I’m trying to plan out my senior schedule and I don’t know whether to take PreCal or AP Stats. I’m alright in math, I’ve gotten A’s in Integrated math classes, but I’m not a total genius in math. I’d like to take one that’s easiest to boost my GPA.
Colleges will expect you to have PreCal. Take that.
Does your school offer Honors PreCalc? Can you take PreCalc and AP States consecutively?
Pre calc. If you don’t have that and need to take math in college, it’ll be an uphill battle.
Agree. Colleges will want to see precalculus.
Take the AP Calc, the reason being that when you apply to colleges, they won’t necessarily see your AP Calc performance, rather they’ll see you’re attempting an AP course, which boosts your application. I say take it even if you don’t do as well, because you’re sending your GPA unto that point to get accepted, your final HS GPA is irrelevant.
@CornellUni AP.Calc is not an option for the OP – the choice is precalculus or AP Stat. Taking calc without precalculus is a recipe for disaster and likely would not even be allowed by the HS. And many many colleges do ask for first quarter and/or first semester grades before making an admission decision. In addition, colleges may well rescind an offer of admittance for a final grade of a D or F. Senior year grades are important.
@happy1 oh crap, finals week got me effed up.
My point still stands, I’d choose AP Stats. I don’t think skipping Pre-Calc is a big deal, at least for the HS I went to allowed it. His decision also depends on how many other APs he’s taking/took and other factors, but again, generally I’d go for the AP Stats and/or Calc, some college don’t really care for Pre-Calc. I assume OP can hold a decent mark in the AP class, which weigh very little on his cumulative GPA.
@CornellUni OK good, we are now talking about the same thing. But we will have to agree to disagree. Based on my experience and discussions with many admission officers over the last number of years, I believe that most college want to see applicants take math at least through precalculus (preferably calculus). At our HS precalc is a prerequisite for calculus. AP Stat is fine as an elective course or and should only replace a traditional math course in HS after a student has completed the highest level of math available at the HS.
OP I suggest you seek advice from your guidance counselor on this.
Finish your hs math (Pre-Calc) before moving into college math (AP Stats). Hopefully, you will have another AP course on your transcript to show college readiness.
You need to take precalculus at any level (regular is fine, honors if you’re getting an A in Integrated 3) for 4-year colleges.
AP Stats is an elective and should only be taken after precalculus if you’re planning for a major that doesn’t require calculus, or in addition to a calculus class. Statistics is an important class to take in college regardless of whether you took AP stats or not.