<p>Okay, so I know everyone says 3-4 years of math is what colleges are looking for. I'm going to be a junior next year, but i've already fulfilled my graduation requirements for math(3 years, alg1,alg2, geometry). I'm also looking at possibly applying for early admission (entering college instead of doing senior year), but I have to make some scheduling decisions, mainly whether to take trig/precal or AP Government. Math is the bane of my existence, while writing and the humanities are what I live for and I hope to study english and eventually journalism. Is taking math beyond algebra and geometry absolutely essential? My GC says no. Oh, and I wouldn't touch HYP with a 10-foot pole - I'm looking at LACs like Reed and Whitman.</p>
<p>u should have plenty math if thats what you're good at and what your major entail.. for example, i've had 3 yrs of math and next yr, senior yr, i will take Ap Stat and Calc, just cuz i like it and it looks good. U should always have 4 yr./4 credits of math though cuz most competitive colleges look for that.</p>
<p>Personally, I think you should take the math. I would normally advise you to take what you enjoy, especially because AP Gov is such a fun class, but I think Precalc really is important to take in high school. The thing is, even if what you want to do right now doesn't require much math, if you change your mind even slightly, you could well end up having to take it in college, and you don't want to be taking remedial math in college if you can avoid it. A lot of disciplines require first-year calculus.</p>
<p>Even if you do end up doing a journalism major, as you suggested, you will still likely have to take an economics class, and that will be a lot easier if you're reasonable at math. There's not a huge amount of math in econ, but my mom teaches a large introductory microecon class with a lot of journalism majors, and a surprisingly large number of them have a great deal of difficulty with the math involved. Regardless, having more math never hurts, because it can allow you to go more in depth into the field.</p>
<p>I'm not really thrilled about having to take another English class next year, personally, but it has to be done. I think the same is true of math, at least up to precalc.</p>