Dual credit calculus

nothunner

New Member
7+ Year Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Before I begin, I just want to say I'm sorry for posting twice on classes in high school (oops)

Next year (during my junior year), I will be in AP Calculus (no specification on level) which is offered as dual credit and AP. If I take it as dual credit, at the end of the year, I will receive credit for math 251 and 252, which, to my understanding, is the equivalent of calculus one and two. Senior year I'd be in AP Statistics, and I'm fairly confident that I could get at least a 3 on the test.

Would it be wise to take the dual credit?
Would this excuse me from all of my math during college?
Should I take calc 3 at a community college during my senior year?

Members don't see this ad.
 
Would it be wise to take the dual credit?

If you want to, go for it. It's always good to take as many college/dual-enrollment classes while in high school because chances are it will cost you a lot less money now than it will if you actually take it in college. Though if you took AP Calculus BC and did well on the exam that might be even cheaper than dual-enrollment.

Would this excuse me from all of my math during college?

That depends on your major, but most likely. Most science majors (chem, physics, biochem, etc.) will require at most Calc I and II. So unless you're gonna major in engineering or straight up math, if you already have credit for Calc I and II you won't have to take any math in college.

Should I take calc 3 at a community college during my senior year?
That's up to you. If you think you'd major in something that requires it (engineering, math, comp sci.), or if you really want to learn more math, then take it. If not, don't waste your time and money. I highly doubt any college would look down upon you as an applicant for not taking Calc III during high school.
 
Due to your status, I'm assuming you're hoping to go to medical school in the future, but if not, ignore this answer. There are quite a few medical schools that do not honor AP credits for prereqs, so if you were to take calculus as AP and get credit by scoring high enough, you still might need to take them over in college for your medical school application. Granted, it sometimes makes for an easy class because you already know the material, but if you want to be moving forward with your coursework, that's something to think about.

On the other hand, medical schools will accept community college credits earned during high school. The caveat here is that there's a possibility that your calculus credits from whatever community college may not be honored as transfer at whatever college you choose to go to, so for your degree you might have to take them again. Also worth pointing out, AP test results are not reported to medical school while the grades of dual credit classes would be even if they don't transfer, so be sure to do well in the class. So there's pros and cons of each.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Due to your status, I'm assuming you're hoping to go to medical school in the future, but if not, ignore this answer. There are quite a few medical schools that do not honor AP credits for prereqs, so if you were to take calculus as AP and get credit by scoring high enough, you still might need to take them over in college for your medical school application. Granted, it sometimes makes for an easy class because you already know the material, but if you want to be moving forward with your coursework, that's something to think about.

On the other hand, medical schools will accept community college credits earned during high school. The caveat here is that there's a possibility that your calculus credits from whatever community college may not be honored as transfer at whatever college you choose to go to, so for your degree you might have to take them again. Also worth pointing out, AP test results are not reported to medical school while the grades of dual credit classes would be even if they don't transfer, so be sure to do well in the class. So there's pros and cons of each.

That said, with the changes in the MCAT and med school prereqs, I'm finding that med schools are putting less and less of an emphasis on calculus and more on statistics.
 
Last edited:
Getting credit is also dependent on your score on the AP exam, I know for Calculus BC, a large number of undegrads won't give you credit if you don't get a 5.
 
It may excuse you from certain math requirements in college, but you'd need to check with the school to find out if this is possible, and if so, what score you need to earn on the test to have it count.

The idea of taking any more calculus than strictly necessary makes my hair stand on end, but if you enjoyed the class and did well, go for Calc 3 :)
 
Top