Please help me out! I am an upcoming senior in high school. I took AP World History (5) sophomore year (only AP offered for that year), AP Language and Composition (4), AP Environmental Science (4) , and AP U.S. History (4) (self-study) Junior year. Senior year, I am definitely already taking AP U.S. Government and Politics, AP Microeconomics, AP Literature, and AP Chinese. I love all the subjects I have taken so far and will take! Also, all the classes that I have taken that were not AP were honors courses (Honors English 1, Honors Pre Calculus, etc.) However, I am wondering if I should also take AP Calculus AB? I am planning on majoring in political science with a focus in international relations, and have also taken a poli sci class at a local college to test the waters, and I love it! Is calc necessary? I’m simply concerned, because I have two extracurricular activities that take up ALOT of time (Student government/ I’m planning all four school dances this year, YAY!/ and a club I created), so I’m wondering if I can pull off doing AP Calc as well!
Calculus is unlikely to be a requirement for political science, but it could be helpful if you want to take more in depth statistics or data science or economics courses that could be helpful in the field.
If you think it will be too much for you and it’s irrelevant to your major, you don’t have to take calculus, but you still should take a math class your senior year. I opted to take stats this year instead of calc because the rest of my workload is going to be heavy and I’m also going into the humanities.
- What are other PoliSci students that are applying to your colleges of interest taking?
- How are you doing in Precalc?
- What math would you take instead
- Can you take Honors Calc or CP Calc?
- What does your colleges of interest require in Math?
- Academics is always more important than ECs
You don’t need to have calculus in high school for most majors, but exposure to calc at some point would be useful if you are heading to top MPP or MBA programs, for example, after college. You don’t need to be in charge of all four dances, BTW.
Thanks! And yeah, I say yay, but it’s not really a choice! My advisor is kind of crazy… I planned winter formal sophomore year, and prom junior year as class president. I ran for student gov President and lost, so I became a regular, appointed member in Student gov. Then, the advisor subjected me and a committee to plan all 4 dances, which has never been done before at my school (having one group plan all four). Sorry if it sounds like I’m complaining, but I’m actually pretty frustrated by the entire situation :’(
Ahardboiledegg, Ok I’ll try and see if I could still sign up for a stats class! My school only offers AP stats, and there’s a tryout process for all the AP classes, so I’ll see if something can be done (just to keep my options open)
Really? Ok I’ll try and see if I could still sign up for a stats class! My school only offers AP stats, and there’s a tryout process for all the AP classes, so I’ll see if something can be done (just to keep my options open)
I wouldn’t try to do AP Calc if you’re gonna do PoliSci. Try AP Stats instead, because it’s both easier, and really teaches you how to apply what you’re learned to analyze real world situations.
You need a math class and if your school offers AP stats then you should try to take it. If not, do they offer regular stats& probabilities?
Well, what target colleges?
You need to check the hs course prep they recommend.
And if you’re so busy with the school dances, for poli sci, I hope you find time to volunteer locally, during this election year.
If it helps at all, I’m a Political Science major and I took AP Stats in high school. That was the only math requirement, but it may be different at your target colleges.