According to U.S. News and World Report, a high percentage of high school students are not prepared for college. If this is the case, then more money will need to be spent on remedial courses. The student will also feel left behind by their peers. Instead, to ensure college success, students must use all four years of high school as college prep.
Also, they need to focus on the most important courses to excel at, which are college preparatory mathematics. The objective should be to start planning in the 9th grade–some start in the 8th grade. That might sound a bit too soon, but four years will fly by in an instant.
It’s crucial to push yourselves in the 9th and 10th grades–don’t wait until the junior and senior years. This is how you build up your college resume. If you wait until your junior year, it can be too late. In fact, the sophomore year of high school is when students should start exploring various career options by attending college and career fairs. It is never too early to visit a college and to get the college prep experience. Being there, and, being in an environment that simulates the college world, will start to put things in perspective.
They can see the visual side of their dreams. Then, the junior year should be used to look for summer jobs and internships in the fields of interest. If you’re interested in working in the legal field, you might start by working in the mail room of a law firm.
The junior year is also the time to take the ACT and SAT. Then, the senior year should be spent visiting campuses and determining your top college choices. As you can see, time flies quickly. And to do all this, it helps to have a strong mathematics foundation.
Math Majors have Great Starting Salaries
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average starting salary for a math major is around $44,299. Also, students who excelled in math have the highest test scores for exams such as the LSAT and the GMAT.
Not to mention, CareerCast found that job holders of mathematics-based careers reported the highest level of job satisfaction–beating out careers in law, engineering, medicine, and finance. Perhaps because a career in mathematics can be quite rewarding. There are rarely any grey lines, just pure math.
You Gain a Greater Understanding of the World Around you
Whether you like math or not, it is all around you. Once you get into college, you will need to learn how to budget efficiently–and, that requires math. The same is true once you have a career–you will need to budget for food, rent/mortgage, insurance, car payment/ride sharing, clothing, medical expenses, utility bills, entertainment, and more.
You can’t just expect money to pop out of thin air whenever you need it; it has to be set aside for specific needs. Also, if you are good at math, you become a better shopper. You understand when a shopping deal makes sense and when it doesn’t. As a result, you save more money.
A solid foundation in math helps you to become a better negotiator with your salary when purchasing a house, when buying a car, or for anything else. These are all major life purchases that should not be taken lightly. And, it’s difficult to get over buyer’s remorse when a major purchase is involved.
In Conclusion
Not only does math help with college success, but it helps to ensure career and life success too. The time to start studying math is now.
