I am a sophomore in high school right taking Geometry generally receiving low A’s, in Algebra 1 Honors as a freshman I received very high A’s(95+) so I’d say I’m relatively decent at it. I’m planning on applying to very selective schools and feel that I should at least have taken AP Calculus AB as a senior in order to look okay for admissions. Would it be a wise choice to take an Algebra 2 and trig course this summer between sophomore and junior year or Precalculus the summer between junior and senior year. I’ve gotten very mixed responses to these and feel that its hard to come up with a consensus. The course selection process right now is occurring and I’m still quite indecisive. Thanks for any help!
You have the rest of your life to ruin summer by working. Why do it in HS?
Few universities specifically state that they want frosh applicants to have calculus while in high school.
I’m not a fan of condensing math classes into a summer, especially higher math. Talk to your GC about doubling up on math classes or taking an online class in the spring.
While true, that few require calculus, if the OP is applying for top colleges, as s/he indicates, most applicants will still have calculus. And at many, if not most, high schools top students will be on track to get to calc by senior year, even if those students started with Algebra I in 9th grade. Usually, the students starting in Algebra 1 will double up on math at some point to achieve this. Whether summer is the best time to play “catch up” (really, though,it’s accelerating the sequence) is debatable, since none of us knows the OP or the OP’s skills. I’m not a big fan of academic work over the summer, but in some cases it is unavoidable. But I do think this is a discussion that the OP should have with the GC and/or math chair to review options.
Talk with your current and previous math teacher as well as your GC to see if they feel you could handle Algebra2H over the summer. Ask if Algebra2H is even offered over the summer.