The UCB L&S requirements for biological and physical science can be satisfied by courses for non majors that do not require calculus or higher math. There is also a quantitative reasoning requirement, but AP credit can fulfill that.
For Cornell, the courses that can fulfill its MQR requirement include those that are not that advanced and which are varied in math-related content (CS, music, philosophy, statistics, etc).
If you want a college with higher level math requirements for all majors, there are colleges like MIT, Caltech, Harvey Mudd.
So appreciate all the input, thank you! I wasn’t even thinking about the long term, so reading all the replies makes me think this is more complicated than I thought.
I have always just followed the school’s recommendations but like @dreambig55 has experienced, too often he’s sent off to another school or stuck in the library somewhere and so I was looking at this more from a social point of view. The high school has a number of kids taking multivariable calc as seniors and I thought it would be nice for him to be with friends.
So I guess here are my questions:
I heard/read that while colleges give you credit for BC Calc or multi-variable calc, they would still want you to take their course. So that’s not true? @homerdog sounds like your son did not have to repeat anything.
@momofsenior1 also brings up a point that I hadn’t known about, that it would be a drop in rigor if he took AP Stats his senior year. I had not even thought about that! I was hoping to get it in earlier because it’s so useful to have a good understanding of statistics when reading critically and because it would bring him in line to take his classes with kids in his grade. Would it really be viewed as a step down if he takes it his senior year? I had not thought about it in context of college admissions, since that seems so far off.
And yes, he probably won’t major in math or engineeering, but a friend who teaches at the college level said he should always have those math skills in his back pocket if he’s interested in economics or political science. Apparently, the math courses that are required for kids interested in econ sometimes weeds them out. I’d hate for him to limit his options.
Thank you again, everyone, for the insights. You all know so much!
So, no, S19 did not repeat any calc. He did not receive “credit” but was just placed into the next logical class for a math major at Bowdoin which is Linear Algebra. If he wasn’t considering being a math major, they still would have required one “quantitative” class but that didn’t have to be calc. It could be stats. Many, many kids do not take calc there for that requirement.
If your S does not see himself as a math or engineering major, then he most likely will either (1) get credit for his BC test and not be required to take any math or (2) have to take one math class in college to fulfill a requirement. If he’s an econ major, there will be specific math classes he will take in that major.
S19’s friends at Cornell and Vanderbilt who are considering math as a major could have started in LA as well but they chose to repeat MV. Those schools allowed that. I think those boys chose to do that to kind of ease into math in college since they already took it in high school. S19 was not allowed to repeat. The math department chair thought he was ready to move on in the math major sequence after seeing his score on a Bowdoin math placement test that all students take. Not all schools give math placement tests though.
I think you’re overthinking this. Just have him take AP Stats. It’s not going to look bad. We know kids who didn’t even do multivariable. Chose to do BC and then AP Stats. And those two kids got into Ivies.
“And yes, he probably won’t major in math or engineeering, but a friend who teaches at the college level said he should always have those math skills in his back pocket if he’s interested in economics or political science. Apparently, the math courses that are required for kids interested in econ sometimes weeds them out. I’d hate for him to limit his options.”
I think you’re misunderstanding. If your S wants to be an econ major, then he will just take the math classes he needs when he gets to college for that major. Taking BC, then MV, and then AP Stats doesn’t limit him in any way at all. These are the classes he will take in high school. He’s obviously a strong math student. When he gets to college, he will take whatever quantitative classes are needed for his major.
Many posters on these forums encourage unconditionally repeating AP credit even when the college allows advanced placement for it (I do not agree). If there is any concern, the student can try the old final exams from the college’s course to check his/her knowledge.
In terms of what colleges want, each college’s policies on AP credit bcan be found on its web site. Note that colleges may have difficult score thresholds for advanced placement (or different scores may give different advanced placement).
Multivariable calculus that is a high school (not dual enrollment or college) course may not be readily accepted for credit or placement, although some math departments may allow credit or placement by exam.
You don’t need MV in high school to be an Econ major. Of course, it doesn’t hurt, but it is unnecessary. FWIW, my daughter who is an Econ major took precalc during her senior year in high school. Her first exposure to any calculus at all was in college.
And to add, she is graduating summa cum laude in the spring, and has already accepted a great job offer. IMO, people on this site give way too much importance to accelerating math in high school.
Really, anything your son takes will be fine. He will be ahead of most when he gets to college.
The issue with Econ and math is normally when a student decides that they want to go to grad school. The math requirement to graduate is normally much less then what it takes to be a competitive grad school candidate.