I’m currently a student at a competitive fancy private school, I am taking Algebra 1 freshman year. I would like to advance as about 75% of the school takes geometry freshman year, and I would like to catch up, it has affected my self esteem and motivation, and I worry occasionally about college admissions. My school has a fairly controlled class scheduling system. I have an option to take Geometry over the summer and take Algebra 2 sophomore year. You are not allowed to take Algebra 2 as a summer course, or double up, and the only other option would be to take Precalc as a summer course so you can take calculus during the summer. I had a B+/A- average in the class and I consider myself to be slow and terrible at math. I’ve talked to my teacher about taking a summer course, and he (very nicely) strongly discouraged me from a summer course, and just take Geometry sophomore year. The first semester of my Algebra 1 grade was affected by many factors such as depression, acclimating to a high school environment, and motivation. My grade is much better now, but at a mathematical level, I am slower than most of my A1 peers at everything. I feel guilty making a decision to take a summer course because of my teacher’s recommendations, and my inability to do math, but additionally I feel like this will affect me for the rest of my life. I am unsure about majoring in math, and I need feedback from this community on what I should do, I’m extremely split.
I’d recommend taking Geometry over the summer rather than Precalc, just because the course will be condensed (I’m assuming) and it will be much easier in my opinion. But I don’t think this decision will necessarily affect you for the rest of your life, especially if math isn’t/won’t be significant to you. Take the summer course if it pertains to future needs (majoring in something math related, want to take Calculus in HS, etc.). What is the main reason or goal for taking the summer course? Although do still consider your teacher’s disapproval. Do you know why he discouraged it? Did it have to do something with your math abilities?
Take your teacher’s advice and take geometry during the school year. A good goal is calc or precal by senior year - which one you get to will definitely not affect you for the rest of your life.
Keep in mind that even with Math/Engineering programs they generally assume you start with Calc1 in college so you aren’t behind. What would be worse is if you had bad Math grades.
Based on where you were placed, what you think about math, and what your teacher thinks it would seem you are exactly in the right place.
I know that it is tempting to compare yourself to those who are on an accelerated math track. But don’t. First, as others have said, your teacher knows you best, and knows you school’s curriculum best, and, since you are a “fancy private high school,” knows what is most likely to yield good college admissions results for you, given the rigor and reputation of your school. Second, and this is my opinion based on a lot of years in the teaching profession, you can think of the American education system as a pendulum that swings wildly from one extreme to another. Right now, the trend is hyper acceleration in math courses, particularly in districts that are trying hard to create STEM majors, trying hard to increase interest in STEM among women and minorities, and other good goals. However, I think that we are at the top of that pendulum swing. I have heard many college professors say that the kids who have done so much math in high school just end up having to re-do the same math in college. I’ve heard lots of M.D.s saying they wouldn’t let their kid accelerate in math because it just places them higher in college math, and then it’s harder to get good grades for future med school apps. In short, unless you are planning on a math-related major (which you aren’t), there is really no good reason to accelerate in math. It’s something of an educational fad, one that might be coming to an end soon.
Just curious - if you consider yourself terrible at math why would you want to major in math? I would ask what your summer math entails. Ours is 5 weeks or so 5 or 6 hours a day then a few hours of homework each day (even if your good at math - longer if your slow at it), no absenses, no missed assignments, As on tests including midterm and final etc to get credit. Basically credit is not guaranteed here.
If you don’t do summer math you will still graduate with precalculus which is fine for almost all colleges. My nephew went to ivy league college for computer science. He thought he would be behind because he only did AP Calculus AB in high school. He found that all students who ended with precalculus, cal AB or Cal BC (or Cal 1 or 2) all had to start with the same Calculus class in college. He found that there were several cs majors who had never taken Calculus. It made no difference for internships and jobs (they graduated May 2018).
@SirNam505 My heart goes out to you. I watched my middle son struggle in math. He also attended a private school where kids had taken Algebra as early as 7th grade, yet he took it in 9th grade. It was hard for him and he was tutored weekly. He could have taken Geometry in the summer but we would not allow it, and the teachers did not recommend it. Good thing too, because he struggled with Geometry, and then Algebra 2 was a nightmare until we found the right tutor for him. By senior year he was so over math, so he took a fairly generic math class while most of his classmates were in PreCalc, AP Calc or AP Stats.
It’s hard when you feel like you are the only one struggling. My son learned to joke about it, and eventually the other kids would laugh with him, not at him. It got to the point that when he got a B or a C on a test, his classmates would high-five him.
Don’t put yourself in a position to make things harder for you. Chances are, you will struggle in higher level math classes and that will only make you feel worse, so don’t take anymore than you must. You WILL go to college regardless of the number of math classes you take. And regardless of where you go, don’t major in a subject area where you are already struggling. It gets a lot harder in college.