I am a junior, and I am wondering if not taking Calc will affect me. My school does not offer it, but I am dual enrolled, so technically I have “access” to the class, BUT the class requires pre reqs (pre calc and trig). I cannot fit those into my schedule because I would rather prioritize on classes that actually pertain to my major (social science classes/ history classes). But, I did take pre calc at HS, which is the highest math offered. I planned on taking Stats at CC instead, being that it would pertain more to my major. So, would Calc matter for somebody who isn’t majoring in STEM?
Make sure you know what the pre-req’s are for your intended major and how high of a level of importance the university you are interested in places on rigor. Of course, all the other stuff matters too like test scores GPA etc. But with regards to calculus specifically, as long as you are covering your pre-reqs it shouldn’t matter. But definitely reach out to an admissions advisor at the college you plan to apply to. They would be able to tell you what you need to aim for to better your chances.
At Kenyon, a very good LAC, 64% of incoming freshman had Calc in HS. Sometimes reading posts on CC leads you to believe that everyone had Calc in 8th grade.
Will you have 4 years of math? Some schools require 4 years although it doesn’t necessarily have to go through Calculus. Grinnell wants four years, at least through PreCalc.
Many good LAC’s such as Earlham and Denison, just to look at a random couple, only require 3 years of math and are less specific about the level.
My daughter’s high school pushed her to take PreCalc in senior year even though she didn’t want to, in order for her to be competitive in the college application process. She did take it, did fine in the class and in her college applications. Incidentally, she is now taking Stats in college which will fulfill her math requirement.
I would advise you to take PreCalc, perhaps even if it means not taking Stats. This would be a good thing to discuss with your high school guidance counselor.
Most students apply to a number of colleges so instead of contacting admissions, I suggest checking the admissions webpages of schools you may be interested in. They almost always list recommended and required high school courses. That information is also listed in their CDS (while on a college website, do a search for “Common Data Set” and you will have access to all kinds of useful information.)
This doesn’t quite make sense. If you took precalc at your high school, then you already have the prerequisite and are ready to take calculus (precalc at your high school would likely include trig).
Very few colleges require calc, though for the purposes of admissions competition, calc is generally viewed as more rigorous than non-calc-based stats. Whether it may matter if you choose stats over calc for senior year depends on what colleges you are aiming for and what major. Which major, specifically, did you have in mind? (e.g. if you were considering econ, calc would be highly recommended, but for history, no)
If you have 4 years of math, and if you have good grades in precalc and trig, then I wouldn’t worry about it. If the need arises then you could take calculus at university. Calculus does however depend a lot on precalculus and trigonometry, so being very strong at both of those makes calculus a LOT easier.
High school precalculus is basically the qame as college precalculus, except the college version goes faster and is seen as remedial. So, if you wished, you could take calculus spring semester senior year after taking statistics on the fall, both at a cc.
Since your HS doesn’t offer calculus, there wouldn’t be an expectation you’d take it, as long as your GC includes that fact in the school profile. So, before you choose anything, check whether that fact is indeed stated.
You DO need to have some understanding of statistics, as well as the highest possible level (AP if possible) in a foreign language + as many AP social science/history and English as your high school offers, or their cc equivalent (comparative literature and philosophy would ‘count’ for English if taken at the cc for instance).
@22mom my major is International Relations, so I highly doubt Calculus would be required. It’s just that I see so many people from all majors who have taken calc, and I don’t want it to seem as if I was trying to avoid it. I just want to look as competitive as possible for if I end up applying to a top tier college.
@Eeyore123 yes, CC can make me feel so behind sometimes lol I’m just trying to make sure I’m keeping up with the crowd :))
@alooknac yes, I have taken Algebra 1 and 2, geometry, pre calc, and college algebra at CC. In terms of HS, I would have taken the highest math, but not in terms of dual enrollment because calculus is available if I do the pre reqs. So many people go up to AP Calc because it is available, while for me it is not, but its alternative is at local CC. I feel like taking it at CC would be if I wanted to be in STEM, but I don’t, so that is why I never found the need to take it.
@evergreen5 I took pre calc at school, but local CC requires that I take college pre calc and college trig. I can test out of pre calc (don’t really feel comfortable doing so), but I would have to take the trig class, which I would need to find space for. My major is International Relations with a possible minor in history, so that is why I haven’t held calculus as a priority, but I have seen many kids from various majors do AP Calc, but I feel like choosing to do it at CC is different from taking it at school as an AP (which my school doesn’t have). That may just be me thinking stupidly tho lol. I just want to make sure I am competitive enough
I understand. This thread might be helpful to look at. It mentions math and what is expected for a high school based curriculum to be competitive. FAQ: High School College Prep Base Curriculum.
Take stats if that’s what you want to take. It won’t get you into engineering school, but there are many colleges that will be fine for you.
If you are not certain which math class is the best fit, talk to an advisor at your DE college. I’m not sure why you ended up in college algebra if you had already taken precalc.
@DadTwoGirls Yes I have done 4 maths (As in all of them), pre calc being my final one (highest level offered at HS). I just thought since it’s the highest one offered, I didn’t have to worry about continuing math at CC, being that my major has nothing to do with math (International Relations). If I were to do calc, I’d have to take trig there, which I need to find space for, and test out of pre calc (I don’t really feel prepared for that), or take pre calc again at CC, which I would need to find space for also.
@MYOS1634 my only issue would be, as mentioned in the comments (sorry for continuously saying the same thing over and over again lol), finding space to take trig, which CC does not let me test out of if I were to do that. I just want to make sure that if I were to take trig and calc (and possibly pre calc again), the class switches id make would be worth it. I’m not sure if not having calc is exactly stated, but I would think it is. In terms of other requirements, I have done AP foreign language, did comp 1 and 2 (and currently taking philosophy), and plan on doing US history & Econ at CC as well as AP Euro at school.
You don’t need to take calc at the CC, especially due to that ridiculous ‘retake precalculus policy’ but you do need to worry about what’s on the school profile. You need to be sure your GC or school profile states that precalculus is the highest math offered.
@AroundHere I took College Algebra and Pre Calc at the same time (stupid right?). My school kept pushing for college algebra so I ended up doing it, which I wanted it to be my 4th math, but my school ended up putting me in a math class regardless, so now I have 5 maths. Not exactly complaining about pre calc, but that could’ve gotten me out of college algebra, which gets me mad, but whatever.
@MYOS1634 sorry if I made things a bit confusing, but I do not need to retake pre calc. I can test out of it, but I would need a lot of prep for it, which might be a bit difficult to do. Trig is what I need to take at CC in order to fulfill the Calc pre req. But yes, I will ask my GC if it is specified that pre calc is the highest math offered at my school.
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@22mom thank you very much! Very helpful thread 
I’m always looking for info about high school schedules lol just to make sure I’m on the right track