<p>I can sympathize, having watched my daughter struggle with math in high school and seen how much pain it caused her.</p>
<p>I hate to say it, but not having taken pre-calc will probably be a negative at Smith and Bryn Mawr. I don’t know about Simmons. I’m not saying that you wouldn’t still get in, but on a scale of negative/neutral/positive I think it’d be a negative rather than a neutral. I would think that almost all of the applicants to Smith will have taken 4 years of math, and probably higher than pre-calc. If your other accomplishments can weigh the scale in the other direction, it might be OK, but if you’re otherwise a middle-of-the-road applicant… my gut feeling is that it would be a negative. </p>
<p>We attended an admissions talk at Wellesley College where high school math was discussed. Granted, Wellesley is more selective than Smith, but they told us that they expect to see a student having taken calculus by graduation, and pre-calc at the very least. They went on to say that they want to see students challenge themselves, and that they’d rather see a student attempt a class they struggle in, rather than not attempt it at all. Perhaps, if you do decide to take it, you use it in your essay and describe how you challenged yourself in math even though you knew it was a weakness?</p>
<p>I’ll also echo Duboyne’s comment above: your interests may change and you’ll find yourself wishing you had that math. In high school, my daughter hated math with a vehement passion. She was certain she would be an art/psychology major. Well, she’s a freshman in college now, and a biology major. She really discovered her passion. And guess what? She has to take a math class for her major, and she needed that pre-calc class she ended up taking in high school! (For what it’s worth, my daughter found out just before senior year that she had ADD and low working memory, which manifested most clearly in math. When she realized this, and learned some basic skills to compensate, her math grades improved dramatically. Something to consider?)</p>
<p>On the other hand, sanity and stress are an important consideration, especially if you’re prone to depression or unhealthy coping mechanisms… so do weigh this carefully :)</p>
<p>Personal experience: my D only had 3 years of math (due to a health crisis that was explained) but she did complete pre-calculus. She was accepted at Mount Holyoke and waitlisted at Wellesley; denied at Smith. GPA ~3.5; SAT 2100 with high SAT2s, excellent recs.</p>
<p>Since as momneeds2know stated, your second semester grades don’t affect your GPA, I’d recommend you take the pre-calc class (or the Foundations 12, but only if it includes pre-calc - ask your GC). Just don’t get a D or F, as that may jeopardize your acceptance. And if you’ve already sent in your applications (with the list of senior year classes) make SURE that either you or your GC send the college an updated class list showing the Pre-Calc class on your schedule (or the Foundations, with a note stating it includes pre-calc). You are very lucky that your HS offers half-year math classes, too. At my D’s school, all the math classes were a year long, so this option would not have been a possibility.</p>