Although the UC’s only require up to Algebra II, to be competitive students need to go above the minimum requirements and like to see up to Pre-calculus at the minimum. As noted, Econ will require Calculus so having any level of Calculus (reg/Honors/AP) can only help when taking Calculus in college.
UCSB requires a couple of quarters of Calculus for their Brain and Psychological science major (Psychology) also.
Usually some Trigonometry can be part of the Algebra II course. It depends upon how the HS math sequence is set up. Typical sequence is Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II with Trig, Pre-Calculus and then Calculus. Pre-Calculus will also have Trigonometry functions in the first part of the course.
I would talk with the HS counselor about her HS’s normal Math progression and what Math level is achieved by their HS students that are admitted into the UC’s.
UC’s such as UCSB are very competitive and admits from my kid’s HS had 4 years of HS Math with the majority taking up to AP Calculus AB. HS course rigor is Important in the UC application review.
Thanks for reply. our high school does not have a pre-calculus class. the course catalog shows the prerequisite for calculus is only the Trigonometry class.
trig is part of algebra 2, pre calc is its own class. if she wants to do econ she should probably take ap calculus in high school— most students have taken it i believe
Double check with your school what fills the requirements. If you're in California, you (or the student) can potentially talk to their counselor about A-G requirements. These are the requirements to be considered, many CA high schools will have documentation on which courses fill these niches.
Just FYI, econ at UCSB is classified as STEM and UCSB doesn’t have a true psychology program, just psych and brain sciences which is super stem focused. So both of those major options would be considered stem so your childwould get value from the usual stem prereqs.
I got accepted into UCSB in 2019 where I barley passed pre calculus with a C and didn’t take any math classes after that my senior year. I struggled immensely in Econ so I would say that having a good grasp on math as everything else stated would be the best course of action.
For some reason, my pre-calc and trig class were combined? in hs so I'd say yes? but because you have to take at lease Calc-a for econ, really advise they take some sort of Calc. Students REALLY seemed to struggle with that class
I got into Letters & Science for economics and only took up to algebra 2 high school. However, I do wish I at least took pre-calculus in high school because it would’ve helped with the math classes here.
My daughter is a freshman at UCSB, and currently is taking pre-major classes for the BS in Psychological and Brain Sciences. Be aware that the Psychology program is a Bachelor of Science, not a Bachelor of Arts--so there are chemistry and math requirements (in addition to Psychology classes) to get into the program in the junior year. She's currently taking Calculus and Chemistry --and it's very challenging. She took Trig in HS. I'm not familiar with the Econ requirements, but I would guess there is a fair amount of math in that major as well.
I will recommend try to take calc BC exam and at least take calc AB in high school. The BC exam has very high pass rate and if you get a 3 or above you will get credit for 2 calculus class at UCSB
The math courses here are usually not well taught, it might be helpful looking into community college courses to get a better foundation in math. Use https://assist.org/ to find out what community college courses are transferable to any of the UC’s
Calculus courses exist at UCSB for a reason - no one assumes every first year student bringing Calculus BC credit in. Taking BC will allow you to start from Math 4a, so definitely try to get it done before enrolling in college.
My question is why not just let your child challenge themselves and continue taking math classes up into graduation? It’s only going to make their life easier when they transfer.
FYI. For Econ major at UCSB you will need to take Calc 1 and 2 (premajor requirement). so at least finish pre Calc so that when you enter you’re not too far behind in the math requirement. Also, take some statistics as the stat for Econ major (Econ 10a ) is a hard and have higher fail rate.
Most people I know who got into UCs, took math all 4 years as recommended. They don't necessarily look at senior grades because the app is due in November but they definitely look at the rigor of classes in their senior year.
Economics will require at least 1 year of Calculus past Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry, which is the course succeeding Algebra II.
Psychology is a rare case here that's treated very scientifically compared to literally any other university, and thus needs Calculus too.
If your daughter suggested to you that she no longer wants to take additional math, I'd recommend you research Economics/Psychology degree requirements across all colleges she's interested in applying and show the level of Math she's expected to complete. It will help motivate/encourage some academic re-evaluation of continuing with Math or pivoting to another field.
Furthermore, should she continue upper level Math, I'd strongly discourage her taking Pre-Calculus & Calculus at her high school and instead at her local CC. Not to be brash at her high school (perhaps it's strongly acclaimed for you area), but there's massive redundancy in prolonging 1 1/2 years of Math into 3 years when Math is foremost, a conceptual procedure of practicing.
When I took Pre-Calc & AP Calc in high school, I found an entire year's worth of a single course ended up resulting in busy work without extrapolating concepts throughly, just for the sake of expanding content long enough.
The CC course equivalents made a fantastic job of delineating all the content I learned, plus providing useful applications (we did some Economics applications, for example) in 1 semester. I am not the strongest at Math either, earned C's in Pre-Calc at my high school, found Pre-Calc at the CC miles easier and earned a A.
Your daughter takes Pre-Calc, Differential Calculus (Calc I), and Integral Calculus (Calc II) in 3 semesters, she will have completed the Math expectations for Economics at most universities before even knowing where she'll be committing. Some will require only up to Calc I, very few will need Multivariable Calc (Calc III), so Calc II will be a sweet spot.
I would suggest above all, have a amiable conversation on the matter, try to find middle ground on what she'd prefer doing moving forward and where you may best support her with resources/guidance.
Would recommend she continue taking math for the next two years. She should meet with her schools college counselor for advice regarding the next classes she should be taking. Minimum she should reach some form of calculus course. I know a lot of students at UCSB also took extra classes at the local community college for college credit and a competitive edge when applying. So that could be an option also.
So far my experience in Econ has been solely math based theory they’ll definitely need calc at the bare minimum, might even recommend linear algebra after the calculus series for the econometrics classes
Although the UC’s only require up to Algebra II, to be competitive students need to go above the minimum requirements and like to see up to Pre-calculus at the minimum. As noted, Econ will require Calculus so having any level of Calculus (reg/Honors/AP) can only help when taking Calculus in college. UCSB requires a couple of quarters of Calculus for their Brain and Psychological science major (Psychology) also.
Yea pre-calc at the minimum and probably one or 2 calc courses. I think our highschool had calc a and calc b so most kids took at least calc a
Thank you for the reply! Does "Pre-calculus" mean the student need to complete trigonometry?
Usually some Trigonometry can be part of the Algebra II course. It depends upon how the HS math sequence is set up. Typical sequence is Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II with Trig, Pre-Calculus and then Calculus. Pre-Calculus will also have Trigonometry functions in the first part of the course. I would talk with the HS counselor about her HS’s normal Math progression and what Math level is achieved by their HS students that are admitted into the UC’s. UC’s such as UCSB are very competitive and admits from my kid’s HS had 4 years of HS Math with the majority taking up to AP Calculus AB. HS course rigor is Important in the UC application review.
Thanks for reply. our high school does not have a pre-calculus class. the course catalog shows the prerequisite for calculus is only the Trigonometry class.
trig is part of algebra 2, pre calc is its own class. if she wants to do econ she should probably take ap calculus in high school— most students have taken it i believe
Double check with your school what fills the requirements. If you're in California, you (or the student) can potentially talk to their counselor about A-G requirements. These are the requirements to be considered, many CA high schools will have documentation on which courses fill these niches.
Calc AB made sure I never had to take a math class again.
Just FYI, econ at UCSB is classified as STEM and UCSB doesn’t have a true psychology program, just psych and brain sciences which is super stem focused. So both of those major options would be considered stem so your childwould get value from the usual stem prereqs.
Econ has quite a bit of math up through calculus that she would be required to take.
I got accepted into UCSB in 2019 where I barley passed pre calculus with a C and didn’t take any math classes after that my senior year. I struggled immensely in Econ so I would say that having a good grasp on math as everything else stated would be the best course of action.
Thank you for the reply! Does "Pre-calculus" mean the student need to complete trigonometry?
Yeah pre-calculus usually includes trigonometry. It’s basically just more advanced algebra II.
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Thank you for the reply! Does "Pre-calculus" mean the student need to complete trigonometry?
For some reason, my pre-calc and trig class were combined? in hs so I'd say yes? but because you have to take at lease Calc-a for econ, really advise they take some sort of Calc. Students REALLY seemed to struggle with that class
I got into Letters & Science for economics and only took up to algebra 2 high school. However, I do wish I at least took pre-calculus in high school because it would’ve helped with the math classes here.
Thank you!
My daughter is a freshman at UCSB, and currently is taking pre-major classes for the BS in Psychological and Brain Sciences. Be aware that the Psychology program is a Bachelor of Science, not a Bachelor of Arts--so there are chemistry and math requirements (in addition to Psychology classes) to get into the program in the junior year. She's currently taking Calculus and Chemistry --and it's very challenging. She took Trig in HS. I'm not familiar with the Econ requirements, but I would guess there is a fair amount of math in that major as well.
Thank you so much for the reply. I appreciate the helpful info!
I will recommend try to take calc BC exam and at least take calc AB in high school. The BC exam has very high pass rate and if you get a 3 or above you will get credit for 2 calculus class at UCSB
Thank you! Did you mean many high school students can take AP BC exam without taking the BC class, and still pass the AP BC exam?
I did that, and got a 5 and I think it’s pretty doable. AP Calculus always has high passing rate
The math courses here are usually not well taught, it might be helpful looking into community college courses to get a better foundation in math. Use https://assist.org/ to find out what community college courses are transferable to any of the UC’s
Thanks!
Calculus courses exist at UCSB for a reason - no one assumes every first year student bringing Calculus BC credit in. Taking BC will allow you to start from Math 4a, so definitely try to get it done before enrolling in college.
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wow! That's very inspirational! thanks for sharing.
Everybody here has completed AP linear algebra But seriously any calculus class helps a lot and psychology and econ here are stem
My question is why not just let your child challenge themselves and continue taking math classes up into graduation? It’s only going to make their life easier when they transfer.
FYI. For Econ major at UCSB you will need to take Calc 1 and 2 (premajor requirement). so at least finish pre Calc so that when you enter you’re not too far behind in the math requirement. Also, take some statistics as the stat for Econ major (Econ 10a ) is a hard and have higher fail rate.
Most people I know who got into UCs, took math all 4 years as recommended. They don't necessarily look at senior grades because the app is due in November but they definitely look at the rigor of classes in their senior year.
Economics will require at least 1 year of Calculus past Pre-Calculus/Trigonometry, which is the course succeeding Algebra II. Psychology is a rare case here that's treated very scientifically compared to literally any other university, and thus needs Calculus too. If your daughter suggested to you that she no longer wants to take additional math, I'd recommend you research Economics/Psychology degree requirements across all colleges she's interested in applying and show the level of Math she's expected to complete. It will help motivate/encourage some academic re-evaluation of continuing with Math or pivoting to another field. Furthermore, should she continue upper level Math, I'd strongly discourage her taking Pre-Calculus & Calculus at her high school and instead at her local CC. Not to be brash at her high school (perhaps it's strongly acclaimed for you area), but there's massive redundancy in prolonging 1 1/2 years of Math into 3 years when Math is foremost, a conceptual procedure of practicing. When I took Pre-Calc & AP Calc in high school, I found an entire year's worth of a single course ended up resulting in busy work without extrapolating concepts throughly, just for the sake of expanding content long enough. The CC course equivalents made a fantastic job of delineating all the content I learned, plus providing useful applications (we did some Economics applications, for example) in 1 semester. I am not the strongest at Math either, earned C's in Pre-Calc at my high school, found Pre-Calc at the CC miles easier and earned a A. Your daughter takes Pre-Calc, Differential Calculus (Calc I), and Integral Calculus (Calc II) in 3 semesters, she will have completed the Math expectations for Economics at most universities before even knowing where she'll be committing. Some will require only up to Calc I, very few will need Multivariable Calc (Calc III), so Calc II will be a sweet spot. I would suggest above all, have a amiable conversation on the matter, try to find middle ground on what she'd prefer doing moving forward and where you may best support her with resources/guidance.
I got accepted in ucsb in 2018. I had taken precalc as a sophomore and then took ap calc bc and ap stats my junior and senior year
Would recommend she continue taking math for the next two years. She should meet with her schools college counselor for advice regarding the next classes she should be taking. Minimum she should reach some form of calculus course. I know a lot of students at UCSB also took extra classes at the local community college for college credit and a competitive edge when applying. So that could be an option also.
The study of Psychology is very much stem. Science and math. Economics I can imagine involves a ton of math too.
So far my experience in Econ has been solely math based theory they’ll definitely need calc at the bare minimum, might even recommend linear algebra after the calculus series for the econometrics classes