Math Easy A

[AttemptingScholar]

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I have AP Calc AB and so can skip college level calculus and go straight to stats. My AP Calc teacher wasn't great and I'm sure I didn't learn as much as I would have in a college class. My intended schedule is pretty full. These are my options:

Start over again at calc
pros: firm founding in math
cons: very time consuming; repetitive

Biostats
pros: probably best for med school; will allow me to complete math after 1 semester
con: very difficult to get a good grade

Psych stats:
pros: easy A; will allow me to complete math after 1 semester
cons: if med school requires more math than I expected, my grounding may not be very strong; might not count as BCPM (though definitely will count as my math req)

Stats:
pros: complete math after 1 semester
cons: pretty hard, pretty sure that health-targeted math will serve me better. (correct me if wrong)

Should I go for the GPA boost or the better math education?

 

[JB50]

GPA boost. nobody cares about your math skills. Stats is most beneficial.

 

[AttemptingScholar]

Okay. Has anyone had any luck getting psych stats to count towards BCPM? All the threads on this I can find are 10+ years old and had mixed results on if it counted.

 

[efle]

You'd have to put it down as math and just wait to see if they change it. An easy A for your cGPA is still helpful tho, if not sGPA. MCAT doesn't require any advanced math at all and med schools don't care much about math compared to other reqs (I was able to use AP credits without issue).

So def take psych stats

 

[aprilfools]

You will have no problem having Psych Stats count as a math class.

 

[efle]

1) Some schools will not accept AP for fulfillment of prereqs so retaking the course for grade is an option
2) While psych stats will likely count for BCPM, a few schools will not accept it as fulfillment of a stats requirement.

You need to check specific school websites to see if there are any comments on this

The only place I ever found that refused APs for Calc was UCLA. I know many refuse APs for other prereqs but math seems different for some reason

 

[HopefulMedicalPhysicist]

If you're looking for a math class that isn't too difficult and doesn't rely on having the firmest base on calculus I'd recommend linear algebra. Obviously statistics would be more relevant to clinical studies etc. but linear algebra is helpful for computing/algorithms which may be something you'd find interesting.

 

[Lawpy]

If you're looking for a math class that isn't too difficult and doesn't rely on having the firmest base on calculus I'd recommend linear algebra. Obviously statistics would be more relevant to clinical studies etc. but linear algebra is helpful for computing/algorithms which may be something you'd find interesting.

Linear algebra can actually be a difficult math class (it was harder than calculus and differential equations for me because of abstract concepts). I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they are a math/physics/engineering major or have a strong passion for math.

Statistics is what OP is likely looking for and should go for it

 

[HopefulMedicalPhysicist]

Linear algebra can actually be a difficult math class (it was harder than calculus and differential equations for me because of abstract concepts). I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless they are a math/physics/engineering major or have a strong passion for math.

Statistics is what OP is likely looking for and should go for it

You're probably right but I'd say linear algebra is one of those courses that can be taught at various levels. Obviously one that focuses on proofs geared to math majors will be more difficult.

 

[Lawpy]

You're probably right but I'd say linear algebra is one of those courses that can be taught at various levels. Obviously one that focuses on proofs geared to math majors will be more difficult.

That's true but even then it can be difficult. I still struggle with stuff on matrix multiplication and matrix decomposition even though those are important for numerical/computational work. A lot of linear algebra is addressed well by built in algorithms in MATLAB, Python, C++ math libraries etc. so not taking linear algebra may not be much of a drawback should OP pursue computational research