I’m a freshman rn & I’m worried that doubling up in Spanish & math might hurt my chances of getting into UW Madison, which is my dream college. I’ve already taken geometry & I’m starting Algebra 2 next semester. I’ll be taking AP Precalc sophomore year & AP Calc BC junior year. I was wondering if this would hurt my chances of getting in. I’m pretty ok at math, but I wanted to take Calc BC earlier so I had another year to possibly retake it if I didn’t do to well. I might take college math senior year, but I may not have space in my schedule. For Spanish, I’m taking German 1 freshman year, German 2 & Spanish 2 sophomore year & possibly Spanish 3 & 4 junior year just in case my school brings back AP Spanish. However, they may not, so I’m hoping this doesn’t look bad on my record. I know taking 2 languages isn’t recommended, but I’m really passionate about both & learning new languages is my strong suit. Do you think this is ok? Will it hurt my chances of getting into UW Madison? I’m in-state if that changes anything.
You should want to take this course with a good foundation to pass it the FIRST time with a good grade. You should not be planning to take a hard course like this with a plan to repeat it.
Get yourself a good math foundation…
Please talk to your school counselor about the requirements to gain admission to University of Wisconsin. Since you are instate, that person should have some familiarity with what it takes.
I guess I’m not sure what your rush is on the math.
Let me understand.
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You’re a Freshman? And you have a dream school? Hmmm - no you don’t. You may think you do but you don’t. There’s no such thing as a dream school.
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You’re worried about doubling up on math to be far more advanced after 10th grade, then most kids are after 12th grade - and by not doing so, not kidding into UW?
hmmm - that wouldn’t keep you out of MIT.
Being through Calc AB after 12th grade would put you ahead of the averages and requirements.
Don’t double up - and as far as language, if you can fit it, then great.
But get with your counselor in HS and let them advise you.
You’re 4 years from college - you are so far from thinking about U of Wisconsin or anywhere else.
But you are also going waaaaaay too fast.
So slow down - and be the best you that you can be - academically and outside the classroom.
Best of luck.
In my experience students who are very well prepared for calculus tend to find it to be straightforward. “Very well prepared” includes doing very well in all of the prerequisites. On the other hand, I have consistently heard that students who are shaky on any of the prerequisites can find calculus to be very difficult.
Generally speaking, what you are learning now in math is in most case based on what you were learning last year and the year before. What you are going to learn next year will be based on what you are learning now.
Which is perhaps a long way to say that I agree with @thumper1. I do not think that you should jump ahead in math. Instead, take your time. Take each class when you are ready to take it. “Pretty okay at math” is not the way that I would describe any student who should be jumping ahead in math.
Why not? Most people don’t, but I have not heard this as specifically being “not recommended.” I think it’s awesome you want to take more than one foreign language and, if it fits in your schedule, then great.
Don’t go into it with that attitude. If you do not feel prepared for Calc BC then don’t take it. Wait until you are ready. If that’s junior year, great; if that’s senior year, also great. But you don’t want to fail and have to retake it.
And if it’s never, that’s not going to keep you out of Wisconsin or 99% of other schools either.
Sorry meant to OP.
Agree. What is the rush???
Please check with your guidance counselor if this schedule will work for your HS diploma requirements.
There are students who assume that the HS diploma and College entrance requirements are the same. If you miss a requirement in HS, as noted by your school district, you may not be able to graduate from HS.
I’ve had my son’s friend “Kevin” experience this. He and his parents made up his own class schedule. He was supposed to be Valedictorian but lacked two classes that were required by the HS for graduation. The schools rescinded his admission. Missed out at MIT.
Follow the HS requirements for graduation first, before you only think abut college entrance requirements. Enjoy High School!!
Since you appear to be on the +2 math track, what is the possible gain from accelerating even more to get on the +3 math track? Also, why would you worry about not doing well in math?
In terms of German and Spanish, would taking them both displace other typical high school academic courses from your schedule? If you have to choose one, German may be more useful if you will go on to PhD study in math, but Spanish will be more useful if you become a physician practicing in the US.
Also, if you do end up being a pre-med (as your username suggests), college courses taken while in high school and their grades will need to be reported on your medical school application. For pre-meds, A should be considered the only acceptable grade.
The ideal foreign language situation should be taking the same FL all four years of high school. Is there a reason you aren’t doing this? Some colleges may require less, but all will welcome/encourage more.
You should not take a math early so that you can take it a second time, in anticipation of possibly failing it. Taking calculus before graduation is a reasonable goal. Some kids take it earlier, but do not push yourself unnecessarily to do so. Create a solid math path so that you will succeed in college, too.
As a freshman, you should plan to take a full year of math, the same foreign language, English, social studies, and science every year. Challenge yourself with rigor by taking honors or AP classes, but don’t overwhelm yourself. Every class doesn’t need to be an AP. Schools like to see rigor, but they also like to see mastery/achievement, so create a schedule that includes the 5 core courses in a way that is manageable to you.
Edit: if foreign language is a passion and you can fit 2/year and do each well, that’s fine. But don’t choose that route in high school if it means sacrificing another core or if it means disrupting a traditional language path. You will have time in college to explore other languages. You could even be a language major and pursue med school, as long as you complete pre-med courses. Medical schools like to see a diversity of academic backgrounds and language acquisition is something that could be attractive to them.
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