Need some advice please

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RedSox07

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Hi,

I am entering my 4th semester at the University of Connecticut and I am currently pursuing a B.S. in biological sciences. The University of Connecticut requires Calculus 1 and Calculus 2 for their B.S. degree in biological sciences and just one math class for B.A. (physics pre-req is pre-calculus, so pre-calculus is required).

In my 1st semester in school, I took pre-calculus and I ended up dropping the course with a W on my transcript. I took the course again over the summer, but only managed to get a C. I feel like I have reached a crossroad. Math has always been the toughest subject for me and I hope that it won't block my path to medical school, it's brought my gpa down from a 3.63 to a 3.52. This semester I have signed up for Calculus 1 and I have a feeling that I won't do very good, based on my previous math grades. I know only a handful of schools require Calculus 1 and 2, but I am not sure if pre-calc fulfills my math requirement for most medical schools. I read somewhere that statistics can fulfill the math requirement, so I might take that instead of Calculus 1 and 2. My question is what should I do? I have come up with some scenarios:

A) Switch to a B.A. major in biology and re-take pre-calculus again and be done with math (UCONN will erase the original grade, in my case, a C and replace it with the higher grade, but the W will still be there) but still do all the other B.S. requirements.

B) Keep the B.S. degree and follow through with Calc 1 and Calc 2

C) Switch to a B.A., re-take pre-calculus, and take statistics.


Respectfully,

Redsox07

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I would definitely stick with your B.S. degree and just try 100 times harder in calculus. Math is harder for some people that others, obviously, and those people just have to learn how to study it better. I think that getting a good grade in Calculus would look better than statistics because it already shows that you have a C and a W from calculus - they'll think you can't do it.
 
If your top med school choices do not require calculus, I would switch to the BA.

If you really want to get the BS and finish the calculus, my suggestion would be to take a really light load the semesters that you take calculus, sign up for a tutor before class even starts, and put in the time the whole semester. You passed pre-Calc, doesn't matter what grade, that means that you are capable of doing math.

I love math and have tutored students in math, and from what I've observed the thing that prevents many people who are capable of getting good grades in math from achieving that is their mentality that they "can't do it" or "aren't good at it." It takes time to grasp the concepts. The difference between someone who is confident and someone who is not is that the confident person will be confused but continue doing problems because they know it will click eventually. The not-confident person will be confused, then get frustrated easily and tell themselves "see, I knew I wasn't good at math" and sit there feeling sorry for themselves instead of just working the problems patiently. Yes, some people are naturally better at math than others. But on a whole, no one came out of the womb knowing how to solve polynomial expansions.


:luck::luck:
 
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I love math and have tutored students in math, and from what I've observed the thing that prevents many people who are capable of getting good grades in math from achieving that is their mentality that they "can't do it" or "aren't good at it." It takes time to grasp the concepts. The difference between someone who is confident and someone who is not is that the confident person will be confused but continue doing problems because they know it will click eventually. The not-confident person will be confused, then get frustrated easily and tell themselves "see, I knew I wasn't good at math" and sit there feeling sorry for themselves instead of just working the problems patiently. Yes, some people are naturally better at math than others. But on a whole, no one came out of the womb knowing how to solve polynomial expansions.


:luck::luck:

Agree whole heartedly.

As for the OP question, if your top schools don't require calculus, then I would switch to BA (but be prepared to explain your C in pre-calc with a reason other than "im just bad at math"). But if you have the confidence and determination to pull off Calc I with at least a B or even go to Calc II then do it! That way you can tell a story of how you overcame academic difficulties and even with a weak foundation was able to improve (which sounds way better than just explaining the C in precalc).
 
Just go ahead and take Calc 1 and 2. Just put A LOT of effort into it and you should be fine. I'm not much of a math person either, but after I put some effort into studying, it just "clicked" for me and now I actually enjoy math somewhat. Calc 1 is fairly easy anyway, and Calc 2 is a bit harder, but nothing you shouldn't be able to handle.
 
Thanks for the help guys...I got my 1st exam already on the second class. I guess if I do well I will stay in the class and if I do bad, drop it.
 
I wanted to chime in. I think you should pursue Calc 1 this semester, but make sure you get help from a variety of sources until you find someone who can explain it well in terms you understand.

I took Calculus in high school and I did alright, but I struggled. The teacher was the sort who decides early on who is going to succeed in her class and then focuses on them and ignores everyone else. Whereas in college I had a fantastic professor who explained everything in a way that made sense to me. Now I can't discount the fact that it was my second time round hearing the information, but honestly a patient, good teacher or tutor can make all the difference. As in, Calculus 1 doesn't *have* to be hard.

I would hate for you to have to change from a BS to a BA over 2 classes. However, I can't speak the difficultly level of Calc 2. I assume it would be more difficult since they are sequential in order. Also, I don't think many (any??) med schools require Calc 2. As you said, for the few schools that require one full year of mathematics, Calc and Stat would be fine.

So hang in there for this semester and see how you do!
 
If you had to choose between calculus and statistics, choose statistics. Calculus is overrated in the educational system. There are two or three big ideas and the rest is just technique.

On the other hand, if you know probability and statistics that's applicable to just about every aspect of daily evidence interpretation and decision-making.
 
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