<p>D will be a freshman civil engineering major this fall. Calculus AB score was a 4. College gave her credit for Calc I. Her advisor is recommending she take the credit and enroll in Calc II. Her father and I think it is important to have a good foundation in calculus and should take Calc I. D isn't sure what to do. Math came easy to her in high school, but she realizes college could be a different story.</p>
<p>Comments? Suggestions?</p>
<p>I can definitely speak to the benefits of taking Calculus I in college, particularly if your daughter has only had the high-school AP-test-taking version of calculus.</p>
<p>If your daughter really doesn’t like the idea, try to see whether there is some kind of special honors/accelerated Calculus track (e.g. for math majors) at the college she’s going to. If so, that could work out very well and not make her feel like she’s wasting her time.</p>
<p>A 4 can go either way. Retaking when not necessary would be a waste of time and tuition, but going ahead when not fully prepared can result in poor academic performance. As suggested above, perhaps an honors first semester calculus course, or a calculus course specially designed for students with AP credit, if either is offered, may be a good choice.</p>
<p>If she can take a look at sample final exams from her school’s first semester calculus course to check her knowledge, that may help her decide.</p>
<p>For example:
[Choosing</a> an Appropriate First Math Course — UC Berkeley College of Engineering](<a href=“http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/current-undergraduates/new-students/choosing-an-appropriate-first-math-course.html]Choosing”>http://coe.berkeley.edu/students/current-undergraduates/new-students/choosing-an-appropriate-first-math-course.html)</p>
<p>If she feels like she knows what she learned in calculus, then skip calc 1. For me, the beginning of calc 2 was alot like what I learned in calc 1</p>
<p>Is she generally an exceptional student? Does she have the “I won’t get anything less than an A if it kills me” attitude? If so, then you’d waste time having her retake calc I
If you think there is a chance calc II could backfire, then retake calc I, especially if you are at a highly ranked engineering school.</p>
<p>In general, AP credit hurts when kids take BC and go straight to calc III. They do fine in calc III, but get bitten hard when it comes to differential equations. Since we are talking AB credit, the decision it is all up to you/your daughter.</p>
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<p>This depends on the student. Some students do fine (as in getting A grades while thinking that the course is not unreasonably hard) going directly to multivariable calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations (or even the honors version of those courses that most students are afraid to register for) from a 5 on AP Calculus BC. But you can usually tell who they are – the ones who barely study for math but say that honors math in high school is an easy A+ and the AP Calculus BC test is an easy 5.</p>
<p>The students who struggled to get a 3 are probably better off retaking calculus. The students who got a 4 (or who got a 5 but were surprised that they scored that high) could go either way.</p>
<p>Thanks all for suggestions. They provided some good thinking points.</p>
<p>Looks like the decision will be to start with Calc I. If nothing else, it will be a review. Plus other freshman classes will provide plenty of challenge… and she needs a respectable gpa to retain her scholarship.</p>