2 semesters/3 quarters of math

[Sirhc]

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Hello all! this would be my first post 🙂

I understand this question has been asked many times and i have reflected on everything i found that related to my situation but now im seeking some advice.

I've taken a quarter of stats, ap credit for calc I, and just took calc II advised by my premed advisor.

The problem is its been a year since i last touched calc and i had the hardest time this quarter. I got a D on my first midterm and worked really hard and got a B+, A, and B on my next midterm, quiz, and final. I ended up with a B-. My advisor told me i had to take calc III to complete the full year/3 quarters of math "requirement" considering schools wouldn't accept the AP credit. The thing is this calculus class was the hardest class i had this quarter and it took up most of my time which interfered with my other classes (bio and chem series). I REALLY don't want to take calc III and spend all my time on it potentially lowering my GPA and loss of focus on more important classes)

My question is do i HAVE to take calc III? I would have taken something easier considering it is only really a math requirement and not a calculus one. The problem with that is that my math department doesn't allow repeated courses for say AP credit or taking lower classes like trig when i have completed calculus already.

I'm really worried about this because i want to finally settle with my winter quarter schedule. I'm also fearful that if i postpone calc III i will just forget the material and go through a similar situation again. Please help!

Thank you all very much and i appreciate any input!

 

[plumhill]

Go to MSAR or individual schools' websites and see what the math requirement is. I understand where you're coming from (math isn't really my thing, either). Some schools do require two semesters of calculus; some require one semester of calculus and one semester of statistics, and some just require "college-level math," and even further some schools have no strict math requirement. I do know of one girl who hated math with a passion, didn't want to take any college math, and chose to only apply to schools that had no math requirement, and did get into one, so it can be done. For some schools you may be able to get around the math requirements by taking additional higher-level stats classes (if you prefer statistics to calculus). And regarding AP credit, some schools will accept AP credit for math classes since its pretty common to have taken calculus in high school (the AP policy may not apply to chemistry or bio, though).

While I can understand your aversion to math, it looks like from your grade trends, you weren't that bad at calc II; the only thing that really dragged you down was that first midterm (and we all blow a midterm here and there) but your final and your other midterm grade weren't THAT bad. If you get regular tutoring and do all of the practice problems in the book, you might be able to get through calc III better than you think. A lot of math has to do with practice and confidence as well as natural ability or inclination.