<p>Hey guys, I was wondering whether taking AP Stats or AP Calc AB would affect my chances of admissions in some colleges.
I am asking because one, I might end up with a C for the year in Pre-calculus and two, I talked with a nurse the other day and she was telling me how there's no need to take calculus because there's no use for it in the nursing field. She actually told me she used more statistics than calculus.
What should I do? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Hi: My daughter is a current freshman at Penn in the school of nursing. She did not take AP calculus. She took Stats and it was not an ap course and got into every nursing school she applied to. No need for Calculus.</p>
<p>Put your energies into taking the most challenging biology, chem or anatomy course(s) that is available. For a nurse, calculus is a waste of time and effort. I’ve looked at the curriculum of many nursing schools, and almost all include stats and none included calculus.</p>
<p>Okay, that’s what I thought haha.
Thank you!</p>
<p>just playing the contrarian here: and this statement may be embedded somewhere in the previous thread, but it would never hurt your record to take Calculus. And if you do, go for the AP level. It would lift your GPA, and math at this level as we all know is really good for you. You could look at it as another badge of honor, worth a few points to those who are looking for something to differentiate you in a group of competitors. But do the most challenging (i.e., AP level) bio, chem A&P courses first. I could be wrong, but i felt like saying this. We’ve talked to a few schools recently including UMich, Pitt, Case, G’Town, UCLA, UC-I (D Jr in H.S.) and none explicitly said to not take Calculus in favor of Statistics. They all thought it was pretty great for the transcript to take Calculus.<br>
Again, i just wanted to state my simple opinion alongside those on here that I respect immensely–if you’re a fan of Calc, you have a great teacher ahead of you, your buddies are all going in, go for it.</p>
<p>I took Stat in Nursing school because I was told if I ever went on to get my Masters, I would need the stat. I did and I did. I currently read numerous studies everyday in my current job and while some of the statistics I read, I don’t understand, I am very glad I remember as much as I do.</p>
<p>Most BSN programs will require statistics. Take it now, and you may have an easier time in the college level class. Do well enough on the AP stats exam, and you may not have to take it again. However, if grad school is in your plans, you may be required to have had stat within a certain number of years of starting the program. In this case, credit for AP stats in hs may be too long ago. </p>
<p>Calculus may not be directly useful in your nursing program, but it’s still a good course to have on your transcript. If you’re applying to competitive programs, calculus gives you a transcript with a more rigorous curriculum (as would multple years of chemistry and physics). Let’s just say it certainly won’t hurt you, and once you’ve had calc, you would probably find any math required by your nursing program to be far more manageable.</p>
<p>Based on my D’s experiences I would agree with ordinarylives that if you plan on pursuing Nursing Graduate School in the future having calculus on your transcript might be beneficial. She was recently accepted at Penn for her MSN as Family Health Nurse Practitioner. She graduated from the Univ. of Delaware with her BSN in 2010. She took calculus there as one of her very few allowed non-nursing free electives (the Math Department at UD expressed surprise that she wished to take it as a free elective as they very rarely have students of any major do this). Penn seemed favorably impressed that she had taken calculus, especially at the college level. Just one person’s experiences for what it may be worth.</p>
<p>I would just add that there are no calculus questions on the SAT, the ACT or the GRE tests (you take the GRE before applying to grad school). The GRE does include statistical analysis questions. </p>
<p>I say put that senior-year energy into a non-calculus subject that will be very useful to you in college and your career. My daughter is really enjoying taking psychology in high school, which is also a required course during college in every nursing program.</p>
<p>psychology over calculus … that screams “I gave up.”
how is the thought that is required to study calculus not good for your future?</p>
<p>If you are going to major in economics, engineering, hydrology or certain other majors, calculus is very important. However, calculus has no connection to nursing, which is why no college makes it part of a nursing curriculum. </p>
<p>In high school, my daughter is taking AP Bio, 2 AP english classes, 2 AP histories and AP stats, as well as honors trig. It is not a matter of taking easy classes, it is a matter of taking hard classes that will serve a purpose. </p>
<p>I took calculus in high school and in college and never ever used any of it. Many people I talk to, including in technical fields, tell me the same thing.</p>
<p>Going back to the OP - who says she may end up with a C grade in pre-calc:</p>
<p>I think that keeping your GPA up is more important than taking AP Calc. Focus on your sciences (bio, chem, A&P), take stats if it gives you the 4 years of math, keep your grades up, and try to do some ECs that might include some volunteer work in healthcare. You need to have a good GPA to get into any nursing program, and you don’t need calc to be admitted to nursing school OR to be a great nurse! If you really enjoyed and were talented in math, my advice would be different. Good luck!!</p>
<p>And I respectfully disagree that taking psychology screams “I gave up”. Taking psych and stats in HS is a great way to introduce you to what you’ll really be doing as a nurse! My D took both psych and stats in HS and has gotten accepted into all 6 of the direct entry nursing programs she applied to. And she chose not to take AP Calc.</p>
<p>I would agree that calculus has little direct application in Nursing and if an aspiring nursing student had to choose between taking statistices verses calculus in HS I would agree that statistics would probably be more appropriate. Coming from an Academic background however, I do believe calculus has some indirect benefits for a nurse. It has to do with the development of analytical thinking, which is becoming increasingly important as the Nursing Discipline continues to evolve in the areas of critical thinking, differential diagnosis, clinical problem solving, research, and the development and evaluation of Nursing Best Practices and Standards of Care. The ability to think in an analytical mannner is crucial in these areas. Most people taking calculus tend to just see it as an advanced math course and don’t even realize its “fringe benefits” in this area. Obviously other types of courses (i.e. statistics) are also important as well. I believe that if you were to ask Nurse Managers in many Nursing settings what are the most difficult issues they are trying to address with their respective nursing staff members that one of them would be improving the ability of their nurses to think in a more global, analytical manner. Just my perspective about how calculus might be helpful to a nurse.</p>