Colleges and Calculus

sadilly
Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:19:56 +0000

It all depends if colleges really mean what they say. There’s an article by the MIT Dean of Admissions who says that he wants his applicants to have taken AP Calculus and the Sciences but doesn’t have a problem is they skip the other ones. [Essay questions obsession over AP courses | Inside Higher Ed](Essay questions obsession over AP courses)
I think you have very good reasons for wanting to take Stats. And while Calculus can help logical thinking, so can a really good writing class. There was one at my college that a lot of pre-law students taking it since it raised their LSAT scores more than the ones who took the LSAT prep classes.

If it were me, I wouldn’t take calculus (and I actually did in high school) but I’m not the one applying and it’s not my “risk.” Try talking to your counselor about it and see what his/her experience is with kids from your school not taking calculus. It does vary by school. You could also try contacting the admissions offices and ask them. If you don’t take calculus, be sure to have a good explanation and be able to point to something that you were able to do because you didn’t have to spend extra time on calculus.