<p>i am thinking about taking calculus my freshman yr, the highest math i've done in hs was pre cal when i was a senior...is that enough math in high school for me to do well in calculus as a freshman in college??</p>
<p>I don't know how hard calculus in US colleges, but calculus is a lot different from algebra. You could do very well in precalc and suck at calc, or vice versa. The best way is to master the stuff you did in precalc, but also get an idea of the concepts you will be exposed in calc. You never know.</p>
<p>... pre-calc usually comes... well, right before calculus.</p>
<p>Hence the name.</p>
<p>Yeah, but it's still basic algebra. To me, it's A LOT different from calculus. It's not like going from Algebra 2 to precalc. The difference is much greater.
My father who taught university said a big hurdle to students doing math in college is adapting to calculus concepts.</p>
<p>The point is that it's not like there's a course he's skipping. if he's going to do calculus, he should just... do calculus.</p>
<p>Perhaps. However from personal experience it you may want to take a placement exam to see just where your math skills stand. Different schools often have wildly different math demands. For instance, at my school most people either take a semester of college algebra or precalculus before taking calculus. Even if is possible for you to take calculus off the bat, calculus is not an easy course and presupposes a lot of knowledge from previous math courses. In the long run, it is better to get an A in an easy prep class and then a A or B in calc, then to go straight in and fight tooth and nail for a C in calc.</p>
<p>College algebra?</p>
<p>Is it ok to take Calculus in sophomore or junior year as a pre-med?</p>
<p>BDM,</p>
<p>in my experience: college algebra + trig = precalc.</p>
<p>(i actually took them as separate courses in high school)</p>
<p>i had taken only precalc before i went to college. i decided to test the waters of calculus (not being a math person). most of the students in my class were engineers, yet i was still able to average an a- over three quarters of calc.</p>
<p>i would argue that the second semester of precalc was very beneficial in terms of calc. we were examining all sorts of equations and the effect on their graphs, taking derivatives, etc. easy, but lets you ease into calc a little more.</p>
<p>if you decide to take calc, just remember that you will probably have to focus on it more to make sure that you get the grade you want.</p>