Future Political Science Major, What AP Classes Should I Take?

preamble1776
Mon, 27 Jan 2014 02:17:35 +0000

@MythologyMaster
I mean, I am no expert – but I talked with my guidance counselor and math teacher last year when I was making the decision between AP Stats and Calculus and my guidance counselor told me that colleges highly prefer Calculus over Stats as many schools don’t regard Stats as “real math” which I interpreted as a math that requires a higher thinking order – but Stats is still hard, harder than Calculus for many, which is ironic.

If you look at the websites of different colleges, especially top tier ones, they say that the ideal math track is one which is 4 years in length, ending in Pre-Calculus or Calculus if applicable, which basically means if you end up in Pre-Calculus as a Senior, then that’s fine (say you started off in Algebra I or “Integrated Math”) - but if you make it to Pre-Calculus prior to your senior year, then they expect to see Calculus on your transcript.

However - I don’t think Stats will kill your application or even hurt it considerably, in all honesty. Colleges advocate for Physics as well - which I decided not to take. I just didn’t think I would enjoy Physics or do particularly well in it, so I opted for other sciences, and I’m not losing sleep over how it will impact my applications.

At the end of the day, I don’t think an admissions officer is going to look at a Poli Sci application and say “Oh, Political Science? Philosophy? No Calculus? Every political science major must know how to find the definite integral of a function!” In the same way that I don’t think colleges will look at my application and see that I haven’t taken Physics and wonder how a Philosophy major could ever succeed without knowing how to calculate the circular motion of an object. It might be a blip on the radar - but it certainly isn’t a make or break thing.

Do what you think you’ll do best in. If you genuinely believe that you’re going to excel in Stats and flounder in Calculus, then by all means, take Stats. A lesser math with a high grade is much better than a higher leveled math with a C or D.

Good luck.