Navigate Math Choices with Purpose
Calculus has long been seen as a benchmark of college readiness, especially for competitive STEM and business programs. While not always required, its absence on a transcript can raise questions at selective colleges. Yet only half of U.S. high schools offer Calculus, creating an equity gap where opportunity is often mistaken for rigor.
Too often, students without access to strong college counseling are left to explain these gaps on their own. That’s where the challenge deepens: how can families help students succeed in an admissions system that doesn’t always account for context?
At POLARIS Student Athlete Consulting, we guide student athletes through thoughtful course planning that fits both their academic goals and athletic demands. For some, Calculus makes sense. For others, advanced courses like Statistics or Data Science may better align with their intended majors and career interests.
Colleges are beginning to recognize that there’s more than one path to math fluency. They’re asking:
Did the student take the most rigorous options available?
Did their coursework align with their goals?
Did they grow and demonstrate mastery over time?
What This Means for Student Athletes
For student athletes, who often juggle packed schedules, travel, and training, course planning must be both strategic and sustainable. Calculus may be the right choice for some, but not for all. The key is intentionality.
At POLARIS, we help student athletes map out their academic plan across all four years of high school. We align that plan with both college admissions expectations and the realities of their athletic commitments.
We help students:
Understand how math choices align with intended majors and career interests.
Evaluate whether pursuing Calculus is necessary or if a different advanced course better fits their goals.
Frame their course selections thoughtfully in applications so colleges see not just what they took, but why they took it.
Because math success isn’t about checking a box. So whether it’s Calculus, AP Statistics, Data Science, or a dual-enrollment math course that challenges and excites your student, what matters most is that it makes sense in their story. It’s about developing the ability to think critically, solve problems, and apply knowledge with purpose on the field, in the classroom, and beyond.