Need to do schedule for child’s senior. child wants to go into the medical field. Child has taken college algebra, AP statistics and calculus. Child has the following options: Accounting, advanced algebra, AP Calculus, finite math& quantitative analysis .Child does not want to take AP calc since probably will have to take calc in college anyway. Any thoughts as to what would be best? Child will probably be taking AP Bio and AP Lit in addition to some kind of history or social studies class as well.
Is said child wanting to go to Med school?
If so, Child could take AP Calc and then take Calc 1 again or take Calc 2 in college
What does said child want to major in? Keep in mind, pre-med is not a major.
What math would prepare the student for that major?
Would Comp Sci count as a math?
I would echo @bopper on the calc thing. We call it the “calc train” in our household - do not disembark until you are done with that subject matter! Creating a year + gap of calc between high school and college can leave your child at a major disadvantage. D took pre-calc, calc A/B and B/C in HS, and then Calc 1 and 2 again in college (despite getting 5’s on the AP tests) because she’s at a very competitive school and was worried there may be some gaps in her HS learning. Got A’s in both (and acknowledged she learned some new stuff) and gave her a good foundation for multivariable (which your child may have to take in college as well).
While “pre-med” is not a major, most med schools are looking for specific undergrad classes. If this is your child’s path, you can look this up to see what they tend to require so planning can begin sooner than halfway college.
What schools is she looking at?
What is she looking at majoring in?
AP calculus. Then will retake in college with solid background or skip to calc 2 depending on likely placement test taken spring senior year. A one year gap would be a problem and not taking AP calc would put him at a disadvantage since competitive pre health majors would have taken it.
Make sure he’s taken level 3or 4 in a foreign language and all three from bio chem physics, too.
I agree that AP Calc is the way to go. I’m not clear why your child feels they would have to take it again in college - placing ahead in math based on AP scores or at least based on a college’s own placement tests (for which one would be prepared after AP Calc) is pretty standard. If (s)he is not a math or engineering major who will need to continue in the higher math sequence, Calc BC may cover all the math (s)he will need in college. If the goal is to continue with math, then Calc BC should either place him/her ahead in the sequence, or qualify him/her for an honors sequence designed for students with a stronger background. It is so common for high-achieving kids to come in with AP Calc that there is almost always a recommended path that differs from coming in without that preparation.
If math is your child’s thing, then being a premed math major is an excellent path - better med school admission stats than the life sciences and also better alternatives to med school if that path doesn’t work out or becomes less appealing. And if this is the plan, then again AP Calc is the foundation you’d want. It shouldn’t even be that tough a year with non-AP calc already under their belt. Accounting would be veering off the higher math path entirely, for no reason, and the other options seem like putting the cart before the horse IMHO.
If your child is a pre-med, then:
- Med schools want you to take the pre reqs in college
- You want to get As in the classes so retaking it is one strategy
AP Calc is definitely the way to go. Those freshman calc classes are huge weeder classes at many schools and discontinuity in math can definitely hurt students. And students who had at least had some calc had a huge advantage. I have a BS Math and Comp Sci and tutor math regularly. Even if she doesn’t want to take the AP test, I would urge her to take calc anyway and not leave the year math free. If she’s had some calc exposure it will probably be a nice stepping stone. And if it’s easy and she does well on the test it might clear the way to skip a level in college.
Child wants to go to med school. Thank you so much for your advice. It all makes sense. We will have to try to lighten the senior load in other ways. Child would probably major in biology
Three years to cover one year of calculus seems like a wastefully slow pace for a strong math student (+2 placement initially), unless maybe the college calculus courses were honors courses.
It sounds like your looking for a math class. Accounting is typically viewed as a business class not a math class so I would skip that.
AP calculus is a good choice. The HS/AP version will prepare her for her college version. Why does she need to lighten her senior load? Top students can handle a tough HS load and do well. It is also good for preparing for the college load. Your D needs to look at premedical advice offered at the college she attends. She needs to have majors in mind for a plan B as well. It is not enough to want to become a physician, there are far too many for the available spaces.
My son did AP calculus his senior year for which he got credits (had a 5) but he also did the honors calculus sequence (settled on a math major). Some colleges cover a lot more than the AP version does in a semester. Many students taking the regular version are also expected to start over as so much more is covered there as well. Look at HS math and other academic subjects as preparation for the college versions.
I would expect a strong student who intends to continue past a BA/BS (either works just as well, regardless of science or math majors) degree to not need a study hall in HS. This is with multiple extracurricular activities. Learning good, efficient study habits and time management in HS will serve her well in college.
btw- I’m a woman physician from back when the road was fraught with so many more obstacles for us. The tales I could tell.
What’s her proposed schedule?
4 APs senior year is plenty due to the extra, hidden, writing intensive “class” of writing college applications.
The proposed schedule would be AP Calc, AP Bio, AP Spanish, possibly AP Lit( may be too much with AP calc?), Needs a history/soc studies and English. We have thought about plan B. It would be post bac to RN or PA school.
As a Bio major with Pre-med, s/he would be very reccommended to take 2 semesters of math…either 2 of calc or Calc and Stats.
Pre med bio majors needs calc 1 and stats or biostats. Stats is included on the MCAT and a large number of med schools now require stats/biostats for admission. Only a small number of med schools require calc beyond calc 1. (WashU, JHU, Harvard, plus 1 or 2 others require calc 2, Carle requires calc 1, 2, 3 and differential equations.) Those schools still require stats in addition to the calc.
PA admission requirements have a large overlap with med school admission requirements. Your D probably won’t need a post bacc for PA school if she completes a BS in bio; however, PA admissions requirements include anywhere from 500 to 2000 hours of PAID (non-volunteer) hands on patient experience. BTW, PA admission is almost as competitive as med school admissions. Not something that one should count on as guaranteed back up plan.
What about AP calculus, AP biology, AP Spanish, honors English and honors social science + 1"fun" class of her choice?
If she already had a non-AP calculus course (probably similar to a college calculus for business majors course), then why would AP calculus be difficult? Or has she not had any course with trigonometry (used in AP or regular college calculus courses, but not in calculus for business majors courses; “college algebra” courses often do not include trignometry)?
My D19 who wants to go the pre-med route did not take AP Calc this year. She is taking AP Stats. I don’t know if this will make a difference in her life in the long run, but that is what she is doing.
Taking Accounting is a way not to make bad financial decisions in the future. Don’t need it for becoming a doctor, but somewhat useful in life.
Since the OP’s kid has already taken a calculus course, I would expect that AP Calc would be relatively easy as APs go. It depends on the kid, of course, but both my mathy and non-mathy kids did not find AP Calc BC particularly onerous.