I got a 5 on the AB Calculus and a 4 with a subscore of 5 on the BC Calculus test for the AP tests. My advisors have said not to take calculus in college in order to apply to med school, but students have said to take it. Do I need to take calculus in college even though I got the scores above on my AP tests? Thanks!
Did you receive credit for calc 1 and calc 2? Or did you just receive advanced standing in math?
(Different colleges handle things differently.)
If you received credits, do they appear on your transcript as credit for specific classes offered by your U?
(IOW, 3 credits for MTH 121, not 3 credits mathematics.)
If you received credit for specific classes, then you don’t need to take calc. But you do need to take a year of “college level” mathematics to fulfill admission requirements since not all med schools accept AP credits and most med schools recommend supplementing AP credits with additional coursework in the same dept.
Since you’ll need stats for the MCAT, that’s one math course you ought to take
What will your major be? What math is required?
Did your college give you credit for Calc I? (Sounds like you took both Calc AB and BC?)
If you don’t need any other math, then take Stats and be done.
I’ll tell you this…a young lady I know got Calc I credit from APCalc. She was nagged by her advisor to take Calc I in college and did so. She ended up getting a C in the class, not because it was too hard, but because of some non-academic reasons with a strict prof. She’s premed and forever regrets taking that class.
JMHO, but since Calc I, gen Chem, and Bio tend to be strict weeder classes, if you can skip them with AP credits and a strong foundation, then do so. But do take the higher up classes and shine.
Thank you guys. @WayOutWestMom I receive 6 total credits from AB and BC Calculus. I plan on taking Biostatistics, but that is shown as a biology course instead of a mathematics course.
The course designation doesn’t matter–it’s the content that matters. Biostatistics will fulfill the stats requirement at any med school.