<p>Please help~~My son was diagnosed with ADD when he was in 2nd grade, therefore I think he will learn better in a small private college. He never likes math, but in order to be more competitive, I kind of pressured him into taking AP Calculus AB and AP Physics in his junior year. For that, he said he would not take anymore math or science class in his senior year. Could anyone tell me whether or not it's okay for him to skip math and science in his senior year if he wants to major in Psychology or Sociology? He already has Biology Honor, Chemistry Honor, AP Physics, Algebra II Honor, Trig/Pre-Cal Honor and AP Calculus AB. He is not good at math, so AP Calculus BC is probably too hard for him to get a decent grade. Could anyone please kindly share your valuable knowledge? Thank you!</p>
<p>If he isnt good at math than he shouldnt take AP Calc BC. Maybe he can take AP Stats</p>
<p>He is “not good at math” but he is two grade levels ahead in math (reaching calculus as a high school junior after a sequence of honors math courses)?</p>
<p>Looks like your school has a two year calculus program, where a year of freshman calculus is spread over two years (AB ~= first semester, rest of BC ~= second semester).</p>
<p>If he may do a major that requires a full year of freshman calculus (e.g. economics, business, or any science including biology), he may want to take the rest of BC as a high school senior and possibly fulfill the freshman calculus requirement for his major with AP credit, instead of having to take a full speed second semester freshman calculus course in college. (Alternatively, if the AP credit is not accepted for some reason, perhaps due to not doing that well on the AP test, having seen the material before may help him if he has to take it again in college at full speed.)</p>
<p>On the other hand, calculus AB should be plenty sufficient for humanities or most other social studies majors (including psychology and sociology) at most colleges, unless there is a school-wide requirement for more advanced math (e.g. at places like MIT). Social studies majors should strongly consider taking a statistics course in high school and/or college (basic knowledge of calculus from calculus AB may allow taking a course that uses calculus for somewhat better understanding).</p>
<p>You were right to get him to take calc. Imo. </p>
<p>For a non-STEM kid, taking calc shows a willingness to take on the challenges, even if his interests are in humanities or social sciences. AP AB is even better. He doesn’t have to take BC; he doesn’t need it to be competitive for psych/soc. He’s taken AB in jr year, when most kids take it in senior year. Only the more competitive STEM kids usually take AB in jr year and BC or higher in senior. </p>
<p>What we don’t know is if this push to take advanced math resulted in lesser grades. Or, how selective his college choices are.</p>
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<p>Most high school students (even those going to college) do not take calculus at all in high school.</p>
<p>When I went to high school, students who completed precalculus before senior year took calculus BC. There was not the idea of forcing the best students in math to take calculus at a slower pace (AB one year, rest of BC the next year) than average college students would take it.</p>
<p>Taking calculus (AB or BC) as a high school junior is two years ahead of normal, usually an indication of a top student in math.</p>
<p>OP said to be “competitive” and I meant in the selective admissions context. Sorry. We don’t know grades nor the level of colleges. If he did well and is burning out in math, he could wait and take stats in college.</p>
<p>It is “okay” to skip those classes if he wants to major in psychology and/or sociology or any other field that doesn’t require higher math. It’s okay, actually, for a lot of reasons, including the fact that most people learn best when they’re not pressured. I agree that the selectivity of colleges in your son’s sights could factor in … Although even with that factored in, I’d say it still makes sense for him to take classes that appeal to him (not principally classes that he thinks or you think will impress an adcom). Better for the soul, for sure; probably better for ultimate academic success.</p>
<p>He doesn’t need calc BC if he wants to major in psych or sociology. If he’s applying to selective schools, he probably should have a math and/or science course in his senior schedule. AP Statistics and AP Environmental science are good chocies for students who don’t love math and science. If he can’t or won’t take those courses, how about a science elective like forensics or anantomy?</p>
<p>I think it’s best to have four years of math and four years of science, but if he’s burnt out then explore your options other than Calc BC or even other than AP.</p>
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<p>Like foreign language, math is often looked at in terms of what course was completed. Precalculus is the normal fourth year of math; the student is already completing calculus AB, which is more advanced than precalculus.</p>
<p>My son is in the exact same position, wanting to major in anything but STEM; maybe psychology, philosophy, business, economics, but mainly undecided. He took Calc AB and Honors Chemistry this year. Next year he will take AP Statistics and Astronomy; he absolutely has no interest and doesn’t want to take an AP science. He will also take 3 other AP classes (Lit, Gov, Micro) along with AP Stats, so I feel he is taking plenty of AP’s in his areas of interest.</p>
<p>My opinion: I don’t think it is a good idea to skip a year of both math and science, and I think the AP Statistics will be valuable for most social science majors, but the science does not have to be AP. It is important, though, to take the highest level of classes offered in his areas of strength and interest.</p>
<p>For psych and soc, though, many colleges have a stats class tailored to that- usually “stats for research,” often a requirement anyway, often in 2nd or 3rd year and offered by the dept- ie, not what STEM kids would take. Depends. </p>
<p>I agree it’s usually wise to take a 4th year of math- but, here we have a kid who’s taken AB in jr year. It can be fine to stop math there- if the replacement is valid and has substance. Some hs offer, eg, AP psych. An issue, though, is that, for a “competitive” psych candidate, he really needs a higher level of bio or chem than honors, esp AP bio.</p>
<p>I realize we don’t know his grades, which matter. When kids overload and don’t do well, it looks like they jumped too soon.</p>
<p>If he took AB junior year, and was decently competent, BC would look, to me, to be an easy A-B for senior year. Even if your son is not going into the STEM field, it would behoove him to take another AP science class. </p>
<p>It’s okay to pick and choose “easy” (AP level) classes for senior year, if there are any, as long as there are a few worthwhile courses on his schedule.</p>
<p>He needs to thrive for only 1 semester. Remember that.</p>
<p>He doesn’t like math and he doesn’t need Calc for Psychology or Sociology. He is taking AB this year; I would suggest AP Statistics for senior year. He will need statistics for Psychology in college, so it is something he will use. He needs to be careful with his gpa and keep as high as possible.</p>
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<p>He should be aware that business and economics typically require a year of freshman calculus (as well as statistics), and economics majors intending graduate school in economics should take a lot more math than that.</p>
<p>Philosophy will include some logical thinking which may resemble the type of thinking one does in math.</p>
<p><quote>Like foreign language, math is often looked at in terms of what course was completed. Precalculus is the normal fourth year of math; the student is already completing calculus AB, which is more advanced than precalculus.</quote></p>
<p>Ah, that makes sense. In my state we have to have four years, I suppose so there is no gap when you have to take math again in college. Although I see how it’s a good idea, it can mess with people who are more humanity-types and have already exhausted many advanced options (like me and OP’s son). I agree with most people here, try Stat or some alternate math.</p>
<p>Thank you all so much for the input. I know it sounds weird when I said my son is not good in math, but took all the honor classes in math and AP calculus AB in his junior years. Attention Deficit Disorder really affects his math grade once the steps are getting more complex and require longer attention span. He can understand the material very well but still loses 30% of his points to absolute careless mistakes; therefore his math grade is often unpredictable, volatile, and nerve-racking. So far, he has Bs on all the high school math he took, except one C from first semester in his freshmen year due to a six weeks excused absences (teacher would not let him make up his work and tests and gave him zero on them instead), and one A on AP Calculus AB last semester. If he has to take math in senior year, the only two options left will be AP Calculus BC and regular Statistic. His class ranking jump from 260/602 in freshman year to 107/602 in sophomore year and to 8/620 last semester, but because of the bad start, his cumulative class rank is still sitting at 137/620. He didnt want to take classes he is not good at to jeopardize his senior GPA, but I know many colleges he hopes to go to say that they recommend their applicants takes four years of math in high school. I am not sure if they mean all four years of high school need to have math in the schedule, or they want you to have four years of high school math on the transcript. From reading your valuable advices, I think he can benefit from taking Statistic. But since its not an AP or an honor class, would it look like a downgrade? His dream school is Claremont McKenna. I know its a long shot or even out of reach. But I think its good for him to just aim high and does his best. That way, no matter which school he ends up going, there will be no regrets. By the way, he took SAT before entering 10th grade and only got 1800, he knows he has to work hard this summer to reach 2000 in order to have a remote chance for the more selective schools.<br>
Another headache we are having now is that, he took German I and II, but no German III this year because of class conflict. He planned on taking it in senior year, but weve just heard that there might not be enough students for German III next year. I check one hundred miles radius within where I live (near Fullerton, California) and find no German class offered from any colleges during this summer except online high school course offer through Oklahoma State University. If his school fails to offer German III next year, what will be the best way to get his 3rd year of foreign language?</p>
<p>@lookingforward, you are absolutely right! I wish I had thought of that earlier and to encourage him to take AP Bio instead of AP Physics. He decided to take AP Physics because it was a new subject, unlike Biology he got a B before from honor class in freshmen year. He did well so far on his AP Physic, got an A for first semester, but probably not useful for his college course… He will take AP Psychology next year, but I don’t think he is confident enough to take AP Bio.</p>
<p>@momjr, forensics sounds like a something he would love! Can he take online course since his school doesn’t offer this class?</p>
<p>For psych/soc, he really should have a 3rd year of foreign language- one option is to take it it a local cc next fall. The hs may even give him credit for that, as a “dual enrollment” class or whatever his hs calls it.<br>
Some kids also arrange an independent study with a teacher, either over the summer or next fall. Could he handle that? You might want to cover this with the GC. </p>
<p>Regular stats would be fine, in my opinon. See, he’s already shown the challenge of taking AB. He can mention in the Common App’s Addl Info section that he wanted it for psych/soc, even though it’s regular level, the only offered. And, there is also the comm college option. But, only you know how much shifting around he can handle, between the hs and a cc. Good luck.</p>