<p>I took the AP Calculus AB exam and received credit for Calculus I. As a result, I was placed in Calculus II. I asked my adviser and he said that if I have AP credit, I should take it and this won't screw up my chances at medical school. Is he correct because I do not trust advisers at my school? Should I listen to him or just retake Calculus I?</p>
<p>Calc II and one other semester of math (statistics, for example) is fine.</p>
<p>What about just 1 semester of calculus and I will be done with math forever? I mean I am already taking Calculus II, do I need to take more math?</p>
<p>1 sem calculus + 1 sem of stats is good enough for most schools.</p>
<p>So just a semester of calculus II, even though I have credit for calculus I, will not suffice?</p>
<p>EDIT: Hm. Broken link.</p>
<p>Many places want a year of math. A semester is less than a year. Therefore, you should find another class to take as well.</p>
<p>OP, I think I have read on these forums that the requirements for math can run the gamut. Some med schools will accept AP credit for math, some require a semester of college math, some require a year, some don't even require math, and so on. </p>
<p>It is best to go the websites of the individual med schools you are interested in and see what the requirements are. If you are from NY, then you should look closely at the requirements for NY state med schools.</p>
<p>Here is a link to Umich Medical School - they don't seem to require math </p>
<p>Here is a copy and paste from UMich:</p>
<pre><code>* 8 semester hours of Chemistry
* 3 semester hours of Biochemistry
* 6 semester hours of Biology
* 6 semester hours of Physics
* 6 semester hours of English Composition and Literature
* 18 semester hours of Non-science subjects
</code></pre>
<p>See below a copy and paste from the U of Wisconsin Medical School website:</p>
<p>Requirements beginning with 2008 entry: Semesters
General Biology (with lab) 1
Advanced Biology (with lab) 1
Inorganic/General Chemistry (with lab) 2
Organic Chemistry 1
Biochemistry 1
Physics (with lab) 2
Mathematics (statistics and calculus recommended) 2</p>
<p>I don't know if Wisconsin above will accept AP Calc AB as one semester of college Calc.. </p>
<p>I think you should consult the AMCAS book which I hear has the requirements for all the medical schools and then plan accordingly. Taking a semester of college Calc in addition to the AP Calc AB would be a good thing if you plan to cast a wide net when it comes to the application process. My son will be a HS senior next year and is thinking seriously about medical school. Like you, he already has AP Calc AB credit. He plans however, to take Calc II at a university (although he does not need it to graduate from HS). We are hoping that Calc II class will transfer to whatever college he ends up at and can be used towards his undergrad degree (and fulfill med school requirements if need be).</p>
<p>
[quote]
if you plan to cast a wide net when it comes to the application process.
[/quote]
This is basically a mandatory part of applying. And so you need to find the highest amount of math that any school you're remotely interested in might want.</p>
<p>This will be one semester of Calculus and either a second of calc or a semester of something else -- i.e. statistics.</p>
<p>What if I give-up my AP credit and just retake Calculus I and II?</p>
<p>That's also acceptable but I fail to see how 1 sem of calc and one sem of stats would be worse than 2 sem of calc. Stats is pretty easy.</p>
<p>If you don't think the AP Calc AB prepared you for your college's Calc II, you might want to think about taking the Calc I. It could also be an easy A since you have had the material before. You should find out from others at your college how the Calc II is taught. Is it proof-based? See if you can get a syllabus online or email the prof.
But if you think you can get an A in the Calc II w/out taking the Calc I, then Calc II and Stats would be good because then you can cast that net wider when you apply (although a question I would like to ask the veterans here - can an applicant take a required class such as Stats in his/her senior year of college after med school acceptance?).</p>
<p>You might want to make a list of the 20 most likely med schools you would be applying to and look up their requirements.</p>
<p>"can an applicant take a required class such as Stats in his/her senior year of college after med school acceptance?"</p>
<p>Absolutely. It just needs to be taken by the time the student matriculates.</p>
<p>1.) UCLA either requires or "strongly recommends" statistics.</p>
<p>2.) Statistics WILL be part of medical school. Calculus will (probably) not be.</p>
<p>3.) You can't make a list of your 20 schools until you have a reasonable GPA projection and an MCAT score.</p>
<p>4.) It's okay to postpone classes until after apps are in, but you don't want to do this with too many or else you're depriving the admissions committee of a track record with which to evaluate you.</p>
<p>"This will be one semester of Calculus and either a second of calc or a semester of something else -- i.e. statistics."</p>
<p>And this is at the university, not including credit given by IB/AP, correct?</p>
<p>I came into college with a 5 on BC, and the first math class I took was Statistics. I suppose for a Calculus class I could take something above Calculus II, but at my school the only class that is higher than Calculus II with word "Calculus" in it is Vector Calculus. I guess I could take that, or just breeze through Calc I. Seems a little strange that I could take Calculus I and Statistics in college, and certain medical schools would appreciate that more than getting a 5 on the BC exam and taking Statistics in college. The BC exam would cover more material than the average Calc I class, I'd think? But if not taking Calculus in college would seriously limit where I can apply, it appears I have no choice...</p>
<p>EDIT: As part of my major, I have to take Computer Science. Looking at the MSAR for 07-08, if a medical school "recommends Computer Science" under their math requirements, they're essentially saying they consider CS a math, right? Does CS count as math for schools, even if they don't recommend it? I'm leaning towards yes, given that schools aren't recommending Statistics, but that would count.</p>
<p>Not sure what to think of CS. AP Credits at some schools don't count, therefore you must behave as if at all schools it doesn't count. College courses are usually harder than high school courses even if content is less advanced.</p>
<p>So when Johns Hopkins says "2 semesters Calculus," do they want you to take a year of Calculus at your university? Or do they have to specify "college" - as in, "two semesters college math" - to mean that AP credit doesn't apply towards their requirements?</p>
<p>Their AP policy is probably listed elsewhere. Their language here does not communicate one or the other.</p>
<p>Regardless, it's not sane to aim for any specific school. You need to meet requirements for lots and lots of different, diverse schools.</p>
<p>This is a very confusing area for pre-meds. While math is what we're talking about here, it comes up in English ,too. </p>
<p>I thought I had found a fine source of info on Math requirements from Harvard's Ofice of Career Services online. Then I started checking and it doesn't appear to be any more accurate than anybody else's. Schools should really make this more clear on their websites and in their printed material. It seems that to be eligible for every school you would have to have 2 semesters of college calculus classes AND a semester of stats with a math department number. D plans on taking stats and might take Calc II to go with her AP BC 5, but I doubt if she 'll take 2 college courses in calc . She barely has enough room for any electives now. </p>
<p>English is just as wierd. Some require a year and don't seem to take AP. Well, D has a college course taken at her 4 year school, credit for two course by AP for English Lit, and two dual credit English courses in Brit Lit (which do NOT count for credit at her UG but will be on her transcript for AMCAS and Texas). It really seems silly to require her to take another English course, but they are making the rules.</p>
<p>I believe I pored over Bryn Mawr's list and found that Calc II plus stats or Calc III plus stats should cover everybody, since any school that explicitly requires two semesters of calculus specifically accepted AP Credit, at least for math.</p>
<p>English I would not mess with. Where were her BritLit classes taken?</p>
<p>the MSAR doesn't mention specific AP requirements for that many school. Where is this list you found?</p>