Math Classes

I’m a sophomore and it’s my dream of getting into Penn (Wharton). I’m currently taking Honors Pre Calc and could move on to AP Calc then multivariable calc but I know I’m not extremely strong at math and the multivariable class at my school is offered by a community college off campus that doesn’t meet all the time and is more a self-study class. Would it be so bad if I went to AP Stats then AP Calc even though my school offers higher levels of math?

If you don’t think you are strong at math then I would be wary of taking a sophomore level college class in HS.

You don’t need the multivariate calc in high school. Even students who take the first course in calculus in high school sometimes start over again with Calc 1 in college.

@CheddarcheeseMN even to get into Penn? They say that all they really want someone to take is Calc (AB?BC) but I’m not sure if not taking multivariate Calc hurts me

On the website, it states that it only recommends one year of calculus in high school. So, if you don’t feel you are strong in math and would prefer not to do multivariable Calc, I would probably do:

Sophomore: Pre-Calculus
Junior: AP Calculus AB
Senior: AP Calculus BC

OR

Sophomore: Pre-Calculus
Junior: AP Calculus AB or BC
Senior: AP Statistics

If the course is offered at a college campus and separate from your school, it can be assumed colleges won’t expect you to take it. Though, I would recommend waiting until after calculus to take statistics because it may be more difficult to wait a year after taking Pre-Calculus.

I would recommend against a class that is basically self-study multivariable unless you were quite strong at math.

@h08vs20 if I did take Stats would it be so bad if I took if before Calculus? Transcript wise?

It might just because you kind of steered away from the traditional math path and opted for the easier class over the harder. But, I feel that you really would do better in Calculus if you took it straight after PreCalculus. @bweebler