I was planning my sophomore year hs schedule and wanted some advice on how to plan it. I know that I want to take these classes sophomore year: (I can only take 8 classes per year)
LA II honors
Chinese 4 honors/AP Chinese
Drawing and sketching I
Chem. honors
Study hall and gym (Graduation reqs. at my school)
AS I (American Studies I)
But I want some advice on how to plan out my math class(es)
I am a freshman and am currently taking Advanced Alg. 2 honors (Our school does Alg. 2 in freshman year and geo in sophomore year)
My goal for sophomore year is to take Pre-calc, but I don’t want to option 2/skip Geo. over the summer. Would it be a good idea to take both Geo and Pre-calc sophomore year so that I could take AP calc. in Junior year and Multi-variable calc. or AP stat in Senior year? (I really enjoy math and have felt confident in all the math classes I have taken)
If so, how can this be an option? I was thinking I could option 2/skip AS I or drop my art elective? Or should I just try to skip Geo. over the summer?
P.S. I am looking to be an sustainable architecture major (Or somewhere in the engineering/architecture field)
P.S. Can I also have some advice on my sophomore year schedule so far?
Making it to calculus is enough. Don’t burn out trying to make MVC unless it is something you enjoy and want to do. It’s worth it to fit in an architecture class (a PLTW, if possible). Your schedule is rigorous, so you don’t have to worry on that end.
If you just progress normally, you will take geometry in 10th, precalculus in 11th, and calculus in 12th. No need to bend your high school schedule out of shape just to accelerate more than that. Architecture majors typically do not need to take math beyond single variable calculus. Engineering majors do, but if you have calculus while in high school, you will already be ahead of schedule.
Just like @ucbalumnus states, for an engineering or science major it would me more of an advantage to take multi variable calculus in case the high school offers it. However if desired and the school offers it I would recommend to take geometry over summer in order to not to have too much of an interruption between algebra 2 in 9th and precalculus in 10th grade. Perhaps start studying up on geometry already this year if there is time. I would not recommend giving up on the drawing and sketching class as it would fit in nicely with the architecture major.
ps.
Some people like to quickly rush to calculus and beyond, others prefer a more measured pace in order to make sure the fundamentals, including geometry, are solid. I don’t think it’s settled which path yields better outcomes later in college, most likely either way is fine and it’s up to the individual preferences and learning styles.
Thank you so much for the help and advice so far.
That being said, if I were to take Multi-variable calc in Senior year, do you think the best path to get to MVC would be to:
Double up on math (Geo and Pre-calc) by skipping another class (Such as American studies) over the summer or
Option 2/skip Geo over the summer and take pre-calc sophomore year
It all depends on what your school offers. My son took precalc that was offered by his high school. It was a 5 week accelerated course. Maybe taking a college summer course if your school allows something like that. You need math through pre Calc for the Act /Sat… You want to learn the material well and not rush through it. Most colleges for either profession assume you are starting college in Calc 1so just following your school’s curriculum should be fine.
Don’t accelerate. You don’t need multivariate calculus for architecture or anything.
Make sure you master what you’re learning.
You need to take English and social science/history every year + bio, chem, physics (preferably AP physics 1+2?) +Foreign language through AP + math through calculus+ drawing, 3D, graphic design, technical drawing + have a portfolio.
Focusing on hyper accelerating in math is the wrong focus.