<p>I am a freshman at the university of florida. my first semester went great and I got a 4.0 in calc 1, chem 1, bio 1 and my electives. I made the biggest error of my life to date by signing up for calc 2 in my second semester. I now believe it is hopeless for me to achieve anything greater than a C/D in this class. Should I drop this class, or take the horrid grade? I do not plan on retaking it.</p>
<p>If you don't need the class, drop it. There's no consequence unless you need it to maintain 12 hours for financial aid.</p>
<p>I get questions like these a lot through my podcast.</p>
<p>Daniel Williams, MD</p>
<p>Uh, most schools require 2 semesters of calculus. So if you don’t plan to retake MAC2312, then take your C or D, otherwise you won’t have the necessary pre-requisite courses to be admitted to medical school. The guy above is also pretty crazy, accumulating W’s on your transcript isn’t the way to go. Medical Schools know what a W stands for on a transcript, so don’t accumulate those. My advice would be to stick it out and try and at least get a B.</p>
<p>Similar, but probably not as dire, thing happened to me when I was taking calc III. I bombed the first exam, talked to my professor, then worked hard for the rest of the semester and I ended up with a B+. You should probably talk to your professor before you do anything. Is the class curved? You may be in a better position than you think.</p>
<p>Better listen to him… his name is Calculus</p>
<p>i’m in basically the same situation this semester with calc 2… @ 16 hours and not sure if i should take the R and go down to 12</p>
<p>
Most schools do not require 2 semesters of calculus. Most require 1-2 semesters of math. Generally, a semester of stats and a semester of calc will make you good to go for the majority of schools.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/377780-premed-forum-faqs-read-first.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/377780-premed-forum-faqs-read-first.html</a></p>
<p>Really? Does this person intend on applying to Harvard Medical School?</p>
<ol>
<li>Mathematics: one year of calculus. Advanced placement credits may satisfy this requirement (Calculus AB - 1 semester, Calculus BC - 2 semesters). A course in statistics does not meet this requirement. </li>
</ol>
<p>Maybe this person is ambitious and would like to apply to UF’s Junior Honors Medical Program? </p>
<p>Biology - 8 semester hours (12 quarter hours)
General (Inorganic) Chemistry - 8 semester hours (12 quarter hours)
Organic Chemistry - 8 semester hours (12 quarter hours) OR Organic Chemistry - 4 semester hours (6 quarter hours) Biochemistry 4 semester hours (6 quarter hours) AND
Calculus - 8 semester hours (12 quarter hours)
General Physics - 8 semester hours (may be completed in the junior year)
The University’s general education requirements in English, social sciences and humanities. </p>
<p>A lot don’t require Calculus II or beyond, but some do, so unless you’d like to diminish the amount of medical schools willing to accept you, stay in it. BC Calculus (equivalent to Calculus I and II) is taught in high school if that’s any motivation to stay in it.</p>
<p>Hence why I said “most” and “majority”. There are very few that require two semesters of calc. WUSTL med is another one that requires calc II.</p>
<p>So the advice would be to stay in it? A W is the same as an F, let’s be clear here. Medical Schools know exactly what causes one to drop a class. The choices are stay in it, maybe get a B, and be a possible applicant to a broader range of schools, or decrease the amount of schools one could apply to twofold. He/she can drop Calculus II and sully his/her transcripts to all medical schools and he/she decreases the amount of medical schools he/she can apply to at the same time. In my opinion, even a C would look better than a W.</p>
<p>You shouldn’t drop a course over a B. But the OP said that a C or D is the best grade he can hope to attain. A C is borderline grade and a D might be worth a W. You can always retake calc 2 later on if you have your heart set on Harvard Med.</p>
<p>Yeah, I agree, but if they can pull a C in the class, then no need to get a W.</p>