No Math Senior Year?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

Here’s my situation. I’m currently a senior and will be applying to college this fall. My school offers both AP Calculus AB and BC and I took AP Calculus AB my sophomore year. I didn’t do terribly well (B average) and as a result, I decided to not take BC Junior year and chose to take AP Statistics instead.

I want to be a computer science major so I wanted to take AP Computer Science at school senior year and decided to finish Calculus BC at a local community college this summer. Needless to say, I’ve taken too long of a break since Calculus AB and it’s not going well. I don’t think I’m going to pass this class and I have a week to decide whether or not to withdraw.

If I decided to take Calculus BC at my school, that means I would not have the room to take computer science which is something I am very interested in. I have the fundamentals of Computer Science down from being taught by my father (Java and C) and feel confident in taking that class.

If I don’t take Calculus BC in high school, will it lower my chances of getting in to college (especially as a computer science major)? At this point I would like to wait until college to tackle calculus again, but I am also concerned about college admissions as a result. I feel that it would look bad if I don’t take a math class my senior year.

Also if I withdraw from the class, it will not show that I failed the class on my transcript, but rather a W (Withdraw). Do I have to submit this transcript when I apply to college or is that not necessary?

I’m looking to apply to schools such as UCSD, UCSB, and UCI and I have a fairly decent GPA and good ACT (34). I was wondering if not having Calculus BC would be a deal breaker when it comes to admissions?

Thanks in advance.

2

What is your exact GPA? Are you instate?

I think if you’re considering a CS major you should take AP Computer Science A/Principles. However, taking Calc BC would also help you out a lot too. If you’re willing to work extremely hard, you could probably pull both classes off while getting a high grade.

3

Yes I’m instate. Weighted GPA is around 4.07

I have my schedule for senior year setup to take AP Computer Science, AP Gov, Physics, World Lit, and Band

Band is what takes up a lot of room in my schedule, but I have done it ever since Freshmen year so I would like to finish high school doing it all 4 years.

4

What is your unweighted GPA? You probs hv a good chance of getting into those UCs, but having four years of math would be ideal & help your chances.

Band is def time consuming and it’s good you’ve committed to it for so long, but I think that perhaps trading band out for a heavier course load senior year may benefit your chances.

If Calc is the only class you’re taking atm, I would suggest spending a lot of time improving your grade and getting it over with.

Have you tried seeking help from your prof’s office hours/tutoring/online help?

5

I would strongly suggest taking 4 years of math.

6

You can also take the Calc BC class online, say at AOPS. Yes it’s probably a good idea to take 4 years of Math.

7

You need 4 years of math, as a CS major, and more importantly you might as well get exposed to BC Calculus as its easier than what you will face in math, once you get to Irvine, Santa Barbara or San Diego.

You absolutely need BC Calculus in high school to compete in computer science as a freshman at U of California CS programs. You should stick it out over the summer at your community college , even if you fail, just do not report that grade and then take BC Calculus AGAIn in 12th grade. Its NOT Ok to skip math in 12th grade, especially since you are in a summer class and not passing it or maybe getting a C. You will do better on round two, so stick it out, learn what you can and repeat
math in 12th grade. You will be very happy in college if you bite the bullet and do this now.

Finding a MATH TUTOR may be helpful to learn Calculus BC.

(Statistics is an elective subject, and will not help you pass Calculus 1, 2 and 3 in college. AP Stats also often
does not count for credits, as its not really a college level statistics class, but still good to be exposed as you were in 11th grade.)

The AP computer science class is way less important than keeping your calculus fresh in your mind.
To get a bachelors degree in CS,
you need to either place out or enroll and pass Calculus 1, 2 and 3 in college.

If you do not do well in BC Calculus, I would expect you cannot get into a CS major at San Diego. Not as sure about Irvine and Santa Barbara.

Sooner or later you have to learn calculus, to be a CS major at your chosen schools. It seems your ACT scores is
very high and your GPA may get you in, but if you cannot pass Calc 1, 2, and 3 in college, you will be changing majors.

8

Unweighted GPA, or UC-recalculated weighted-capped GPA (from https://rogerhub.com/gpa-calculator-uc/ )?

While completing calculus in high school is theoretically more than enough, it may look odd for a student so advanced in math as you were (three grade levels ahead to be taking calculus in 10th grade) to stop taking math before exhausting the high school’s offerings in it. And not in a good way if you are applying to a math-heavy major.

9

I agree that you need 4 years of math for CS at those UCs. Your school offers AP Calc BC and you are on track to take it, it’s expected of you. You would need to have a compelling reason for not taking it.

10

This has nothing to do with major but when talking to several colleges of all levels (though no UC schools - we knew my daughter wanted to stay on the East coast) about doing dual enrollment rather than AP several said that if she took two math classes junior year it absolutely would not count as a senior year math to them. They expected to see math every year no matter how many she took each year. I do know many high schools and colleges view stats as an elective as well. Perhaps call admissions at the schools your interested in so you know for sure.

11

While I agree with others that you should take math your senior year, I don’t agree that you should drop band for it. It seems you’re committed to and enjoy band. You could find an online/college course to take computer science for fun and while there are out of school ensembles, they’re not the same thing as your high school band and are a greater after-school time commitment. (But maybe I’m a little biased toward staying in band since I’m a music kid)

12

Colleges will expect to know about course work and grades at all high schools and colleges attended; omission could result in rescission if the college finds out after admitting the student.

13

UCs do not have a “must take math in 12th grade” requirement for admission. The main issue for admissions would be that, in admissions reading, a reader may wonder why a highly advanced in math student intended a math-heavy major stopped math before completing the highest level available. In addition, if the student is afraid of math, a math-heavy major could be more difficult than envisioned (a typical CS major program would include at least calculus 1, calculus 2, linear algebra, discrete math, and some CS theory courses that are like math courses, as well as the need to think mathematically and logically in other courses).

Also, note that the OP’s high school’s method of spreading calculus over two years is an easier, gentler pace than college calculus would cover the material, since college calculus 1 and 2 cover the material in one year.