Statistics After Calc 1?

[MedPR]

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I took calculus 1 in undergrad, but didn't do very well so I'm going to retake it for grade replacement. Is statistics typically considered something you take before calculus.. almost as an unofficial pre-req? If I don't get in when I apply next cycle, I'm thinking of taking statistics (I am going to retake Calc 1 either this summer or in the fall) to help bump up my GPA. How would that look?

 

[drewS21]

I took calculus 1 in undergrad, but didn't do very well so I'm going to retake it for grade replacement. Is statistics typically considered something you take before calculus.. almost as an unofficial pre-req? If I don't get in when I apply next cycle, I'm thinking of taking statistics (I am going to retake Calc 1 either this summer or in the fall) to help bump up my GPA. How would that look?

Stats is a good class to have and you don't need to take it before Calc 1. I took AP Stat in high school concurrently with Pre-Calc and got an A and a 4 on the AP exam. I also didn't find that I would have needed Stats to succeed in Calc 1 or 2.

You'll be fine taking them in whatever order as long as you have a good grasp of Algebra (and a little Geometry with regard to graphing) before both of them.

 

[Spikedsoymilk]

I don't know for sure how adcoms would feel about this, but my guess is that they wouldn't care.

In general, I think it's more logical to take statistics after calculus because many proofs in statistics require calculus. Of course, this applies mostly to theory-based probability and statistics courses. I don't think you'll be expected to do this in your statistics course. 😎

 

[MedPR]

Stats is a good class to have and you don't need to take it before Calc 1. I took AP Stat in high school concurrently with Pre-Calc and got an A and a 4 on the AP exam. I also didn't find that I would have needed Stats to succeed in Calc 1 or 2.

You'll be fine taking them in whatever order as long as you have a good grasp of Algebra (and a little Geometry with regard to graphing) before both of them.

Thanks for the reply. I'm not worried about being able to do well in stats, I'm concerned about how it would be viewed by ADCOMs. I don't want them to see that I took Calc 1, then randomly stats later down the road and think "He must just be trying to boost his GPA with easy classes."

I don't know for sure how adcoms would feel about this, but my guess is that they wouldn't care.

In general, I think it's more logical to take statistics after calculus because many proofs in statistics require calculus. Of course, this applies mostly to theory-based probability and statistics courses. I don't think you'll be expected to do this in your statistics course. 😎

Thanks. Yea a lot of my friends back in pre-med undergrad took stats instead of calculus and it seemed quite a bit easier.

 

[drewS21]

Thanks for the reply. I'm not worried about being able to do well in stats, I'm concerned about how it would be viewed by ADCOMs. I don't want them to see that I took Calc 1, then randomly stats later down the road and think "He must just be trying to boost his GPA with easy classes."

I don't think it'd be an issue. Stats is far from an "easy" class and it has a LOT of applications in research.

 

[LegendaryPunk]

Plus, I believe a handful of school strongly suggest (or even require?) taking stats; nobody is going to call you out for taking it as a GPA booster.

 

[dmf2682]

So here's an interesting question.

I took a statistics class in undergrad, but it was labeled as a stats for engineers in the engineering department. I ended up getting a B and was going to leave it as an engineering class on my amcas so as to not bring down the sgpa. Will med schools still recognize this as statistics or just dismiss it as another engineering class?

 

[LingoLaine]

Will med schools still recognize this as statistics or just dismiss it as another engineering class?

It's really a question of whether AMCAS will recognize it as math or not. There's only one way to find out.

 

[theseeker4]

So here's an interesting question.

I took a statistics class in undergrad, but it was labeled as a stats for engineers in the engineering department. I ended up getting a B and was going to leave it as an engineering class on my amcas so as to not bring down the sgpa. Will med schools still recognize this as statistics or just dismiss it as another engineering class?

If the course number is MAT xxx (or whatever the equivalent is) it will probably be corrected to math if you don't list it as such. If it is EGN xxx it would probably not be changed. Enter it how you want them to count it, and if they disagree with you, they will change it.

 

[stolen_biscuit]

I am currently taking Stats because I feel it will greatly help a science-based career such as medicine. (I believe Biostats is on Step 1 also.) Actually, I find it a shame that universities allow Calc in place of Stats. One may be easier than the other, but it really comes down to usefulness in your career. I would like to think that anyone who deals with data has a good grasp on statistics.

I took CalcII in undergrad, and it was completely useless. When I got to my research courses senior year, I had to analyze my data with no knowledge of statistics. It sucked to muddle through all of that with no formal lessons.

Long story short, I don't think it will be looked down upon. 🙂

 

[MedPR]

I am currently taking Stats because I feel it will greatly help a science-based career such as medicine. (I believe Biostats is on Step 1 also.) Actually, I find it a shame that universities allow Calc in place of Stats. One may be easier than the other, but it really comes down to usefulness in your career. I would like to think that anyone who deals with data has a good grasp on statistics.

I took CalcII in undergrad, and it was completely useless. When I got to my research courses senior year, I had to analyze my data with no knowledge of statistics. It sucked to muddle through all of that with no formal lessons.

Long story short, I don't think it will be looked down upon. 🙂

I don't think it'd be an issue. Stats is far from an "easy" class and it has a LOT of applications in research.

Plus, I believe a handful of school strongly suggest (or even require?) taking stats; nobody is going to call you out for taking it as a GPA booster.

Thanks. Maybe I'll take stats and retake calc 1 at the same time. I definitely want to take calc 1 to replace the grade, but I also want to take stats since it appears it will be useful in the future.

 

[LegendaryPunk]

Thanks. Maybe I'll take stats and retake calc 1 at the same time. I definitely want to take calc 1 to replace the grade, but I also want to take stats since it appears it will be useful in the future.

That's pretty much what I am doing. I just took Calc I for the second time this past summer, having received a C- when I originally took it 2006. This semester I am taking a stats course.

So yeah, I think your plan sounds solid 😀

 

[RagingBeauty]

I took calculus 1 in undergrad, but didn't do very well so I'm going to retake it for grade replacement. Is statistics typically considered something you take before calculus.. almost as an unofficial pre-req? If I don't get in when I apply next cycle, I'm thinking of taking statistics (I am going to retake Calc 1 either this summer or in the fall) to help bump up my GPA. How would that look?

I took Calculus 1 then statistics so this action is not uncommon. Some schools with calculus requirements will allow you to either take 2 semesters of Cal or 1 semester of Cal with 1 semester of Statistics. Make sure that the stats class is designated for students with science, math, and/or engineering backgrounds and not the social sciences. Good luck!

 

[MedPR]

That's pretty much what I am doing. I just took Calc I for the second time this past summer, having received a C- when I originally took it 2006. This semester I am taking a stats course.

So yeah, I think your plan sounds solid 😀

I took Calculus 1 then statistics so this action is not uncommon. Some schools with calculus requirements will allow you to either take 2 semesters of Cal or 1 semester of Cal with 1 semester of Statistics. Make sure that the stats class is designated for students with science, math, and/or engineering backgrounds and not the social sciences. Good luck!

Sounds good, thank you for the advice.

 

[JESSFALLING]

Order doesn't matter for Calc & Stats because they're like apples and oranges 🙂.