Is this a really bad idea?

Applying to College
1

<p>To preface, I'm planning on applying to the top ivies this year (Pton and Harvard). Trying to iron out my senior year schedule has been EXTREMELY difficult. My school doesn't offer AP Calculus - the only form of calculus available is College Credit. Unfortunately, this class did not fit my schedule. Apparently, the only form of state funded distance learning is through a program called MOVIP, and all of the state funded seats were filled. My family is low income, and I need a class that I can pay for that is really really really really cheap. I was looking on the internet for a class, and I found a "non-credit" online calc class. It costs 159 dollars, which I could afford. Here is the link to it. . .</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dcs.wisc.edu/lsa/online/math/calculus.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dcs.wisc.edu/lsa/online/math/calculus.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Would this totally screw me over in the admissions process? I studied precalc independently last year because honors precalc didn't fit in my schedule. Math comes easy to me, and I could manage an online class. Any advice? Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance!</p>

2

<p>if you’re school doesn’t have it it won’t hurt you</p>

<p>as long as you take advantage of what the school has to offer</p>

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<p>Yeah, I know, but we offer some form of calc. It didn’t fit my schedule, so I’m trying to find another way to take it.</p>

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<p>Find a way to take it–night school or online through a quality program. Your school doesn’t sound very competitive, so you want to do more than anyone else there when applying to top schools.</p>

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<p>Thanks, hmom5. We’re not super competitive… so yeah, I need to find another option. What do you think a “quality” program should have? Should I look beyond the course I posted in the link above?</p>

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<p>

</a></p>

<p>On that page it says the following:</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I assume you have some calculus knowledge, then? Otherwise you’ll want to do some self-studying before diving in. I suggest checking out [Just</a> Math Tutoring](<a href=“http://justmathtutoring.com/page11.html]Just”>http://justmathtutoring.com/page11.html) if you need an introduction or additional help, as that site was a freakin’ lifesaver for me when taking calculus.</p>

<p>And have you also thought about self-studying for an AP calculus test? If you mention it to your counselor or teachers (who could then mention it in their recommendations, showing how “driven” you are to learn, blah blah blah, etc), and can fit it on the common app somehow, that might also help.</p>

7

<p>^ Thanks for the link! </p>

<p>I have thought about studying for it, but I don’t think it would look great on my application. We offer honors precalc, and that didn’t fit my schedule, so I took AP Stat instead. I really just want to challenge myself, and I don’t know if self-study is what I’m looking for.</p>

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<p>I think the most important thing to colleges will be the effort.</p>

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<p>What does the rest of your schedule look like? If calc is that important to you, is there something ELSE you can take online?</p>

10

<p>My schedule reads…</p>

<p>Honors German V (We don’t offer AP)
AP Government
Gifted Honors English - Independent Study AP Lit (We don’t offer AP Lit)
AP Art History (online, through MOVIP)
AP Biology
AP Environmental Science
Class #7</p>

<p>I just really want some form of calc experience because I didn’t get to take HPC this past year.</p>