I tried searching to see if this has been asked & answered, but I couldn’t find anything.
My daughter is a current sophomore, at a Massachusetts private school that offers the IB diploma. The summer before freshmen year, she took the school’s math placement exam and “tested out” of geometry. This was great! She could move directly to Algebra 2, and then take Functions her sophomore year, which the school has as a prerequisite to HL Math AA. So that is her planned curriculum.
Now, she is starting to build her college list as we work out plans to visit schools… She has UCs pretty high on her list.
She noticed that the UCs have a geometry requirement. I see the website mentions “integrated math course” as an alternative if enough geometry is covered; I don’t think her Functions class would fit that bill though. The course description is: students investigate the properties of polynomial, rational, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions; develop techniques for combining functions; broaden understanding of rates of change; and develop facility in applying these concepts and skills.
I also see 7th and 8th grade courses could satisfy the requirement if her high school deems them equivalent to its own course. I’m not sure if testing out on the placement exam is really the same as “deemed equivalent”.
I have emailed her school’s college counselor to ask for their input, but in the meantime thought I’d seek feedback here as well. I think we may need to sign her up for an supplemental geometry course online to address this.
My questions:
Have I interpreted the requirements correctly?
If she does need to do a supplemental course, we will want to do it over summer/breaks. She begins her 2 years of full IB next year so I don’t want her to be tackling an additional math course at the same time. Does anyone have experience with this and could recommend an online option?
I would email AskUC – Admissions (Undergraduate) with University of California, Office of the President at AskUC@ucop.edu regarding this specific question.
The response time may be delayed several weeks during peak times, but they do respond. (I had questions re: Language Other Than English validation requirements and they responded.)
Edited to clarify “Language Other Than English” related to validation requirements
I agree with @pathandpurpose to email UC admissions and provide a syllabus for the Functions course. It may fulfill the Geometry requirement which is a Hard requirement for the UC’s. Better to know now and allow time find an alternate course in case the Functions course does not meet the Geometry requirement.
Assuming that she did take geometry in 8th (or 7th) grade, that seems to be the more likely way to fulfill the geometry requirement (but ask UC directly to be sure).
The functions course description looks like a precalculus with trigonometry course, not a geometry course.
Unless she is a CA resident, I’d recommend dropping the UC’s way down on the list. Why pay the OOS fees, when for a few dollars more, she could attend an excellent private college?
Agree with @bluebayou. The UC’s target OOS for the OOS fees. (Right now, the state deficit is huge {billions} and Newsome said that they will be cutting some jobs this coming term.)
These are large, public universities and many are on the quarter system. Many of the students in California are on similar quarter systems and, when they matriculate, they are used to the system and adjust quickly to their syllabus schedules. Ten weeks per course.
Also, if your daughter has not already considered the UC’s, “F” requirement (A-G academic admissions requirements for HS students), she needs to be aware that she will be required to take a graded course in Visual and Performing arts. It can’t be dance one semester and then painting the next semester. It has to be in the same discipline for one year, with an academic grade (tests, essays, etc.)
Most CA students just take the AP Art History course because they get the AP credit, and it meets the “F” requirement. Out of State students are typically running around, end of junior year, or senior year, trying to figure out if they will be able to meet the requirement.
The UC’s are very competitive in most of the 9 campuses, so, she should expect large entry level classes (300-500 students in freshman courses is not unusual).
We are in MA, I’d love for my daughter to go to our state flagship but she’s really excited about getting to the west coast. She’s looking at private colleges too (Santa Clara is one that’s on her list). We are still exploring! Maybe she’ll decide to stay closer to home in the end; she’s just finishing up sophomore year. I just don’t want her to be foreclosed from something she’s interested in by a technicality.
She has the arts requirement met I think. Her high school does trimesters, and she’s done design and color, drawing, animation, and painting-all graded courses that each lasted one trimester, adds up to 1.3 years.
This is what trips up the out-of-state students. One year of the same course.
So if the course is labeled in trimesters then she takes:
“Drawing and painting 1” then she must take it for the full year.
Drawing and painting 2, and
Drawing and painting 3
F) Visual and performing arts
UC-approved high school courses
One yearlong course of visual and performing arts chosen from the following disciplines: dance, music, theater, visual arts or interdisciplinary arts — or two one-semester courses from the same discipline is also acceptable.
They are very strict about this requirement, so she can either take a test that’s approved by the UC’s, or she can choose the discipline that she will stay in for at least another two trimesters. Or she can take a community college course. @Gumbymom may know other ways to complete the requirement.
Other ways to fulfill the Visual/Performing arts requirement if anyone else is interested.
AP or IB Examination
Score of 3, 4 or 5 on the AP Art History, Art and Design (2-D Art and Design, 3-D Art and Design or Drawing) Music Theory exam; score of 5, 6 or 7 on any one IB HL exam in Dance, Film, Music, Theatre Arts or Visual Arts
College courses
Grade of C or better in any transferable course of 3 semester (4 quarter) units that clearly falls within one of four visual/performing arts disciplines: dance, drama/theater, music or visual art
It says, “One yearlong course of visual and performing arts chosen from the following disciplines: dance, music, theater, visual arts or interdisciplinary arts — or two one-semester courses from the same discipline is also acceptable.”
All 4 of the courses she took are in the same discipline, visual arts.
I will email the ask-uc people again though with this new question.
I’ve verified it with UC in the past. It can be a trimester of painting, a trimester of sculpture, and a trimester of hot glass. They are all visual arts. It does not have to be 3 trimesters of the same visual art medium. Similarly, it can be a trimester of acting, a trimester of directing, and a trimester of stage design; it doesn’t have to be Acting 1, 2, and 3.
What it can’t be is a trimester of photography, a trimester of acting, and a trimester of music theory.
