Hey I’d like to know if I should take Pre-Cal. Also, how hard is it to take Pre-Cal during the summer? I am a freshman in Honours Algebra 2 currently. Last grading period I got a 98. This recent grading period I got a 99. Algebra 2 is very easy and I am several lessons ahead of the class (I’m on lesson 12-1 they are on 7-1). I plan to get a physics major. I also have a Pre-Cal workbook that I plan to work on after I finish the Algebra 2 workbook. Should I take Pre-Cal over the summer, and how difficult is it to do so?
ask your gc if you can take it at school over the summer.
I already did. They told me I could if I wanted. I just want to know how difficult it would be to take it over the summer.
Of course you should. You should always be taking Pre-Calculus. Pre-Calculus is love. Pre-Calculus is life. Pre-Calculus is divine.
In all seriousness: It depends. What is the highest level of math you can go into by doing it over the summer vs. not doing it over the summer? Will you be able to commit to it? While it is easy to think that, “Oh, I can totally handle class XYZ. It’ll be swell,” if you know that you tend to slack off over the summer, then it might not be the best idea.
Ultimately, only you will be able to answer these questions for yourself, thought the people here at CollegeConfidential, knowledgeable as they are (I’m only a high school senior after all, I’m not an admissions guru), may be able to somewhat help you.
I also want to skip precalc but in our area we need like 85% or above to get into Calc AB and 95% to get Calc BC which everyone in my school says it is really hard to do.
Do you intend to become a Math major and join an accelerated math track at Northwestern or Harvey Mudd?
If not, don’t.
There is NO reason to be in calculus sophomore year unless you have a plan.
What’s yours? What will you take after sophomore calculus, to have math at that level during junior and senior year?
And what for, what’s your end game?
Just piling up classes means nothing without a plan.
Precalculus is quite a step above algebra and the super compressed format imposed by the summer session means it’ll be very very fast for complex concepts you’ll NEED TO master before you can take Calculus. How easy do you think it is to cover a full year’s worth of complex math in a few weeks? Doing that as a freshman would be a punitive pace for most.
Now, you’re a gifted math student (you’re in a math class that most college- bound students take as juniors) so this may make sense, but talk with your math teacher. And when you go talk with him/her, indicate what your 4-year plan is.
What other classes are you taking?
I’m in all Honours. I’m a straight A student in Chemistry, English 2, and AP Human as well. After AP Calculus AB my sophomore year, I’ll take AP Calculus BC and AP Statistics. I plan to be an astrophysics or physics major.
For my sophomore year, I’ll take AP Physics 1, AP World, and English 3. Junior year, AP Physics C, AP U.S. History, and AP Lang. My senior year I’ll take AP Chem, AP Lit, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Government.