My daughter wants to apply to film programs. She is a senior and also wants to take the one film class at her high school but the schedule is such that to take that class in her interest, she would not be able to take math. She’s definitely going to apply to schools as a film major but how bad does it look to only have 3 years (the minimum) of math and not take 4? My fear is she will be compared to all the other kids who’ve had 4 years of math and while unrelated to her interest it is a “core subject”. What do you think, good idea or not? Thank you
I think it depends on the college, no? I mean NYU might prefer 4 yrs of math, but SCAD probably doesn’t care as much.
You can look at the Common Data Set for the schools she is considering. Most colleges do like to see 4 years of math, but if it’s math vs film and she’s applying directly into a film school with a portfolio/clips then maybe not?
I don’t know much about film but you might reach out to the admissions folks at the schools you are considering and ask them. The folks we have spoken with in admissions at different schools have been really helpful about high school course selection.
What level of math has she taken through so far?
If she’s got precalc or calc, she’s probably fine. If only through algebra 2, I’d check with the specific colleges she’s looking at.
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Where is she applying ?
What was her math class jr year?
My son is not planning on taking math senior year. He does have 4 years of math on his transcript though because 8th grade math was a high school course. He will be through pre-calc. He is planning on a musical theater degree. So I am curious how the no math works out for you.
Also think about what you would do if you didn’t get into film/music school.
My son is a film major at a public university and did not take math his senior year of high school. He had taken Algebra 1 in 8th grade though, so he had four years of high school math credit.
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It can also matter what math courses the student completed.
3 years that are algebra 1, geometry, and algebra 2 may look less competitive for admission at a highly competitive college.
3 years that are algebra 2, precalculus, and calculus will generally give the impression that the student is strong in math.
Also, colleges may have math or quantitative reasoning graduation requirements. In some cases, completing a higher level of math in high school can help complete them in fewer or no courses in college.
My daughter is in a similar boat. Senior intending to major in acting. She just dropped a cinema course she was looking forward to taking at community college in order to allow time for Calc BC. I recommended she drop the latter instead but the pressure to stay competitive is palpable. Good luck to your girl!
She may be on to something in her case. A couple of the best schools for acting do look heavily at academics (NYU, Northwestern, Yale). I have a heck of time trying to keep my kid from taking the hardest version of any class (actually, I have never succeeded!). But he is willing to skip math senior year!
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