Taking a math before Calculus...adverse affects?

[nctw]

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I accidentally posted this in the DO spot. Reposting here. Will taking a math before I take Calculus look bad when I ultimately apply? I took a math placement course and qualified to be placed in Calc, but I haven't had math all this year (senior year in high school) and feel like I need a review course. Is this the smartest choice?

Many thanks in advance, and thanks to everyone for making this site such a wonderful resource! I'm glad there's a community online that'll help me through the next four years of pre-med.

 

[getright]

Take the review course, it'll probably make learning calculus easier and it's an easy A.

 

[sirRad]

Your gpa is very important. Do whatever you need to do to get a good grade in calculus. I had to take a refresher course for calc 2 because I took calc 1 about 4 years earlier. Obviously I had forgotten a lot by then. Admission committees won't even think anything of it. As a rule of thumb, whatever you do, do well in it.

 

[Hoya2009]

I placed into Calc II with AP, but decided to do Calc I, instead.
After two days of the vertical line test and "Is this a function?" I went to Calc II and struggled.
If you're going to take it eventually, may as well take the preceding course, if you've been out of the loop for a while. Wish I had.

 

[chidoman]

.

 

[kcin]

Nailing down algebra is the most important thing you can do before taking calc. If you think you're pretty solid I'd go ahead and take the calculus course, because it's not that hard.

 

[TribalSeeds]

Just pre-study for the class and you should be fine.

 

[Espadaleader]

Khan. Academy. Saved my life.

 

[CaliGirl14]

Pre-Calc was the biggest waste of time for me. It's a completely different subject, and all you really need to know is trig.

 

[ktran17]

All you need to know for calculus is algebra and very basic trig. If you want to prepare for calculus just practice simplifying really big rational/irrational functions and review your trig identities.

 

[nctw]

My school offers a Precalculus Algebra and Trig class that I think I'll take. I haven't had math since last year, and I don't want to start off on a wrong foot with grades. If it's too easy, it'll be a GPA booster. If I've forgotten a lot, it'll be a great way to relearn stuff I've forgotten. (Math is my worst subject.)

 

[Dipraman]

just do whatever you think will earn you a higher gpa.
confident that you can make a good grade in calc??? if not take pre calc or something. People say that pre-cal doesn’t is a completely different subject but it really helps you in brushing up your algebra skills. 🙂

 

[nctw]

I think that's what I'll do. I feel like I need to brush up on some of my algebra skills.