I’m in precalculus at the moment and will take Calculus 1 during this summer session. My question is if you have to love calculus to be a successful engineering student?
Is there a certain grade you should get in calculus to know whether you can do engineering?
Not really. You just have to pass it without too much difficulty. There isn’t a set grade that will signify future success. It just helps to not hate it and to understand it well enough that when you see it in later classes you won’t be lost.
The only way to know for sure if you will succeed in engineering is to try it.
@boneh3ad Thank you for your quick and short, but helpful response!
I appreciate it.
That probably depends a bit on the precise field, but certainly in EE, ME, and AeroE you can plan to spend a lot of time in it!!
I would agree with boneh3ad’s “not really” - grades are not the same as knowledge. That having been said, if you cannot pull at least a “B” in calculus I think you should question how well you are going to handle the harder classes and material later on. C’s (or lower) in those early classes should be cause to examine whether it is a lack of understanding or a lack of effort that led to the grade, followed by a course of correction. It doesn’t generally get easier until your senior year!
LOVE it, probably not—master it, absolutely.
For me, calculus was something I sort of enjoyed, got through, never used again and can now barely remember. That’s ok if you want to be a doctor. For engineers though calculus is fundamental to what you will do day in and day out. You can’t just get through it to get to the next step. It is part of the next step, so you have to “get it.” Pre-Calc usually gives you an idea of whether or not you’ll have the chops or not. Good luck!