I’m a senior in high school and want to major in a mathematics field. I like math a lot and do well in my high school math classes. The only problem is that my courses in math don’t reflect someone who’s skilled in the subject. This year I’ll be taking pre calc honors. This means I’ll never get to take ap calculus I also wanted to take an advanced physics class, but because one teacher didn’t want me to because of my math level(some juniors with my same math experience are allowed to take this course however), I also can’t take that course. My fear isn’t not being able to succeed in a math career, but instead being limited or turned down by colleges because my highschool math record isn’t advanced. Anyone with experience, advice, and/or answers please help.
Thanks.
It depends on the college and maybe your math grades so far. There likely isn’t anything you can do about it now (you could have looked for a way to take pre-calc this summer, but that is past). A few things:
- There are a few colleges that won’t accept you at all without Calc – Harvey Mudd, for example. But only a small number of top colleges would do that.
- I wouldn’t say you are fully committed to a math major without at least having taken Calc – who knows if you even like higher level math? But the good news is that colleges don’t care a ton what you plan to major in. Many students change their mind.
- If you are shooting for the very top colleges, you likely will be hurt by not having taken the most rigorous course offerings at your HS. But most colleges will be okay with it.
I can’t speak to the Physics class situation. In general it is a bad idea to take a math-heavy Physics course without having completed the pre-requisite math. Do the other students have better math grades or a previous Physics course taken?
If you’re just planning on going to a state uni or college then I wouldn’t stress it to much. Lots of people will likely start with calc 1 with you in your major. But if you’re aiming for top 50 schools don’t hold your breath, as MIT and other top notch schools expect that you have a good foundation in freshmen calculus already (even though they’ll likely make you retake them anyways)
There do not seem to be that many US universities that explicitly require calculus for frosh admission, but many applicants will have calculus in high school at the more competitive ones.