Reply to will not taking calculus hinder a kid's chance at getting into a top college?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "will not taking calculus hinder a kid's chance at getting into a top college? "

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]While on tour as a JUNIOR, DD was asked by several heads of departments if she had finished Calculus BC. And these were not top colleges.  It is important.[/quote]

I simply don't believe this.[/quote]

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.[/quote]

At what point on a tour did you meet with department heads? We've been on a few tours and never encountered a professor. [/quote]
I am a professor at GMU and the idea that several department heads here would question a potential student about their math sequence is hilarious. To quote the young people, "I can't even."[/quote]

Thank you. So do you have thoughts on whether calculus is critical for admission? This thread has been illuminating for me as my DS just picked classes for his senior year and he was going to take IB CompSci and Probability/Stats. Having him rethink the prob/stats class.[/quote][b]
I can only speak to GMU, but no, it is not [i]critical[/i] for admission. IIRC about 20% of the class of 2022 was eligible for credit in MATH 113/114/123 thru AP or dual-enrollment, so clearly there are tons of students who did not take calculus in HS (or did not pass the AP exam). [/quote]

Thank you. GMU is his first choice, by far, so this is helpful. [/quote][/b]

But if your DD or DS plans to go into computer science, econ., math, engineering or game design, etc., don't listen to the "professor" above.  Talk to the head of the department.  GMU is too large for one "professor", adjunct, non-tenured or even tenured to know what the other departments seek.  It was Dr. Scott Martin, chair of the GMU Game Design Department,  who asked my junior if they had finished calculus.  https://game.gmu.edu/faculty-staff/https://game.gmu.edu/faculty-staff/.   Put it another way - we all know that college admissions directors say they are looking at the depth and rigor of an applicant's courses of study.  They want to see if the student has exhausted all the courses that the high school had to over.  Hence you have kids taking 15 AP courses.  Our well-known public high school offers the following courses AFTER Calculus BC.  The universities know this.  So if you are seeking admittance to a "top college", especially in a math-related field,, the college will want to know you've exhausted what was offered:  After Calculus BC: Prob & Statistics, AP Statistics, Computer Science AP, Adv Computer Science; Multivar Calculus, Matrix Algebra, etc. etc.  The students who take those courses are the ones headed for Ivies or "top college" as OP asked.

Also, the admission director at Virginia Tech also said they wanted to see Calculus BC finished with an A before DC applied so they advised against (then) applying ED because they wanted to see that grade first.  If DC hadn't finished BC by the end of junior year or during the summer, they suggested he wait because most likely he would be deferred until that grade came in.  At that time Virginia Tech was taking only 5% engineering students from in-state by ED.  That's changed but the competition has only gotten stiffer for slots in the much sought-after in-state publics.

And for those who say their child will never use calculus so why take it, you actually don't know what grad school your child may head for.  One of ours is doing either an MBA or MPP and for both has to go to "math camp" for two weeks during the summer before starting grad school to make sure DC is up-to-speed on calculus and statistics.  Fortunately, he took calculus in high school and also another course in it in college so is prepared.  Four years ago I would not have known that he was going to head for a Master's Degree at all.[/quote]
[b]It's GMU. chill. Your child does not need to "exhaust all the courses that the high school had to offer" to get in. [/quote][/b]

OP's question was about getting into "a top college".  If your child is seriouusly thinking about applying to an Ivy, top college, or math or engineering department in a big public, you need to have taken the AP courses your high school offers.[/quote]
But you don't need to "exhaust them." My kid took 9 AP courses - out of the 22 his school offers - and got into Ivies. I don't know of any student who took more than 12 or so.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics