Do elite private colleges have a preference for one over the other?
I'm a rising senior and am deliberating between taking Calculus at UCLA for dual enrollment credit this summer (4 units of college credit and one semester of high school credit) or dropping humanities classes to take AP Calculus BC during the school year, or not taking calculus at all. I like that with the UCLA class receiving college credit is a sure bet unless I totally bomb it. If I score a 5 on the AP exam I'd receive 10 units of credit, and I'd receive 5 units if I score a 4. If I score lower than a 4 on the AP exam, I'd receive no credit according to the AP credit charts for the schools I'm most interested in. I doubt I'd earn a 5 considering the difficulty of the exam and math not being my forte. The other benefit of taking it this summer is that I'll have the final grade before I apply restricted early action in November, whereas if I take it during the school year the decision about whether to admit me will be made prior to the end of the first semester.
I need to make a decision pronto because summer classes start next week. I originally hadn't planned on taking calculus and had already enrolled in two classes at UCLA in subjects I'm passionate about and are more aligned with my academic ambitions for college. I am interested in pursuing international law. I was extremely excited that my school offered new semester-long senior seminar classes for this upcoming school year that relate to international law, and unfortunately AP Calculus is at the same time period. I go to a small private school so many classes are only taught for one period. I'd rather give up one of the UCLA classes to take calculus than both seminars to take AP Calculus at school. I would ONLY be taking calculus because I'm scared I'll be considered less competitive for admission to top colleges if I don't take another advanced math class. In other regards I'm a fairly solid contender - 4.0 uw GPA, good extracurriculars, 2280 the first time I took the SAT. I like calculus about as much as I think I'd like to hug a cactus.
Questions:
1. How necessary in regards to college admission is it to take four full years worth of math if you will not be pursuing engineering or any other major that is heavy on math? I've taken Algebra 2 with Trigonometry Honors (9th grade), Accelerated Precalculus Honors (10th grade) and AP Statistics (11th grade) and made an A in each class. I'm taking AP Physics this year and it will be math-intensive.
2. Will having a high score on the SAT Subject Test in Math 1 and 2 serve as a demonstration of proficiency in math, and serve as a substitute for not taking a fourth year of advanced math? I did very well on Math 1 and will probably take Math 2 this fall.
3. If you were me, would you take the summer calculus class, AP Calculus during the school year, or not worry about taking calculus at all?
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