Anonymous wrote:I wish it didn’t matter, but I have toured over 15 colleges with my junior, from JMU to Tufts, and almost everywhere has mentioned wanting to see calculus in high school. Most engineering programs require it. And every admissions director has said that your course load is more important than everything else.

As a non- math person who never went beyond trig in high school myself, I would love to agree with the posters that say it doesn’t matter for college admissions, but it’s simply not true. It won’t necessarily alter the course of your career plans, but it most definitely alters the colleges and programs you have access to.

I have two kids attending excellent colleges (ones that even the DCUM snobs rave about). Neither took calculus in high school. Neither is majoring in a STEM field. They had no problem at all with college acceptances.

Yes, of course students need to take calculus if they're applying for engineering programs or perhaps some STEM fields. Humanities majors do not require calculus.

Anonymous wrote:I wish it didn’t matter, but I have toured over 15 colleges with my junior, from JMU to Tufts, and almost everywhere has mentioned wanting to see calculus in high school. Most engineering programs require it. And every admissions director has said that your course load is more important than everything else.

As a non- math person who never went beyond trig in high school myself, I would love to agree with the posters that say it doesn’t matter for college admissions, but it’s simply not true. It won’t necessarily alter the course of your career plans, but it most definitely alters the colleges and programs you have access to.

Whether or not you have Calculus may affect which colleges you can get acceptance into an engineering program for, that is true. But it doesn't mean you can't go to other colleges, or start in one major and then apply to transfer later. It might mean an extra year of college, or some summer courses to catch up. It might mean MIT is not going to accept that particular child. All of that is just fine. It is most important that the child grasp the material. MIT will be an option for grad school, if it's a fervent desire even if it wasn't in the cards for undergrad.

The problem with how all this is laid out to kids is it's giving them the message that doing anything slightly later, or slightly slower, than the absolute best or fastest rate is failure and their lives are over. That's garbage and adults really have to stop spewing it. Algebra I as a 9th grader is fine. There are plenty of colleges, even selective colleges, that will accept such a student. There are STEM programs that will accept such a student. The future remains bright and wide open.

FWIW, I majored in a STEM field and had calc in HS. I retook calc in college because I didn't think my foundation was strong enough. That set my science path back a semester. It was no big deal. I chose to take a heavier load in a future semester to "catch up" but I could have taken a summer course or lengthened my time in college instead. No one shunned me. I earn a good living. I am not branded with my "failure" to grasp calc perfectly my first time through. Plenty of kids in college STEM tracks find they need to repeat classes. To the point where sometimes schools have gatekeeping courses that if you fail more than N times, you are no longer allowed to pursue that major. Stop stressing out 14 year olds. Stress them out when they're 19 and HAVE to pass that 300 level class this time or figure out what they're going to change their major to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish it didn’t matter, but I have toured over 15 colleges with my junior, from JMU to Tufts, and almost everywhere has mentioned wanting to see calculus in high school. Most engineering programs require it. And every admissions director has said that your course load is more important than everything else.

As a non- math person who never went beyond trig in high school myself, I would love to agree with the posters that say it doesn’t matter for college admissions, but it’s simply not true. It won’t necessarily alter the course of your career plans, but it most definitely alters the colleges and programs you have access to.

That might be true if you are going into Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, and Computer ENGINEERING majors. Those majors require calculus as the foundation before you can take other courses like physics, thermo dynamics and electro magnetic field. However, you do NOT need calculus to major in Computer Sciences or Information Technology.

I don't know if any of those admission directors actually have "real" jobs, I can say for certain that I am a programmer (Java, Python, .dot net) and I do not need calculus to do my daily routine job. Last time I check, Computer Science major is also STEM, isn't it?

My son is interested in CS so this is good to hear. He is taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade but has a C in it so I want him to repeat it in 8th grade. Did you major in CS in college PP?

Pp is wrong. The majors listed do require calculus. Only students who major in humanities can avoid calculus. However, your ds is fine. Have him repeat Algebra in 8th and he should do well. Even kids who take Algebra in 9th can complete calculus in college. It’s not a race.

Yes I majored in CS in college and yes, I did take calculus in the 2nd half of my freshman year. And yes, I had Algebra I in 9th grade.

The point I am trying to make is that yes math is VERY important if you major in ENGINEERING. If your major is Information System (IS) or Computer Sciences and you end up doing programming like Java, Python, or dot net, calculus is NOT needed for you to be successful at your job.

Now if you're a Computer Sciences major and you're programming Autonomous vehicles or NASA rockets, then yes, calculus is a MUST. However, I don't see it as Computer Sciences, I see it a Computer ENGINEERING.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish it didn’t matter, but I have toured over 15 colleges with my junior, from JMU to Tufts, and almost everywhere has mentioned wanting to see calculus in high school. Most engineering programs require it. And every admissions director has said that your course load is more important than everything else.

As a non- math person who never went beyond trig in high school myself, I would love to agree with the posters that say it doesn’t matter for college admissions, but it’s simply not true. It won’t necessarily alter the course of your career plans, but it most definitely alters the colleges and programs you have access to.

That might be true if you are going into Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, and Computer ENGINEERING majors. Those majors require calculus as the foundation before you can take other courses like physics, thermo dynamics and electro magnetic field. However, you do NOT need calculus to major in Computer Sciences or Information Technology.

I don't know if any of those admission directors actually have "real" jobs, I can say for certain that I am a programmer (Java, Python, .dot net) and I do not need calculus to do my daily routine job. Last time I check, Computer Science major is also STEM, isn't it?

My son is interested in CS so this is good to hear. He is taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade but has a C in it so I want him to repeat it in 8th grade. Did you major in CS in college PP?

Pp is wrong. The majors listed do require calculus. Only students who major in humanities can avoid calculus. However, your ds is fine. Have him repeat Algebra in 8th and he should do well. Even kids who take Algebra in 9th can complete calculus in college. It’s not a race.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish it didn’t matter, but I have toured over 15 colleges with my junior, from JMU to Tufts, and almost everywhere has mentioned wanting to see calculus in high school. Most engineering programs require it. And every admissions director has said that your course load is more important than everything else.

As a non- math person who never went beyond trig in high school myself, I would love to agree with the posters that say it doesn’t matter for college admissions, but it’s simply not true. It won’t necessarily alter the course of your career plans, but it most definitely alters the colleges and programs you have access to.

That might be true if you are going into Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, and Computer ENGINEERING majors. Those majors require calculus as the foundation before you can take other courses like physics, thermo dynamics and electro magnetic field. However, you do NOT need calculus to major in Computer Sciences or Information Technology.

I don't know if any of those admission directors actually have "real" jobs, I can say for certain that I am a programmer (Java, Python, .dot net) and I do not need calculus to do my daily routine job. Last time I check, Computer Science major is also STEM, isn't it?

My son is interested in CS so this is good to hear. He is taking Algebra 1 in 7th grade but has a C in it so I want him to repeat it in 8th grade. Did you major in CS in college PP?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish it didn’t matter, but I have toured over 15 colleges with my junior, from JMU to Tufts, and almost everywhere has mentioned wanting to see calculus in high school. Most engineering programs require it. And every admissions director has said that your course load is more important than everything else.

As a non- math person who never went beyond trig in high school myself, I would love to agree with the posters that say it doesn’t matter for college admissions, but it’s simply not true. It won’t necessarily alter the course of your career plans, but it most definitely alters the colleges and programs you have access to.

That might be true if you are going into Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, and Computer ENGINEERING majors. Those majors require calculus as the foundation before you can take other courses like physics, thermo dynamics and electro magnetic field. However, you do NOT need calculus to major in Computer Sciences or Information Technology.

I don't know if any of those admission directors actually have "real" jobs, I can say for certain that I am a programmer (Java, Python, .dot net) and I do not need calculus to do my daily routine job. Last time I check, Computer Science major is also STEM, isn't it?

Colleges don’t require it because you’re going to use it.
Calculus is a degree requirement for any life or physical science, computer, engineering, or business degree at all colleges. Maybe a tiny handful of sub specialties will actually need to use calculus on the job. It’s just the gold standard of math education.

Anonymous wrote:I wish it didn’t matter, but I have toured over 15 colleges with my junior, from JMU to Tufts, and almost everywhere has mentioned wanting to see calculus in high school. Most engineering programs require it. And every admissions director has said that your course load is more important than everything else.

As a non- math person who never went beyond trig in high school myself, I would love to agree with the posters that say it doesn’t matter for college admissions, but it’s simply not true. It won’t necessarily alter the course of your career plans, but it most definitely alters the colleges and programs you have access to.

That might be true if you are going into Electrical, Mechanical, Aerospace, Civil, and Computer ENGINEERING majors. Those majors require calculus as the foundation before you can take other courses like physics, thermo dynamics and electro magnetic field. However, you do NOT need calculus to major in Computer Sciences or Information Technology.

I don't know if any of those admission directors actually have "real" jobs, I can say for certain that I am a programmer (Java, Python, .dot net) and I do not need calculus to do my daily routine job. Last time I check, Computer Science major is also STEM, isn't it?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. Not the OP or PP but I get so tired of people coming on here saying things like "Larlo is in 7th grade and taking Trigonometry" and if your child is in Algebra in 9th grade, they are on the slow track, which is not true.

+100
Taking Algebra I in 9th grade is perfectly normal.

Depends on where you live.

No, it really doesn't.

It's normal to learn to read at 4. or 5. or 6. or 7. or 8. Brains need to be able to do certain things in order to read. They also need to be able to do certain things in order to do certain types of math. Some kids are ready younger than others and some older than others. 9th graders are still within the realm of "normal" for Algebra I. Geographical area has nothing to do brain development.

My DH and I work in STEM. One of our kids is a 9th grader taking Algebra I, because that's where he is with math. He loves electronics, and I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up as an electrical engineer (or, if he has his way, designing guitar pedals). He'll be just fine. So will the other 9th graders in his math class.

The ^^PP state "Algebra in 9th is normal". I stated it depends on where you live. I didn't say whether it was good/bad for STEM majors.

In MCPS, Algebra in 8th is the norm. Maybe in other districts it's normal for 9th graders to be taking Algebra, but in MCPS, that is not the norm, and MCPS is not an outlier.

I wish it didn’t matter, but I have toured over 15 colleges with my junior, from JMU to Tufts, and almost everywhere has mentioned wanting to see calculus in high school. Most engineering programs require it. And every admissions director has said that your course load is more important than everything else.

As a non- math person who never went beyond trig in high school myself, I would love to agree with the posters that say it doesn’t matter for college admissions, but it’s simply not true. It won’t necessarily alter the course of your career plans, but it most definitely alters the colleges and programs you have access to.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. Not the OP or PP but I get so tired of people coming on here saying things like "Larlo is in 7th grade and taking Trigonometry" and if your child is in Algebra in 9th grade, they are on the slow track, which is not true.

+100
Taking Algebra I in 9th grade is perfectly normal.

Depends on where you live.

No, it really doesn't.

It's normal to learn to read at 4. or 5. or 6. or 7. or 8. Brains need to be able to do certain things in order to read. They also need to be able to do certain things in order to do certain types of math. Some kids are ready younger than others and some older than others. 9th graders are still within the realm of "normal" for Algebra I. Geographical area has nothing to do brain development.

My DH and I work in STEM. One of our kids is a 9th grader taking Algebra I, because that's where he is with math. He loves electronics, and I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up as an electrical engineer (or, if he has his way, designing guitar pedals). He'll be just fine. So will the other 9th graders in his math class.

My DD is in 9th grade at a large private high school talked about quite a bit on the independent schools forum and she is taking Algebra. There are at least two to three classes of students in Algebra. Some 9th graders are in Geometry and Algebra II. Kids who graduate from this HS get into good colleges. No one is stigmatized by taking Algebra in 9th grade which is good. There may be kids who took Algebra in 8th who are taking it again in 9th grade. It's not a big deal.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. Not the OP or PP but I get so tired of people coming on here saying things like "Larlo is in 7th grade and taking Trigonometry" and if your child is in Algebra in 9th grade, they are on the slow track, which is not true.

+100
Taking Algebra I in 9th grade is perfectly normal.

Depends on where you live.

Anonymous wrote:Thank you. Not the OP or PP but I get so tired of people coming on here saying things like "Larlo is in 7th grade and taking Trigonometry" and if your child is in Algebra in 9th grade, they are on the slow track, which is not true.

+100
Taking Algebra I in 9th grade is perfectly normal.

Thank you. Not the OP or PP but I get so tired of people coming on here saying things like "Larlo is in 7th grade and taking Trigonometry" and if your child is in Algebra in 9th grade, they are on the slow track, which is not true.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The most important thing is that he understands and feels confident about the content. Have him repeat Algebra.

Even if he does want to follow a STEM path, this won't preclude him from doing that. In the future should he desire, he could take a summer math class, or he simply plans on perhaps spending a bit of extra time in college which is very common now any way. The only reason for the extra time in college is that STEM course schedules are tight, and they do build on the classes. He can't take physics without calc backing him up, so he might need to put off certain classes a semester. OTOH, if being on the 5-year plan for college is not something he'd considered, there's always taking a summer college course or two to get back "on track." Many STEM kids end up on the 5 year plan, so he wouldn't be an outlier in any case.

The math he takes as a 14 year old doesn't predict the rest of his life. Have him take the class that's appropriate for him, and it sounds like algebra is that class.

+1

Excellent advice.

Btw, I am working as a computer programmer and it doesn't require any math. Isn't Computer Sciences a STEM?

+2. My DS, who is pursuing a biomedical science Ph.D., took Algebra I in 9th grade.

? You have to take high level math in college for a CS degree, but yea, it's not the end of the world if you take Alg in 9th.