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@anish
0 answers, 1 vote
 • 3 years ago •
Admissions Advice

Do colleges require 4 years of math or 4 years of math courses?
Answered

I'm planning on taking Pre-Calc + AP Statistics in 10th grade and Calculus in 11th grade. That would put me at 3 years of math but 5 high school courses completed. (Geo, Alg 2, Pre-Calc, Calc, Ap Stats).

I'm curious if it would be better to move the AP Statistics to 12th grade so I have 4 years of doing Math or if I can just do it in 10th grade. Do colleges care about the courses you take or the number of years you have with at least 1 math course?

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math
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@CameronBameron
2,281 answers, 8,534 votes
 • 3 years ago

If you apply to 99% of colleges with those courses, you will be perfectly fine. Colleges do not care about the order you take the courses or if 2 are stacked in one year. They just care that you have challenged yourself with the hardest courses available to you. Also, it depends on what colleges you are applying to and what your major is going to be.

If you want to apply to Caltech or MIT, then I would say you are on the light side because many of the successful admit have a higher maths like Stochastic Processes, Martingales, Real Analysis, advanced topics in Differential Equations they have taken online, or through dual enrollment or self-study.

Since AP Stats is not really a hard AP, I'd consider moving that to 12th grade and maybe challenging yourself with AP Physics or AP Chemistry.

Also, keep in mind that top colleges want to see 4 years of English (preferably AP Lang/AP Lit), 4 years of Languages (3 min.), 3 to 4 years of History and 4 Science classes (Bio, Chem, Physics, Env. Sci. for example)

Hope this is helpful.

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[🎤 AUTHOR]@anish3 years ago [edited]

Do you know any good resources to help me study any advanced math topics?

As for the AP's, my High School requires taking Regents Physics / Regents Chemistry before taking AP Physics / Chemistry. Would you recommend taking Regents Physics and self-studying or the AP Physics exam? How about Chemistry?

I've already got 2 language credits (1 from middle school + 1 from 9th grade), should I be doing Spanish till junior or senior year to get the 4 years of language?

Appreciate The Help :)

[🎤 AUTHOR]@anish3 years ago

Also which AP Physics course would you recommend, my school only offers AP Physics C: Mechanics. Is that course "good enough" or should I try to do AP Physics 1/2?

@CameronBameron3 years ago

RE: Math, and community or state college will let you enroll. Find a course that covers these topics. Set Theory & Logic; Differential & Integral Calculus; Linear Algebra; and Ordinary Differential Equations. These are what are taught in 1st year at MIT and Caltech.

@CameronBameron3 years ago

RE: Physics. Take Physics 1/2 first, since Mechanics C is the hardest one. They follow sequentially because you have to apply your knowledge of Calculus to Mechanics which can sometimes be cumbersome and difficult for some students. Since it is the hardest some schools only give you credit for AP Physics C and not 1 and 2. You can check with the college you are applying to under "AP Credit"

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