely un-attractive to more selective schools.
math is not only recommended, but usually required in most schools. Even if your high school doesn’t force you to take it, being only at an alg 2 level with hurt you and make your course load seem weak even though you are taking more than enough APs. don’t shoot yourself in the foot like that.
Science tends to be the more rigorous of fields at colleges and most kids have at least done precalc…that is the minimum level at most schools that I know of, and my school has Calc AB as the minimum course rigor for math.
if UCSC is UC Santa Cruz you should be aware that only about 8% of the frosh accepted this year has a GPA under 3.5 according to http://admissions.ucsc.edu/apply/parents-and-guardians/prospective-students/facts.html And the UCs look at course rigor; you have to list your planned senior schedule when you apply. Only taking math thru algebra is going to hurt your competitiveness
We have a similar situation. My daughter finished Algebra 2 as a sophomore last year. This year she had a choice of taking Analysis/Trig or Probability/Statistics. Her guidance counselor and I agreed that she should take Statistics this year since she struggled quite a bit in algebra 2. We would revisit taking Analysis/Trig her senior year if a 4th year of math is needed for her college selections, possibly taking an Alg 2 refresher class over the summer.
Could Statistics be an option for implicitvagabond?
My daughter also has a 3.4 gpa and is targeting same caliber colleges. Has she been misguided? Should she have taken Analysis/Trig this year? It is not too late for her to switch.
If you want to major in ANY kind of science, you NEED precalculus. You’re kind of already shooting yourself in the foot by not taking calc for being a science major. It will reflect very poorly on your app if you don’t take precalc.
AP Physics 1 is OK if your Alg2 class included trigonometry.
AP Physics 1 together with AP Chemistry is really tough at most schools. Maybe change one of those to PreCalculus? (Did you already take all the history/social studies you need?)
There are areas in psychology that are more biological that would need calculus. I would suppose that counseling would not require calculus and that statistics would be valuable for psychology in general.
When a college suggests 4 years of math in high school, what are the considerations that go into that, do you think?
Is that a consideration leaning toward actually sitting in a math class for four years during the high school career, or of completing APCalc BC ( the highest level of math at the high school for those on a true math course; earned a 5 )?
If one completes AP Calculus BC in junior year, and opts to self-study an AP science course (Chem, not offered at school), instead of taking the high school’s AP Stats course (the only math course left), is this a terrible thing to do from an admissions perspective?
"If one completes AP Calculus BC in junior year, and opts to self-study an AP science course (Chem, not offered at school), instead of taking the high school’s AP Stats course (the only math course left), is this a terrible thing to do from an admissions perspective? "
Absolutely NOT.
What colleges want is for you to have challenged yourself in HS.
If you have completed AP BC, then you will have taken what is considered to be the most rigorous math class.
No further math classes are necessary [ unless you are aiming for MIT or CalTech AND your HS offers an even more advanced Math class than AP CalcBC.
Completion of the highest level of math offered at your high school (often calculus, may be precalculus at high schools that do not offer calculus) is usually fine in terms of “four years of college prep math”. Note that this requirement or recommendation is often given further explanation about what math courses are expected to be completed.
University of Washington is an exception, since it wants to see students take a math or math-using science course as a high school senior (may be a problem for a student who completes all such offerings available in his/her high school in junior year, and there is no convenient nearby college to take such a course at). https://admit.washington.edu/Admission/Freshmen/CADR#math-based-quantitative