The classes you take in high school matter when you apply to college. Indeed, one of the first things admissions officers look at when evaluating your application are the courses you took and how you did in them. This makes sense; admissions officers need to be sure you’re academically qualified for the work you’ll be asked to do once you arrive.
We’ve discussed the best classes to take before, but recent research has made this point even more clearly. A has revealed that calculus alone acts as a major gate for college admissions: students who do not take calculus in high school have admissions chances 16.4% lower than their peers who do.
This is a remarkable claim, and has serious implications for high school students who are considering applying to college. In this article, we’re going to look at what this paper is actually saying, and what it means for you, especially if you’re at a high school which doesn’t offer calculus.
What Does the Paper Say ³Ô¹Ï¹ÙÍø Calculus and Admissions?
The author of the paper sought out to determine two different but related points:
- Whether or not calculus specifically mattered for admissions decisions for STEM majors, and if not taking calculus would hurt a student’s chance of acceptance.
- Whether or not any effect calculus has was more pronounced among Asian applicants.
In order to test this, they submitted simulated applications to a large number of current and former admissions officers who agreed to take part in the study. These applications varied in three ways:Ìý
- Whether the applicants took calculus in high school, or if they did not because it wasn’t offered.
- Whether the applicant was white or Asian American.
- Whether the applicant submitted SAT scores.Ìý
Now, top colleges look at more aspects than this when making an admissions decision; the other aspects of the application were varied to make sure they were in line with what the target university would expect. The admissions officers then judged whether or not the student’s academic profile (and only the academic profile), would cause them to offer the student acceptance, waitlisting, or rejection. All of the applicants were noted as applying for undecided engineering majors, again for consistency.Ìý
The author of the study admits that this experiment is limited compared to real world data; many things are factored into an admissions decision besides academic readiness. That said, the importance of academic readiness for top institutions is well known, and this does serve as a good proxy to test how these specific variables can impact how a student is viewed and weighed.
The main finding of the study was that students who did not take calculus, despite taking all other math and science courses at their school and their school not offering calculus, were 16.4% less likely to be admitted to any given college. The study found no difference between white and Asian applicants in this; both groups were equally penalized for a failure to take calculus.
Interestingly, the study found that this held true regardless of who the admissions officer was or where they worked. At both highly competitive schools and ones with higher admission rates, calculus was a major point of consideration when deciding whether to admit a student.
What Does This Paper Mean for You?
The paper spells it out quite clearly in its own conclusions, and the data is clear to anyone who reads it. If you want to be a competitive applicant for a STEM major, then you need to take calculus in high school. It doesn’t matter who you are or which school you’re applying to; calculus is simply something that all students are expected to have, and you will be penalized if you don’t.
On some level this makes sense. Every STEM degree requires at least some knowledge of calculus; it is a baseline of math competency you need to have in order to actually do the work in most of these fields. You can take calculus at college, but it will make schedules tighter, and put off your entry into other required courses for your degree. Colleges want to be sure students are on track to graduate in four years, which means that they want to limit the amount of catch-up students have to do.
The most surprising part of the findings is that this impact is so severe when the study specifically looks at students who were unable to take calculus because their schools don’t offer it. One thing many colleges say is that you won’t be penalized for not taking courses that aren’t available to you; this data shows that that isn’t necessarily true.
Now, this is simulated data rather than looking at actual applicants, but the implications are still quite clear. The issue that arises for many students is that not all high schools offer calculus; indeed, around half the high schools in the US simply don’t have calculus as a course available to students.
If your high school does offer calculus, and you intend on majoring in a STEM field, you should take it. Even if you don’t intend to major in STEM, calculus is heavily used in the social sciences as well; it may not hurt your chances as much, but we do advise all students to take calculus if possible. If it isn’t possible, then it may be time to examine other options available to you.
What to do if Your High School Doesn’t Offer Calculus
If your high school doesn’t offer calculus now, there is likely little chance you will be able to change that. Adding a new course is an ordeal, one which takes a long time to resolve at the administrative level. This may be worth advocating for to help future students, but may not be a timely option for you.
In this section we’re going to go through a variety of potential options. Not all of these may be feasible for you, but we hope that amongst them you will find something which will work with your circumstances. We will lay out what each requires, and potential downsides or pitfalls.
Dual Enrollment Courses
When dual enrollment courses first started, it was to offer the most advanced students coursework options beyond what their high school could provide. It has expanded significantly since that point, but this is still a feature for many dual enrollment programs. If your school doesn’t offer calculus, you can see if they have a dual enrollment program.
Now, this program may itself not offer calculus, but getting this added as a dual enrollment course option is going to be much easier for the high school than offering the course natively, and you are more likely to be able to get in as a one-off or exception through a dual enrollment course.
The one potential downside of this option is that these are college-level courses. Especially if this isn’t a standard offering, you will be joining a course full of college students and expected to perform at their level. The instructor is there to help you, but not coddle you, and you will need to be willing to buckle down and work very hard. Calculus is hard in all cases, but here specifically you may end up in over your head.
Online Coursework
There are many websites which offer coursework in calculus, including online high schools, some of which are even run by state governments. The big thing here is making sure whatever courses you find are accredited, and being sure you will earn course credit from them. If the calculus course doesn’t show up on your transcript, then colleges won’t consider it (and may not even know you took it).
Online courses are often asynchronous, and you will submit and complete work on a set schedule, but on your own pace within that schedule. These courses generally have less support available in terms of tutoring and teacher attention than courses in your high school. If you plan on pursuing calculus through primarily online coursework, you will need to be motivated and prepared to learn on your own.
Non-Accredited Online Coursework
Sites like Khan Academy and Coursera, amongst several others, also offer Calculus coursework. This can range from full courses to bite-sized morsels explaining a particular subject. These are a very useful resource, but cannot take the place of a full calculus course.
These courses can teach you all you need to know of the subject of calculus, but they do not show up on a transcript, nor do they offer you credit. Coursera and similar sites can offer documentation of completion, but this is not equivalent, and should not be taken as such. We advise making use of these sites as a supplement to a more regular method for learning calculus.
The AP Test
It is possible to sign up for AP tests without ever having officially taken an AP course. This is an option you can consider if you are taking calculus in a nonstandard way, but doing so will generally not help your admissions chances. AP tests are administered in the Spring, and if you are taking calculus your senior year, as many students do, this will come too late to impact admissions decisions.
This can still be worthwhile in order to earn college credit for your work, or to serve as a placement for college calculus courses. If you are confident of your math skills, and you can afford the registration fee, then taking the AP calculus exam can be beneficial for you.
Changing Schools
The last and most drastic option is to change high schools. We don’t advise this generally; it is logistically difficult, and may not even be possible depending on where you live. Especially if you are already in junior year, then changing schools just for senior year will create more problems than it solves.
If you are just now considering which high schools are best for you, and college is on the distant horizon in your plans, then whether or not a particular high school offers calculus is something you should consider. It shouldn’t be the only thing you factor into your deliberations, but given how impactful calculus has proven to be for college admissions, we strongly advise taking it into account.
Final Thoughts
Each high school has their own distinct course offerings, the ones they think best serve their students. This research suggests that what high schools think is best and what colleges expect may differ however, especially where calculus is concerned. Around half of all US high schools do not offer calculus, and yet in spite of this, colleges very much do expect all students to take it.
We hope that this article has given you insight into what admissions officers expect, and helped you determine what options are available in your own pursuits of higher order math. Colleges can be quite opaque about what they really want from students, but research like this helps elucidate things. If you’re looking for help showing off your strengths to top colleges, or have more questions about what admissions officers want to see, then schedule a free consultation with us today, we’re always happy to hear from you.
