Pre-requisite courses (Calculus)

[Dimples1979]

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Hi there,

I took Calculus I over 10 years ago (and did really well). Do you think I should re-take it or just move on with Statistics? I definitely don't remember any of the material and I have to prepare for the PCAT this coming September - does the PCAT come with a lot of Calculus problems? Anyway, what is your suggestion for me, should I re-take it or would be able to be ok by just taking the PCAT prep course....? thanks!

 

[dancingallday]

I wish I'd known this going in, but my PCAT math was almost entirely calculus questions. If you had a really good grasp of the material when you did it the first time around and you feel comfortable giving yourself a refresher course, by all means do so. But if you're feeling at all shaky on it I'd recommend retaking. Also double-check with your schools of interest: some of them have limits on how old prereq courses can be and still be viable.

 

[Aestatis]

If you really were great at Calculus back then, you may just be able to recall the info with a quick refresher. I recommend http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/CalcI/CalcI.aspx .

Also, I'm pretty sure it's impossible for the PCAT to be mostly calculus. There should be only 9 or 10 calculus questions out of 40. If there seemed to be more, I guess some of those were experimental.

 

[rxlea]

Hi there,

I took Calculus I over 10 years ago (and did really well). Do you think I should re-take it or just move on with Statistics? I definitely don't remember any of the material and I have to prepare for the PCAT this coming September - does the PCAT come with a lot of Calculus problems? Anyway, what is your suggestion for me, should I re-take it or would be able to be ok by just taking the PCAT prep course....? thanks!

I wouldn't pay to take another class. If you succeeded before, you should be able to review and do just fine through practice.

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[xtsukiyox]

I wish I'd known this going in, but my PCAT math was almost entirely calculus questions.

You must have had an almost entirely differently structured PCAT than I did. 😕

OP, Statistics has very little to do with Calculus, at least the course I took. The idea of an integral is somewhat useful (in that you understand what they're trying to explain without going into calculus), but you only skirt the edge of calculus at best. My suggestion would be don't retake Calc unless you really like math and have a lot of spare time on your hands.

FWIW - I took Calculus 7+ish? years ago and scored Bs in Calc I & II. I didn't do a whole lot of refreshing for the PCAT, because I figured I was too slow with the product & quotient rules even when I was fresh. 🙄 I remember how to do super simple derivatives & integrals, that's about it. PCAT math is more about pacing yourself & doing quick calculations than it is about knowing a breadth of subjects in great detail. This is coming from the perspective of someone who scored a 90+ percentile on that section. 😀

 

[cuedee]

I wouldn't pay to take another class. If you succeeded before, you should be able to review and do just fine through practice.

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I agree. Don't waste your money and time taking a class you've already passed.