If your dc did not take pre-calc..

[Anonymous]

Please share if you or they regret their decision.

How did it work out as far as college admissions. Did it end up being a factor?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please share if you or they regret their decision.

How did it work out as far as college admissions. Did it end up being a factor?

Is your DC taking Algebra 2 senior year or taking no math senior year? If there's the possibility of taking pre-calc they should. Plenty of people will never take or need calculus, but pre-calc is not just preparation for calculus, it really the heart of high school math, it includes the topics that used to be called trig. Applying to college without pre-calc, is asking to be taken as a remedial student. Most schools do offer math remediation, college algebra, but not by choice.

[Anonymous]

College admissions will be fine. Not remedial, at all. Look for National Universities ranked lower than 70, probably closer to 100 or lower. A lot will depend on major. Taking math in high school senior year is very important.

[Anonymous]

The more important question is will the student be prepared for college without pre-calc. Any stem or business field is going to build upon calc, so entering college without having pre-calc would be detrimental. Even a humanities or art student will need to take a general college level math course. The bottom line is not taking pre-calc in high school is setting up for math failure in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:College admissions will be fine. Not remedial, at all. Look for National Universities ranked lower than 70, probably closer to 100 or lower. A lot will depend on major. Taking math in high school senior year is very important.

If the first math course taken in college doesn't fill a graduation requirement, that's remedial. True, many students enter like that, but if it can avoided, it should be. There are no shortage of schools that are close to open admission, so no one is going to be shut out if that's the bar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The more important question is will the student be prepared for college without pre-calc. Any stem or business field is going to build upon calc, so entering college without having pre-calc would be detrimental. Even a humanities or art student will need to take a general college level math course. The bottom line is not taking pre-calc in high school is setting up for math failure in college.

Yes, I agree that if they are going into STEM, some aspects of Business (though marketing and the like at a non-selective school isn't going to build on calc) or many Social Sciences (Econ, Psych, Sociology all have quant focus in their research) or if they are going to a selective school. But for a general math credit, they can take statistics or something like that and usually schools have options for pass/fail in a non-major math class. Once you step outside of the selective college realm, there's a lot more options. I would still encourage a kid to take Pre-Calc (Calc actually too!), but she's not doomed if she doesn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please share if you or they regret their decision.

How did it work out as far as college admissions. Did it end up being a factor?

Even DCPS requires Precalc to graduate…how is this even possible in the DMV?

[Anonymous]

It's doable for a Humanities major at a less-selective state school like UMBC, or a career-degree like Nursing at a community college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more important question is will the student be prepared for college without pre-calc. Any stem or business field is going to build upon calc, so entering college without having pre-calc would be detrimental. Even a humanities or art student will need to take a general college level math course. The bottom line is not taking pre-calc in high school is setting up for math failure in college.

Yes, I agree that if they are going into STEM, some aspects of Business (though marketing and the like at a non-selective school isn't going to build on calc) or many Social Sciences (Econ, Psych, Sociology all have quant focus in their research) or if they are going to a selective school. But for a general math credit, they can take statistics or something like that and usually schools have options for pass/fail in a non-major math class. Once you step outside of the selective college realm, there's a lot more options. I would still encourage a kid to take Pre-Calc (Calc actually too!), but she's not doomed if she doesn't.

WVU is not selective and requires Calc for Marketing majors: http://catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/collegeofbusinessandeconomics/marketing/#majortext

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please share if you or they regret their decision.

How did it work out as far as college admissions. Did it end up being a factor?

Even DCPS requires Precalc to graduate…how is this even possible in the DMV?

No, it does not. DCPS is same as MCPS:

"Mathematics (including Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II) 4.0 credits"

https://dcps.dc.gov/graduation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more important question is will the student be prepared for college without pre-calc. Any stem or business field is going to build upon calc, so entering college without having pre-calc would be detrimental. Even a humanities or art student will need to take a general college level math course. The bottom line is not taking pre-calc in high school is setting up for math failure in college.

Yes, I agree that if they are going into STEM, some aspects of Business (though marketing and the like at a non-selective school isn't going to build on calc) or many Social Sciences (Econ, Psych, Sociology all have quant focus in their research) or if they are going to a selective school. But for a general math credit, they can take statistics or something like that and usually schools have options for pass/fail in a non-major math class. Once you step outside of the selective college realm, there's a lot more options. I would still encourage a kid to take Pre-Calc (Calc actually too!), but she's not doomed if she doesn't.

WVU is not selective and requires Calc for Marketing majors: http://catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/collegeofbusinessandeconomics/marketing/#majortext

The minimum is Applied Calculus, which does not have Precalculus as a prereq. You can get through it without trigonometry and the other "non real-world" parts of math that don't relate at all to marketing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please share if you or they regret their decision.

How did it work out as far as college admissions. Did it end up being a factor?

Even DCPS requires Precalc to graduate…how is this even possible in the DMV?

No, it does not. DCPS is same as MCPS:

"Mathematics (including Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II) 4.0 credits"

https://dcps.dc.gov/graduation

Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II = 3.0 credits. I don't know why they are showing it this way...I suppose you could skip pre-calc and jump to Calc or AP Stats, but I doubt that is what OP is talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The more important question is will the student be prepared for college without pre-calc. Any stem or business field is going to build upon calc, so entering college without having pre-calc would be detrimental. Even a humanities or art student will need to take a general college level math course. The bottom line is not taking pre-calc in high school is setting up for math failure in college.

Yes, I agree that if they are going into STEM, some aspects of Business (though marketing and the like at a non-selective school isn't going to build on calc) or many Social Sciences (Econ, Psych, Sociology all have quant focus in their research) or if they are going to a selective school. But for a general math credit, they can take statistics or something like that and usually schools have options for pass/fail in a non-major math class. Once you step outside of the selective college realm, there's a lot more options. I would still encourage a kid to take Pre-Calc (Calc actually too!), but she's not doomed if she doesn't.

WVU is not selective and requires Calc for Marketing majors: http://catalog.wvu.edu/undergraduate/collegeofbusinessandeconomics/marketing/#majortext

The minimum is Applied Calculus, which does not have Precalculus as a prereq. You can get through it without trigonometry and the other "non real-world" parts of math that don't relate at all to marketing.

Applied Calc is not hard but you are kidding yourself if you think a kid not prepared for Pre-Calc in high school is going to do well in college Applied Calc where there is no hand holding, extra credit, etc.

[Anonymous]

OP here.


I appreciate all the input.

MCPS requires 4 years of math - so junior & senior might be stats /ap stats - if not pre Calc
(“Please take pre-calc - get a B”)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please share if you or they regret their decision.

How did it work out as far as college admissions. Did it end up being a factor?

Mine took it as a senior and he is retaking it as a college freshman. Math is his weakest subject by far. I'm glad he took it though so maybe the second time around won't be as difficult.