Can you take a course at the same time as the prerequisite course for that course?

I am a first year Civil Engineering Student at The University of Cincinnati. I made a mistake to take Pre-Calculus first semester because now I am in the situation that I need Calculus 2 before this fall. My original plan was to take Calculus 2 in the summer and stay on track for co-op in the spring. The problem is that I will need to retake Calculus 1 which I am in currently. My question is that if I register for Calculus 2 at a community college before I drop Calculus 1 and retake Calculus 2 through UC in the summer at the same time I am enrolled in Calculus 2 at a Community College. I am trying to figure out what my best option is while attempting to stay on track if possible. Thanks for any input.

You need to ask your own university about this. Usually, being able to understand the material in Calc 2 requires having successfully mastered the material in Calc 1.

Fortunately for you, there are good review and practice activities available online at KhanAcademy.org and PatrickJMT.com that can help support your Calculus studies.

In the case of calculus 2 depending on calculus 1, generally no.

There may be some other cases where the prerequisite course material is only minimally used, or is used only in the later part of the successor course, but calculus 1 to calculus 2 is not such a case.

So, you’re saying that you were in Calc I this semester but it was going poorly and you already dropped it?

Basically, you cannot wait until summer to start taking Calc I. If it’s crucial for you to finish Calc II before the fall, you should probably go with a self-paced option such as this one https://il.wisconsin.edu/course-catalog/calculus-i/u3600-114-4o/ and start right away. If your school would accept this for transfer credit (verify first!), you could either power through both I and II in the same system, or finish I in time to take II in the summer at your own school. It would probably be very wise to get a tutor as well. The advantage of a self-paced class is that you can move quickly through the parts you already understand, and focus your time and attention on the things you haven’t mastered yet.

If the opportunity is available, take a Calc 1 as soon as possible and discuss solutions with your math department on what is attainable. Use outside sources like a tutor or online math platforms to make sure the process is facilitated for you.

Colleges now have multiple summer sessions. Can you take calc 1 during the 1st session and calc 2 during the 2nd? If you’re not doing well in calc 1, it’s not a good idea to jump into calc 2.