AP math credit

[DoctaFuture]

Hey guys. Had a quick question on AP credit. I graduated back in June 2009. I passed out of the first quarter of math at my school through Calc AB/BC scores. I ended up only taking 2 quarters of math there which were the 2nd quarter of Calc and Stats. I understand a lot of med schools won't accept that AP credit. So now I'm probably going to go to a CC and just take their first semester of calc. Do I need to take this calc class this summer or can I take it this fall? Since I've been out of school can I do this? Show it on the app? Thanks.

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[JokerMD]

don't take calc. take a couple stats classes. most schools will take your AP Calc BC score as long as you got at least a 4 (i think).

 

[DoctaFuture]

Anyone? I'm not sure if you're right Joker.

 

[tremulousNeedle]

Whether or not schools take AP credit is often school dependent, this information should be available on their website or via telephone.

I am not exactly sure what your question is, but prerequisites often need to be complete before matriculation, not before you apply. It probably doesn't matter a whole lot where you take the course; the exact grade you get probably doesn't matter a whole lot either if your grades results after AMCAS submission. A lot of people return to college to simply take one or two classes, you just have to go through the hassle of applying/enrolling.

If you like calc and you are good at it (possibly evident by the AP calc course), then take it at the CC (personally I would take calc 1 over stats any day). Stats may be more useful in med school, but in the end it won’t matter a whole lot.

-admissions committee interviewer / senior medical student

 

[mvenus929]

As someone who has a ton of AP credit... your math credit probably won't matter. The ones that really care about AP credits really only focus on the main prereqs (Bio, chem, physics, sometimes English), and most will accept it as long as you've taken additional courses in that subject. Since you've taken math courses at college, it should be a non issue. If you're applying to any of the UC schools, though, you might want to take it at the CC. It doesn't matter when you take it, so long as it's done before matriculation.

 

[DoctaFuture]

Yeah I was wondering more about the "when" part. I saw this and a few of the schools I may apply to are on this list. http://wolfweb.unr.edu/~waites/Documents/MedSchAP08.pdf

Sorry for the confusion. Since I graduated already. Can I take this class during this upcoming fall? Would I need to report this on my AMCAS application this June? That was my more of what I meant.

 

[JokerMD]

first of all, very few schools REQUIRE calculus, especially for regular MD (non-MSTP) programs

second, of the schools that DO require calculus, most will take your AP credit as long as your university has reflected course credit for your AP score on your official transcript.

most schools that have any kind of MATH requirement will accept statistics.

 

[mvenus929]

I saw this and a few of the schools I may apply to are on this list. http://wolfweb.unr.edu/~waites/Documents/MedSchAP08.pdf

Again, math usually isn't a problem, and the only school that I know that absolutely does not accept AP credits are the Cali state schools. Since you took math classes in college, this really shouldn't be a problem, since, as Joker said, very very few med schools require calculus.

So, cross checking the list of schools that don't accept it (taking off those that accept it for non-science) with those who require calculus will give you the schools that you would be hard pressed to apply to, and if you e-mailed the schools, you'd get a more definitive answer.

There's no reason to take additional classes if you don't need to.

 

[whoknows2012]

Took AP Calc and Stat in high school...placed out of a math and language requirement in undergrad all med schools I applied to (16 MD and 3 DO) accepted those credits.

 

[tremulousNeedle]

Yeah I was wondering more about the "when" part. I saw this and a few of the schools I may apply to are on this list. http://wolfweb.unr.edu/~waites/Documents/MedSchAP08.pdf

Sorry for the confusion. Since I graduated already. Can I take this class during this upcoming fall? Would I need to report this on my AMCAS application this June? That was my more of what I meant.

If you find that you need to take another math class, you can take it whenever, as long as it is done before matriculation. It would probably be helpful to include it in AMCAS as a future course.

As the other responses mentioned, it may be worth the cost of taking another college course to call (or email or visit the website of) the 25 or so programs you plan on applying to and verify that you need another math class.