AP Calculus essential for a Pharmacy major?

<p>I'll keep it short and sweet. I'm really bad at math. Dreadful.</p>

<p>Everybody's saying "take AP calc because you're going into medicine" and I swear I would like to take the class but I know for sure that I'll just be in serious hell if I take it. </p>

<p>I don't plan to take the ap exam anyway so should I just take AP stats as a more "doable" ruote?</p>

<p>I've taken AP classes but not a math one yet. I got a B and a C for honors pre-cal this year (seriously struggled second semester) and I'm just not sure if I can handle the class.</p>

<p>Also my schedule is pretty crammed anyway. BASICALLY, will not taking ap clac affect my chances of admission to a decent pharmacy school?</p>

<p>My kid took trig, not calc or ap calc in our very highly regarded high school. He felt well-prepared for the college calc classes that were required for pharmacy school without ever taking calc in high school. He did well in college calc and very well in organic chem, and was accepted to his university’s 2+4 pharmacy program. One thing to consider is that we were told that no pharmacy school would accept AP calc or chem in lieu of college calc or chem. Even if you take the AP class, you’re still going to have to take those credits in college.</p>

<p>If you’re applying to a 2+4 program, they’ll look at your college calculus grades not your high school grades.</p>

<p>For a 0-6 program, AP calc is not a prereq. More importantly, you have to consider what your high school transcript is going to say about the strength of your application. In my opinion, it’s better to get an A in calc than a C in AP calc. If you get a C in calc or a D in AP calc, your overall application may not be strong enough for admission. If you get a B in calc and you’re competing against someone with a B in AP calc, then the other applicant might be selected. Your goal is always to have the best application possible, whether you’re applying to premed or to pharmacy 0-6 program or a 2+4 program. You obviously also need a strong Math SAT score, as a possible indicator of your ability to succeed with college calc.</p>

<p>If you’re really dreadful at math, then pharmacy or medicine might not be the major for you. Another one of my kids wasn’t strong in math, and ended up pursuing a degree in health care administration (couldn’t do the college level math). Good luck with consideration of your options!</p>

<p>Thanks for the help, I’ll consider :)</p>

<p>Try taking a regular or honors Calculus class. If it is to difficult at the start, go talk to a guidance counselor about switching to Statistics or Trig. Like Neonzeus said, Pharmacy schools will look at your college grades instead of high school grades.</p>