How to convince math department head to let me take Calculus

Pre-College Topics High School Life
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<p>I'm going to be a senior this fall and would like to take Calculus I. Unfortunetely, during my Junior year I was in Algebra IIH and have never taken Trig. I was going to ask to self-teach but math department head and most of the teachers said no and that I'll be doing a disservice to myself. </p>

<p>Because I plan on taking the SAT Subject test in Math 2, I would have to self-teach anyway. The math department said that the only way to take Calc was to take the class during the summer at the local Community College but it's expensive.</p>

<p>Additionally I just found out that I won a Scholarship that allows me to take a class for free in the fall for free at the community college, but I would rather take something else and not re-learn something (BTW-most of the CC Trig classes are done at a math lab where you teach yourself and ask the professor if you have any trouble, although some are done in lecture format). So how can I convince them to let me in?</p>

<p>PS: There is summerwork required for Calc and I offered to attempt it and asked if I understood it if I could take the class, but they said no. Luckily, I have friends with the calc book on them. So is there anyway to convince them to take calc. Thanks for the help all.</p>

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<p>BTW-I always got As and Bs in math when the grades where calculated.</p>

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<p>You should just ask if you can take both, but only take trig for credit. That way you’ll get to sit in on the calculus class and learn everything, but it will be a lot of extra work.</p>

4

<p>Be persistent. Be very persistent. I was in a similar situation in high school, and I was extremely persistent until they just gave in. Show your dedication.</p>

5

<p>If you’re sure that you are ready for Calc-level work, push for it. There is only so far they will go before they give in. After all, it’s you GPA to ruin, right? </p>

<p>But when I skipped two years of math, I did an incalculable disservice to myself. I was always very good at math, but I skipped over some very basic concepts that have since been a major issue for me to learn.</p>

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<p>“You should just ask if you can take both, but only take trig for credit. That way you’ll get to sit in on the calculus class and learn everything, but it will be a lot of extra work.”</p>

<p>One problem is that the only slot of Trig honors is also where I plan on taking Chem 2H, whose only slot is that (no AP or normal Chem 2 either)</p>

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<p>I agree with alex, it’s tremendously important that you learn your math properly. If you work really hard you might be able to do trig over the summer and learn it properly. This is what I did for Calc I. But you’d have to work really hard. And certainly you shouldn’t skip trig entirely.</p>

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<p>Hah, yeah, I agree with phuriku. I fought a lot for Algebra I in 7th grade…just tell them you’re more than sure you can tackle the material.</p>

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<p>Ehh, you can either be more persistent or take their advice.</p>

<p>Calculus does not help for the SATII anyway, so just screw the calc imo. It’s a hard class.</p>

10

<p>why do you want to skip ahead? There’s not much to be gained by rushing.</p>

<p>I suggest, if you are interested in the subject, to pick up a textbook and read it.</p>

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<p>Yeah, you can learn a lot through self-study. If you find yourself ready next spring, take a one-semester CC course and see how it goes. :)</p>

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<p>Thanks all for the help.</p>