If your dc did not take pre-calc..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Most schools in DCPS have some kind of non-AP stats class that non-math-oriented kids who are not aiming for selective colleges take for this fourth credit. It’s definitely not precalc.

[Anonymous]

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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.

Not all high schools do this.

[Anonymous]

Like PP, my kid took it senior yr of HS but is currently taking it now as a college freshman. If he had done better on college math tests this summer, I’m thinking he’d be in calculus. Wondering if that means he’s already behind in completing on time! Or he’ll need to add a winter class or summer course or load up on credits one semester. Business major.

[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.

Blanket statements aren't useful. Unless maybe you mean, no pre-calc sets up STEM majors for problems.

DC didnt take pre-calc. Got into the college DC wanted (a selective LAC). Not a STEM or business major. Never needed a "general college level math course" because open curriculum meant econ qualified as a "quantitative" course to meet requirements. So it's not a universal truth that all students including humanities and art etc are going to tank in college if they don't do pre-calc in HS. Every college is different, every department is different. Please avoid the scare statements making parents here think their kid will crash and burn if there's no pre-calc in HS. That depends on a lot of factors.

[Anonymous]

No math at all senior year. Had 4 years of math having started Alg. 1 in 8th grade. Attending JMU Honors. Humanities kid.

[Anonymous]

My kid is taking two years of algebra (junior and senior year) but will apply to schools with 80% acceptance rate in a non-STEM major. I’m hoping for her, it’s not a big deal.

[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.

Blanket statements aren't useful. Unless maybe you mean, no pre-calc sets up STEM majors for problems.

DC didnt take pre-calc. Got into the college DC wanted (a selective LAC). Not a STEM or business major. Never needed a "general college level math course" because open curriculum meant econ qualified as a "quantitative" course to meet requirements. So it's not a universal truth that all students including humanities and art etc are going to tank in college if they don't do pre-calc in HS. Every college is different, every department is different. Please avoid the scare statements making parents here think their kid will crash and burn if there's no pre-calc in HS. That depends on a lot of factors.

THIS ^^. Same experiences with my kids, none of whom took pre-calc and all of whom got into selective universities and majored in humanities subjects. Two of them did have to take a math course in college to fulfill graduation requirements, but there were many to choose from. One did statistics and the other did a personal finance class which turned out to be extremely useful and practical. Pre-calc/calc would have been a huge waste of time for my kids, who were filling their schedules with AP humanities classes and languages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

If you get a C- in Applied Calculus you still get your bachelor's degree in Marketing. It's a terminal math class for that degree so as long as you can drag your body over the finish line you're fine.

[Anonymous]

The idea that your kid is only destined for schools ranked above 100 if they don’t take precalc is just false. My DC took stats his senior year instead and was admitted to every school he applied to that was ranked over 20. He had a 3.9 unweighted GPA and a 34 ACT, and was offered significant merit aid everywhere he was accepted.

Math just isn’t his thing, and he didn’t care enough about getting into a “top whatever” school to push it. He’s a history major in an honors program and took stats his freshman year. He’s now taking anthropology to fulfill his science requirement.

Obviously, things would likely have been different if he were applying to STEM programs or business school, but that wasn’t going to happen for the same reason he didn’t take precalc to start with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The idea that your kid is only destined for schools ranked above 100 if they don’t take precalc is just false. My DC took stats his senior year instead and was admitted to every school he applied to that was ranked over 20. He had a 3.9 unweighted GPA and a 34 ACT, and was offered significant merit aid everywhere he was accepted.

Math just isn’t his thing, and he didn’t care enough about getting into a “top whatever” school to push it. He’s a history major in an honors program and took stats his freshman year. He’s now taking anthropology to fulfill his science requirement.

Obviously, things would likely have been different if he were applying to STEM programs or business school, but that wasn’t going to happen for the same reason he didn’t take precalc to start with.

Also meant to add that DC made an A in his college stats class, and has a 3.9 GPA so far in college. So I don’t think not taking precalc “set him up for failure.”

[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.

Blanket statements aren't useful. Unless maybe you mean, no pre-calc sets up STEM majors for problems.

DC didnt take pre-calc. Got into the college DC wanted (a selective LAC). Not a STEM or business major. Never needed a "general college level math course" because open curriculum meant econ qualified as a "quantitative" course to meet requirements. So it's not a universal truth that all students including humanities and art etc are going to tank in college if they don't do pre-calc in HS. Every college is different, every department is different. Please avoid the scare statements making parents here think their kid will crash and burn if there's no pre-calc in HS. That depends on a lot of factors.

Can you name the selective LAC?

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of the "precalc is necessary" energy is coming from people who went to a school where stats (especially non-AP stats) wasn't an option. Stats wasn't a thing at my high school which was still a Blue Ribbon school with lots of APs.

[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.

Blanket statements aren't useful. Unless maybe you mean, no pre-calc sets up STEM majors for problems.

DC didnt take pre-calc. Got into the college DC wanted (a selective LAC). Not a STEM or business major. Never needed a "general college level math course" because open curriculum meant econ qualified as a "quantitative" course to meet requirements. So it's not a universal truth that all students including humanities and art etc are going to tank in college if they don't do pre-calc in HS. Every college is different, every department is different. Please avoid the scare statements making parents here think their kid will crash and burn if there's no pre-calc in HS. That depends on a lot of factors.

How long ago?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

If you get a C- in Applied Calculus you still get your bachelor's degree in Marketing. It's a terminal math class for that degree so as long as you can drag your body over the finish line you're fine.

Correct. If a student is capable of a C- in college applied calc, they should be able to take high school pre-calc.

[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.

Blanket statements aren't useful. Unless maybe you mean, no pre-calc sets up STEM majors for problems.

DC didnt take pre-calc. Got into the college DC wanted (a selective LAC). Not a STEM or business major. Never needed a "general college level math course" because open curriculum meant econ qualified as a "quantitative" course to meet requirements. So it's not a universal truth that all students including humanities and art etc are going to tank in college if they don't do pre-calc in HS. Every college is different, every department is different. Please avoid the scare statements making parents here think their kid will crash and burn if there's no pre-calc in HS. That depends on a lot of factors.

My kid wants to go to Rice or Vandy. In fact those are the only two school they are applying to (I know, I know, they should apply to more).

I am hoping the lack of pre-calc is not going to be a problem.