Testing out of calc I and taking calc II-- ok for med school?

[katie6116]

should I just take calc I and get a higher grade, or will taking calc II make my application more impressive?

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[487806]

should I just take calc I and get a higher grade, or will taking calc II make my application more impressive?

Don't retake Calc I. Take Calc II, but it won't make your app impressive, since adcoms won't care.

 

[Pacna]

Don't retake calc I. Don't take calc II. Take stats.

 

[BlueLabel]

should I just take calc I and get a higher grade, or will taking calc II make my application more impressive?

(I wrote this assuming you're a freshman, if not my apologies)

Take whatever you have to take for your major (i.e. Don't take stats if you need calc 2 to graduate). Getting ahead early is nice as it gives you more options later. That said, it can also be advantageous to take things a bit slower early on to ensure you start with a strong GPR. Freshman GPRs are usually people's lowest, as they are making the academic and social transition, learning new study habits, possibly making poor decisions. So it's kind of up to you and how you feel - if a slightly slower pace that includes what is essentially review of material you've seen before (taking calc 1) might work better for you, do it. If you think you know the material and you're ready, then move on. The important thing here is maximizing your GPR while still taking what you need to take.

TL;DR: Using or not using your AP test credit is irrelevant compared to the luster with which an excellent GPR can dazzle. So make that your priority and don't sweat the small stuff.

 

[gettheleadout]

GPR

eh?

 

[Pacna]

eh?

Google says "Ground penetrating radar"

 

[BlueLabel]

eh?

What?

 

[MangoPlant]

eh?

Grade Point Ratio

 

[BlueLabel]

Grade Point Ratio

Lol yeah, didn't realize it was such a niche term. That's what most people said at my university.

 

[lobo.solo]

Most schools require a year of math. Stats + cal 2 should be fine. Check the requirements at the schools you're going to apply.

 

[deleted407021]

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/threads/math-requirements-by-school.942984/

This is only a year or so old and should be fairly accurate.

 

[MDforMee]

... will taking calc II make my application more impressive?

Seriously?

 

[487806]

Don't retake calc I. Don't take calc II. Take stats.

Uh... OP can take both Calc II and stats. No reason for OP to drop Calc II if she can do well.

 

[Obnoxious Dad]

If you are absolutely positive you would get an A in Calculus I, go ahead and take it as long as you can find a prof who grades liberally. Otherwise, if you just want to be a physician and you don't care where you go to med school, don't take calculus at all. Try to get into a college algebra class and smash the competition. Then you should take an algebra based stats class and repeat the smashing.

The overwhelming majority of medical schools do not require calculus. There are lots of people on medical school faculties who have never cracked a calculus book. Calculus never appears in the med school curriculum. You don't need to take calculus based physics to perform well on the MCAT. Medical schools do not normalize transcripts to account for differences in undergraduate school rigor. They don't have the time, inclination or resources to adjust for average ACTs/SATs at applicants' colleges, applicants' majors or course loads.

The grade point averages among matriculating allopathic medical students are high and the standard deviations around those averages are tight. This tells you that every grade you get below an A is a coffin nail. People will tell you that you can make up for a low GPA with a high MCAT. Who says that YOU are going to get a 35? Maybe your best is ONLY a 30 which is a mere 75th percentile score. If you get a 30 on the MCAT and have a 3.5 GPA you might just kick yourself.

 

[Shjanzey]

I got a degree in Engineering, which means I didn't get to do easy Business Calc or Business Physics. I can definitively tell you that adcoms don't know the difference or care.

 

[487806]

If you are absolutely positive you would get an A in Calculus I, go ahead and take it as long as you can find a prof who grades liberally. Otherwise, if you just want to be a physician and you don't care where you go to med school, don't take calculus at all. Try to get into a college algebra class and smash the competition. Then you should take an algebra based stats class and repeat the smashing.

Yes because going to med school is the sole purpose of attending college. Let's take the easy way out to cushion the GPA and completely avoid academic rigors. Because we'll postpone the challenges for med school right?