Another Calculus thread

[orthomyxo]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Ok, so here's the deal:

I transferred to a new school and was placed in Calc II. Although I got an A in Calc I, my prof at my previous school liked to waste time in class (not really a bad thing lol, he was actually an awesome teacher), so we really only got up to derivatives of exponential functions. Now I'm basically treading water in Calc II. I consider myself to be very strong in math, but I find that since I've missed out on a sizeable chunk of material that is taught at my new school in Calc I, I'm at a serious disadvantage.

I talked to my adviser the other day, and he asked me how I felt the transition into Calc II was, so I told him I was finding it to be difficult. He recommended I drop it to avoid serious GPA damage (4 credit course 😱), and that I fill the void with gen eds. He thinks it would be a good idea to take a class called Calc I B (my new school has a calc I class that's broken up into two semester for students who need to ease into calc at a slower pace) to catch up, but I'm not sure that this would go over well with adcoms. When I expressed my concern, he explained that it probably wouldn't be significant, and that I could explain it in my interviews, if asked, by saying that my calc I class at my previous school ended at a different point than calc II began at my new school. IMO this sounds like an OK reason, but I need a second opinion.

I guess it really boils down to what will hurt more, killing my GPA by doing poorly in calc II or taking calc I in a strange but justifiable sequence. Thoughts?

Edit: It's probably a good idea to mention that dropping calc and adding a gen ed will take me down to 13 credits, which is light. I assume this will look pretty bad unless I take on a good amount of EC's.

 

[IvyHopeful20]

I would drop and just brush up on Calc I yourself. MIT has a nice web course you can work through at your own pace. Calc I is not difficult at all conceptually - if you spend a good week just going over the concepts and techniques, you can be more than ready for calc II.

 

[wristbandMD]

So, I'm assuming then that you are still able to drop/add courses.

If you dropped this Calc II course, could you add Calc I b, instead of a gen ed course? Or, could you add Calc Ib and a gen ed course to keep your credits at at least 15ish?

Also, it seems like the Calc I b class could easily be explained away, and may be a bit of a GPA padder if you're good with maths. Just a thought.

 

[orthomyxo]

So, I'm assuming then that you are still able to drop/add courses.

If you dropped this Calc II course, could you add Calc I b, instead of a gen ed course? Or, could you add Calc Ib and a gen ed course to keep your credits at at least 15ish?

Also, it seems like the Calc I b class could easily be explained away, and may be a bit of a GPA padder if you're good with maths. Just a thought.

Unfortunately, no. The only Calc I B section available this semester conflicts with my Microbio lab. I'd most likely take it next semester and then take calc II during the summer.

I'm reluctant to add anything more than one gen ed since I have three labs this semester and they take up a bunch of my time. I suppose I could try, and at the absolute worst, end up with a W.

 

[wristbandMD]

Unfortunately, no. The only Calc I B section available this semester conflicts with my Microbio lab. I'd most likely take it next semester and then take calc II during the summer.

Oh, that's a bummer. ...Aside from the light course load, it seems like taking the Calc I b class is a great idea, in my opinion. You could always take two gen ed classes? (Assuming there are 3 credit classes and you could hit 16 credits.)

 

[gettheleadout]

Oh, that's a bummer. ...Aside from the light course load, it seems like taking the Calc I b class is a great idea, in my opinion. You could always take two gen ed classes? (Assuming there are 3 credit classes and you could hit 16 credits.)

I agree, especially since you're planning to take Calc II anyway, definitely stay away from the option that has a chance of significantly hurting your GPA (staying in Calc II now), as adcoms will see it before they look at your classes. Assuming you do well in Calc I B and then feel prepared for Calc II, your GPA will be fine, and explaining away taking Calc I B would only be an issue (I would imagine) if you were substituting it for Calc II. Since you're not, you'll keep your GPA up and still take the courses you wanted.

 

[orthomyxo]

I agree, especially since you're planning to take Calc II anyway, definitely stay away from the option that has a chance of significantly hurting your GPA (staying in Calc II now), as adcoms will see it before they look at your classes. Assuming you do well in Calc I B and then feel prepared for Calc II, your GPA will be fine, and explaining away taking Calc I B would only be an issue (I would imagine) if you were substituting it for Calc II. Since you're not, you'll keep your GPA up and still take the courses you wanted.

Makes sense to me 😀