Instead of taking pre-calculus, I am taking trigonometry as a senior in high school. Most colleges say they recommend pre-calculus or higher at a high school level, and I’m worried that admissions officers might outright reject me for not taking it. I applied to architecture schools, which are more design based rather than technical. So will not having pre-calculus hurt my chances?
Schools I’ve applied to:
Tulane University
Syracuse University
USC
UVA
Washu
Drexel
Architecture majors are likely to need to take calculus, so you need to know precalculus material for that.
It does seem odd that your high school has a standalone trigonometry course. Most high schools have only precalculus courses that include trigonometry (if trigonometry was not included in a previous math course). Community colleges’ developmental math offerings may split precalculus into separate courses for college algebra and trigonometry, with only the former needed by students who want to take calculus for business majors.
You may want to check your readiness for calculus with this quiz:
http://www.math.buffalo.edu/rur/rurci3.cgi
Yikes…Did you just take the required amount of math classes to graduate HS?
@HKimPOSSIBLE When I began high school as a freshman I took the lowest level of math, which was Algebra 1 for my school. Then I took geometry as a sophomore and Algebra 2 as a junior. My school does not let me take Pre-calculus a senior unless I took trigonometry before. So ultimately, I couldn’t have taken Pre-calculus in high school. My school allowed that, if I got a 95 in Algebra 2, they would let me skip trig and move me to pre-calc, but ended with a 93 in Algebra 2 so i couldn’t.
That is strange…most schools go Alg 1, Geo, Alg2, pre-calc.
If you look at the Tulane Undergraduate program it says freshman will be taking Calculus.
https://architecture.tulane.edu/sites/default/files/barch_curriculum_2018.pdf
I would take Pre-calc over the summer and let colleges know you plan to do that.
It is late to be asking this question—all the schools you listed recommend pre-calc in high school (some recommend calc). Because we don’t know the rest of your grades/test scores/portfolio contents/etc., no one can say whether, or to what degree, the lack of pre-calc will matter.
I agree with bopper to take pre-calc over the summer, but it is late to be telling the AOs that (but I still would do it).
Have you applied/been accepted to other schools?
Back in the stone age when I went to high school, trigonometry was the normal 12th grade class, and calculus was the first class in college. I hadn’t heard of pre-calculus until my own kid went to high school.
You need to ask each of the places that you applied to about trig vs pre-calc. The people managing those programs are the only ones who can answer your question with accuracy. How much calculus does each program require? What knowledge does the calculus class (or first calculus class) presume? Would you be specifically advised to take a pre-calculus class (and if so, where), or would learning the material on your own with KhanAcademy.org PatrickJMT.com and other online resources or textbooks be good enough?
@Mwfan1921 I’ve applied regular decision to all my schools, so I won’t be finding out until late March.
Have you applied to other schools than the ones on your list, including a safety or two? Again, I don’t know all your stats, portfolio, etc.—but you may have no safeties on that list.
@Mwfan1921 Syracuse and Drexel are my safeties the rest are all reach schools. I got a 1410 on the sat, 720 math 690 english, and a 3.93 weighed. My school doesn’t do unweighted gpa but its probably a 3.75. My portfolio is all the work I did in AP Art Portfolio and my teachers say its great. I did take both AP micro and macro economics, which might show my quantitative reasoning. Also, i’ve checked all of my schools and they all have some sort of entry level calculus or pre-calc class
Seems like your high school has a substandard math department. The normal high school course after algebra 2 is precalculus with trigonometry (some high schools move trigonometry into algebra 2), so that the student is ready for calculus afterward.
At the end of the school year, try the quiz in reply #1 to see if you need to self study any missing topics you need before taking calculus.
I think that I am more concerned about your being ready to take calculus as a freshman in university, rather than your admissions. Being well prepared for calculus is important. I was well prepared and found calculus at university to be easy. I keep hearing of people who are not well prepared for it, and find it to be very difficult.
At least based on my memory, calculus is at least as much based on trigonometry as it is on precalculus. Also, to me trigonometry was harder. As such, taking trigonometry as a regular course in high school is highly desirable. Try to do well in it. You will use this again.
By the way, when I was in high school we didn’t have anything that we called “precalculus”. We had algebra, algebra 2, geometry, trigonometry, and what we called intermediate algebra. What we called intermediate algebra had quite a bit of proofs and derivations and quite a bit of limits. If you are good at this stuff, then you might be fine with calculus once you are done with trigonometry.
I think that taking precalculus over the summer after your senior year is a good idea. This might not help you with university admissions, but it will help you with being ready to do well in university. However, you might want to first read up on what is covered in precalculus, and try to figure out if you are already good with all of it.
Hmmm that’s kind of odd. At our school:
“High Honors” Track: Geometry, Alegbra 2 & College Trig, Precalc & Discrete Math, AP Calculus BC
College Prep Track: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Precalc
Though to be honest, if you can do well on the ACT Math section and the SAT2 MATH II, I’d say you’re ready for the college calculus.
I think your school has an odd math track, but there’s nothing you can do about it now. In retrospect you might have fought harder to get on the slightly more advanced track, or had your GC explain that the school forced you into a less advanced track. You’ve got a good SAT math score, so that’s a plus. I think you’ll have choices in a couple of weeks. Hang in there.