will not taking calculus hinder a kid's chance at getting into a top college?
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Anonymous
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Not having any Calculus is a big no no in almost all top schools, unless you are full pay.
Just too many kids will have had it. She will be below them. |
Anonymous
Why would I lie about something so absurd? It happened - at GMU, UVA and VT. We learned a lesson. Child no 2 had calculus BC done by end of junior year and got into UVA. |
Anonymous
At what point on a tour did you meet with department heads? We've been on a few tours and never encountered a professor. |
Anonymous
Very few kids finish BC before junior year. In my son’s middle school there were maybe two kids per year on track for this, and of the ones in class with my kid, one of them stumbled later (wound up in calc AB with my son during his sophomore year). |
Anonymous
Honestly I love it when I hear this. I hope its use makes a big comeback. |
Anonymous
You're really missing something here. A large number of colleges expect it. Not having calculus in HS will absolutely hurt a kid who plans on applying to competitive colleges. Not having calculus in HS doesn't hurt a kid who doesn't plan on majoring in STEM AND only plans on applying to very average colleges. |
Anonymous
If you are full-pay, and affluent, you are definitely expected to have calculus by the time you graduate. Perhaps donors are in a different category. DC was asked about math progression in interviews at Wake Forest, which is test-optional, and W&L. I think that math level is probably the easiest method for these school to measure course rigor. |
Anonymous
Agree. The fact is today calc is a high school class (at least for the college bound), the earlier math classes are geared toward completing calc, and the student who doesn't get there has lost the plot. (Colleges teach calc, but it's a different course, and all the harder for someone who didn't have the HS version.) Part of being an exceptional HS student is being well rounded in core subjects. No one should tell a potential STEM major to skip AP English either. Colleges look for that, no one believes it's a college level class, but it's a chance to explore the analysis and writing that college will require. (That was the last quality lit class I had to take as a future STEM major, but all the more reason to take advantage in HS. And skipping it could bite you in the butt studying STEM at a SLAC.) If a student decides against taking the culminating class, it's a weakness. That may be the right choice for the individual, but it is what it is. |
Anonymous
Because if you are full pay you can just skip all of high school right??? Do you understand how stupid you sound??? Full pay which is most of the class in any college does not = large donor. Full pay often means upper middle class savers or top 5% families. Why do people act like full pay is a rare occurrence??? |
Anonymous
| Do top colleges prefer to see an AP result from junior year or is it alright to complete AP BC in 12th grade? Does it make a difference if kid is interested in life science |
Anonymous
calc in 12th is fine |
Anonymous
+1 senior year schedule is important, too. |
Anonymous
| Taking CALC in high school will improve her math skills in algebra and on standardized tests. And for non-stem majors CALC is still expected at the college level, or else she will have to cobble together several remedial math classes in lieu of CALC I. She will want her college CALC I class to be a review, It will be much easier the second time around and IME HS math teachers are generally better at teaching than some grad student TA. She needs to take it in HS. |
Anonymous
And heads of departments don't generally show up on tours, especially for "average colleges," let alone question students about what they are taking. |
Anonymous
Thanks to the two posters who responded. DS took a slower math route than many of his academic peers who will complete AP BC in 11th grade. I am relieved to hear it won’t disadvantage him when he applies to colleges as a biology major |