Which class is best to take senior year considering my future?

Question

I will be a senior in high school starting next week. I have an option to take the highest level math my school offers (a combination of functions, statistics, and trigonometry), or to take Elementary Statistics from a college about 20 miles away. After high school I would like to get into a good private college to study business/finance. Which class would help me in the long run and what reasoning is behind your choice?

Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

Take the one which will land you a higher grade. It might be tempting to look at the college class, but in the long run not so important. If it were a couple miles away I might recommend the college class, but 20 miles is definitely a drive. Let's not forget the space you would need for the commute. And if you want to study business/finance, you have the math background already, so just take it nice and easy focus on the college apps and the formals. Enjoy senior year.

Answer 2

What kind of college are you thinking about taking the Statistics course in?  If it is a community college, you might not be able to transfer the credits to a private, selective college.  They are often fussy since most of the people who go to community colleges are there because they have some issue that prevented them from going to a 4 year college (money, lack of prerequisites, poor grades, to name a few)

That said, is your high school math class an honors or AP course?  Is it the highest possible math class you can take?  If so, stay with it.  When you apply to college, your guidance counselor will include a school profile with the application; the profile discusses the kinds of courses available to you so the college can see that you have taken the most rigorous courses available.

If the college you are thinking of taking the statistics course at is a private college, your ultimate college might take the credit.  Talk to your GC, and call the admissions office at the college you would like to attend and ask if they would accept the credit.  If they do accept it, then take the college course

Answer 3

I attended a private school with very little math background and seemed to struggle when introduced to statistics. I studied finance too. I would say that I did not have a lot of math options in my program for business classes. If it were me I would stay at school and get at least some sort of introduction to statistics, because you will have a lot more distractions when you get to the next level. I can attest that statistics is one subject that will need your total attention. With the gas prices as high as they are I would not want to be driving more than needed.

Good luck.

Answer 4

If you've already studies functions and trig then the Elementary Statistics. Why relearn what you already know? If you don't, then I say go for your high school class. Functions and trig are pretty important. I would say that actually learning relevant things would be a benefit mentally and academically. Colleges look at the subjects you've mastered (the college course is more impressive, but any AP class would do the same thing).