What math courses should I take in high school to prepare for a business degree? (2024)

FAQs

What math courses should I take in high school to prepare for a business degree? ›

For a business degree, admissions officers are typically looking for students with a strong foundation in math. A solid understanding of Algebra and Geometry is a must, but beyond that, I would highly recommend you take courses in both Calculus and Statistics.

Business majors who wish to focus on finance careers will need a strong calculus background. Knowledge of statistics and probability are also vital for finance careers, and figure prominently in the marketing field too. Algebra and geometry round out the list of college math skills business majors should have.

Because calculus and statistics are required courses by many business schools for their majors, I recommend AP Precalculus, AP Calculus BC, and AP Statistics (in that order).

Calculus is used in many different types of business functions. In addition to understanding costs, calculus helps business professionals to minimize spending while maximizing profits through calculating rates in change.

Strong mathematical foundations are required for economics in business administration. For cost analysis, budgeting, and financial modeling, fundamental algebra and math skills are required. Calculus and statistics are useful for examining demand-supply dynamics, market trends, and optimization.

Yes, precalculus is necessary if you are majoring in business that has a calculus requirement. If you look at business majors, some require both calculus courses and statistics that use calculus courses.

But math is just one part of the business administration curriculum, and depending on your concentration, your degree may not be as math-heavy as you think. Although mathematical concepts are woven into many business administration curriculums, there's much more to getting a business degree than that.

It's normal to have these thoughts and it's good to ask these kind of questions before you get into it. Believe it or not, mastery of advanced math skills is not necessary to have a career in finance. With today's technology, all math-related tasks can be done by computers and calculators.

Which Business Degrees Require the Least Math? Less math is often required for degrees in marketing, management, and human resources than for degrees in finance or accounting. These disciplines have a strong emphasis on communication, planning, and organizational behavior and provide different business career paths.

How to prepare for a business degree? ›

The 10 schools where getting in was hardest in fall 2020 are scattered across the U.S., with four in California, two in New York, one in Pennsylvania, one in Arizona, one in Massachusetts and another in North Carolina. Six of the 10 schools are private, while four are public.

She points out that more than half of small business owners are not college graduates, so future entrepreneurs need to learn how to run a business somewhere. Introducing high school CTE business classes is a great start, she says, especially for minorities who make up about 20 percent of small business owners.

It plays a major part in every business . For example, an algebraic formula can be used by a manager to figure out profits for their business. Algebra is also used to determine how much should be charged for products and services.

You can expect to take several math classes like accounting, calculus, and business math. These courses establish a foundation for finance courses that cover valuation, investing, international banking and finance, econometrics, and buyouts and acquisitions.

In terms of the difficulty of mathematical requirements, a business administration degree indeed requires students to engage with mathematical concepts. However, compared to the math used in disciplines like engineering or physics, this math is typically not as difficult.

Some pure math classes are essential, classes on statistics will also prove very valuable, and of course you will need to be able to do some basic algebra. There are some business management courses that also require knowledge of calculus from their students, but not all of them do.