Is it worth going past Calculus 3?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>I'm going into 10th grade in the fall, and I am going to take Calculus AB, but self-study the BC material and take the BC exam. I am also doing Dual Enrollment, which will allow me to take Calculus 3 at the community college during the summer between 10th and 11th grade. Now, I was wondering if it is worth going on past Calc 3, since I was thinking about taking Differential Equations and Linear Algebra in the fall/spring of 11th grade. Also, I plan on at least taking physics classes up to College Physics I, and I'm not sure if i should take another physics class (College Physics I will be my 4th physics class), or try to take the AP Physics exam since my school does not offer the AP Physics Class.
Do you guys think I should go on past Calc 3 and College Physics I? Any advice would be appreciated.</p>

<p>Note: This is a legitimate question, and NOT a troll post. Thank you</p>

<p>Edit: I forgot to ask, how well would going on to more advanced math classes look on a college application? I plan to apply for Stanford when I graduate high school, and I know that its not just classes that determine admissions, but would taking such advanced classes somewhat help in the admissions process?</p>

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<p>Yes it is worth going past Calc 3, but I would advise you slow down. Stanford and other top schools are not going to give credit for DE classes. You will have to take a placement test upon arriving on campus and you will be placed into a math sequence, the highest of which will probably start with MVC.</p>

<p>These colleges want you to learn math the way they teach it, so if you go DE too far ahead, you’ll find yourself going that many steps behind to start up again, Not that relearning is a bad thing; it can take the pressure off some of your other classes.</p>

<p>Top schools will view your application holistically. Getting yourself so far ahead in math and physics at the risk of EC’s, volunteering, etc. will do you no favors in the admissions process. Get a job or intern the summer after 10th grade. That is better than rolling ahead in math. </p>

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<p>@skieurope‌ Well, the reason I had wanted to take Calc 3 over the summer after sophomore year was because I had wanted to apply for a study abroad program in Germany for part of the 11th grade, which is also why I was trying to decide whether to take Differential/Linear in 11th grade or do the study abroad program (though I see I forgot to mention it). Also, since Calc 3 is a dual enrollment class at the local community college, the class is usually an hour a day (3-4 days) or 3 hours (1-2 days), so I don’t think it would conflict with a summer job. So, considering the study abroad program, would you advise it or wait until senior year to do Calc 3? Or possibly self-study?</p>

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<p>I’d also suggest reading this:</p>

<p><a href=“Don’t Fall into the Calculus Trap”>Don’t Fall into the Calculus Trap;

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<p>I would try to get calc 3 out of the way before you go to Germany as I don’t know what math options you would have in a study abroad program.</p>

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<p>The link was very helpful, and I did plan to try out for the International Math Olympiad. Thank you for the link and the advice.</p>

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<p>I feel the courses that you’re taking are fine and worth it, depending on your future major. If you’re an engineer for example, get rid of these math courses early so they don’t delay you from taking your actual major courses.</p>

<p>Yeah, check out how far you can go and what credits you will get… As a personal opinion (I do not know the math sequence at top tier colleges), taking those courses aren’t getting you anywhere further than Calculus 3. They’re giving you coursework on the same tier, just that a lot of people decide to take Calc 3 first before heading to the others. Past Calc 3 / DEs based off of non-top tier colleges is typically considered upper division.</p>

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<p>@tangentline‌ I had planned on double majoring in Mathematics/Physics and minoring in Computer Science (or possibly even triple-majoring), which is why I had wanted to take the class and go further. Thank you for the insight</p>

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<p>

Would you like to take these classes? How much money would you have to spend?
(For what it’s worth, I took differential equations and linear algebra before I took multivariable calculus, so I don’t consider them to be more advanced in the way that Calculus II is more advanced than Calculus I. Some colleges might set one as a prerequisite for the others, but they’re basically at the same level.)

Sort of, because they want you to take the most advanced classes available. But most people don’t have the option of taking multivariable calculus in their high school, and top schools can’t penalize anyone for not taking classes outside their high school because a lot of people have logistical and financial issues that prevent them from doing so. If you only want to take these classes because you think they’ll get you into a top school, then you shouldn’t take them.

You know that the college application process starts before you graduate, right? (Assuming you want to start college the fall after you graduate from high school.) Do you have an affordable safety school? Why do you want to go to Stanford?

You should take a real class whenever possible. Self-study is the blind leading the blind. It’s okay, but it’s not ideal.

This isn’t universally true, and you need to look at the policy of each university you’re interested in to figure out what they accept. </p>

<p>For example, Harvard [url=<a href=“https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/application-process/transferring-harvard-college/transfer-credits]says[/url”>Transfer Applicants]says[/url</a>] they won’t accept “dual-enrollment courses counted for credit toward a high school diploma,” which implies that they may accept them if they weren’t used to meet graduation requirements. Stanford [url=<a href=“Page Not Found : Stanford University”>Eligibility & Transfer Credit : Stanford University]says[/url</a>], “Students who are dual-enrolled in both high school and college programs should apply for freshman admission.” They have a list of the conditions a course needs to meet in order to transfer, and it doesn’t say anywhere that you can’t transfer a dual-enrollment course. I go to Case Western Reserve University, which has a similar [url=<a href=“http://case.edu/ugstudies/academic-policies/transfer-credit-other-colleges.html]policy[/url”>http://case.edu/ugstudies/academic-policies/transfer-credit-other-colleges.html]policy[/url</a>], and I’ve been able to transfer most of the dual-enrollment courses I took at a state university. </p>

<p>I imagine you might have trouble transferring a community college math class to a top university because it’s not likely to be up to their standards, but most colleges don’t have a blanket policy against transferring dual-enrollment courses. Overall, you will have the best chance of transferring your dual-enrollment classes if they were taken for a letter grade of C or higher, taken on a college campus, taught by college faculty, and not used to meet high school graduation requirements.</p>

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<p>I have been told, but I don’t know if it is true, that if you plan to major in Math/Physics, you would want to take some math and some science each year of high school. I’m hoping to get feedback on that here also. </p>

<p>S17 is in a similar situation; he will be taking Calc BC next year (10th). Courses that are possibles for him in 11th and 12th include: AP Stats at the HS and the following at the local CC: Multivariable, Linear Alg, Diff Eq, and Discrete Math (which is offered in the CS department). Courses at the local UC covering the same topics as at the CC are also options, but their quarter system doesn’t sync all that well with the high school’s semester system.</p>

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<p>Top schools ([url=&lt;a href=“https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/preparing-college/choosing-courses]Harvard[/url”&gt;Guide to Preparing for College | Harvard]Harvard[/url</a>], for example) often recommend that applicants take four years each of math and science classes. I think “years” usually means “credits,” not necessarily that you have to take a math or science class every year if you’ve already taken four science classes and made it to Calculus BC before your senior year. But there’s no harm in taking extra math classes if you like math. </p>

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<p>@halcyonheather
Yes, I had wanted to take the classes since I really love math. I would not have to spend any money, besides the cost of transportation to the college, since it is dual enrollment and all costs are covered by either the county or the high school.</p>

<p>I had just started looking at colleges, and was looking at some in-state institutions. However, I have not look at pricing yet and most likely will only be able to go to college with assistance from financial aid, scholarships, etc. The reason I had wanted to go to Stanford is that I understand that they have good programs in the areas of study I am interested in. Also, I want to get away from the East Coast, but Stanford isn’t the only “away” college I’ve been looking at. </p>

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<p>@Ynotgo</p>

<p>@halcyonheather is correct; Years means credits, or in the case of foreign language, level.</p>

<p>That said, reaching Spanish 4 as a junior is good. Packing four years of science into 3 years is good. Reaching Calc BC (technically level 4 or 5 for HS) is good. However, math is like a foreign language; if you don’t use it, you start to forget it. It would not be good to have a 2 year gap with no math before college, because the readjustment will be huge. However, it seems there are plenty of options for S17.</p>

<p>For future reference, starting your own discussion is preferable to hijacking someone else’s thread.</p>

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<p>@halcyonheather Well, I also need to take math classes to fulfill my Math and Elective Requirements for my A.A. degree, which I plan to receive before the end of 12th grade, since at my high school almost all of your classes are dual-enrollment starting in 11th. So its an added bonus </p>

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<p>@uncreativename‌ Will having an AA degree force you to apply as a transfer student? If so, you should check the Common Data Set for colleges to which you plan to apply to make sure that they do take a reasonable number of transfer students.</p>

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<p>@Ynotgo I am not entirely sure as to whether I am supposed to apply as a transfer student or freshman. For instance, on the Stanford website for undergraduate admission it says to apply as a freshman if you have not yet received your high school diploma and that if you are in a dual enrollment program to apply as a freshman. So I suppose even though I have earned a degree, since I would not have graduated high school yet at the time of my application, I would have to apply as a freshman</p>

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<p>Earning an AA as a HS student does not make OP a transfer student. But as in all cases, check each school’s website.</p>

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<p>Yes, you would apply as a freshman.</p>

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<p>@skieurope @halcyonheather‌ Thank you</p>