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Math Requirements for College Admission

Written by Sally Rubenstone | June 10, 2003

Question: Many colleges require three years of math for admission. I took algebra before freshman year, geometry freshman year, and algebra II sophomore year. Do I have to take one more year of math (pre-cal) to be admitted to colleges?

Unless you are applying to a college (or program within a college of university) with a math or science focus, you'll find that there are rarely rigid requirements, only â€œrecommendations,â€ and your algebra, even if taken before 9th grade, should â€œcountâ€ toward these. Just make sure that it appears on your high school transcript. It should, even if you took it at a different school, not the high school you currently attend. If not, ask your guidance counselor to add it.

While itâ€™s not imperative that you continue your math career beyond algebra II, if you are applying to the most competitive colleges, itâ€™s not going to be to your benefit to stop your math with sophomore algebra II. Youâ€™ll be up against other candidates whoâ€"even if not aspiring math majors, scientists, or engineersâ€"have taken AP calculus.

If, however, you have taken some challenging science courses in your junior and senior years, elite-college admission officials will be more likely to overlook your math deficiency. Less competitive places should be satisfied with what you have accomplished so far.

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.