Senior Year: Math with a C, or No Math At All?

Applying to College
1

Hello Everyone,

My daughter and I are in a dilemma. She is a senior in high school, and she is taking Pre-Calc. Her school only offers Pre-Calc and Stats at her level. We are six weeks into the school year, and tomorrow is the last day to switch classes. She is REALLY struggling with Pre-Calc. It brings her to tears, and it’s really stressing her out. We have a private tutor for her, and she is going to the teacher’s office hours, but she is still at a D. She thinks she can bring it up to a C before the end of the semester, but it is by far her hardest class. She is taking 3 other AP courses and a college course offered on campus, and regular foreign language with no issues.

We are considering having her drop Pre-Calc, and not even take Stats either. She would just switch into another elective or be a TA in one of the subjects related to her major. So, my question is - would it be better to have Pre-Calc with a C, or no math course at all in her sr year on her transcripts? We are both worried that a school that accepts her will rescind their offer if they see a C on her transcript. But, we are also worried that not taking a math course her senior year will prevent her from getting into some of the schools she wants.

She is looking to major in History, Global Studies, International Econ or Business, or another interdisciplinary major that does not require math courses in college. We live in San Diego, and she goes to a very competitive high school. She is hoping to get into one of the easier UC’s (Santa Cruz, Riverside), or maybe SDSU. The stats she is applying with are 4.04 weighted GPA and a 29 ACT (with a 35 in Reading, and 28 in Math).

If it were you, what would you do?

Thank you to all who reply with helpful advice and positive messages! :slight_smile:

2

Drop and have her take a math course on line or at a community college.

3

Do not stop math entirely. Most schools want to see 4 years of math.

Personally I would have her switch to stats before taking a course online or outside of school. She’ll get more support at her home high school and stats is much, much easier than pre-calc.

As a side note, econ and business will require math courses in college.

4

See if she can take on-level/CP/regular statistics. It’d apply to her future major, it’s a different kind of math than precalculus, it’s often relatable and usable, and it’s a final year of math for all colleges that require 4. :slight_smile:

5

UCs and CSUs specify a minimum math level for admission, which is completion of geometry and algebra 2.

However, UCs and CSUs generally have quantitative reasoning requirements for graduation. It looks like if math is used, it needs to be precalculus level or higher. But often statistics or computer science courses are allowed to meet such requirements.

Beyond general education requirements, note that economics and business majors generally require calculus and statistics.

6

“It brings her to tears”

Drop the class.

If the Stats teacher can let her in and help her catch up, that might be an option, but frankly six weeks missed is a huge amount of material. I’d let my kid have a free period for the rest of the semester, and look around for a math class online for spring semester.