<p>I will be an mechanical engineering major at VCU next year and I had a math placement question. I took AP Calculus BC during my senior year in high school, got a B final grade, and took the AP exam. I'm expecting a 3 or 4. I'll be surprised if I pull off a 5. I also took Differential Equations at a community college that year without completing the prerequisites beforehand which was Calculus 2 or AP Calculus BC and I passed with a very high B. Knowing this, should VCU place me in Calculus 2 (assuming I don't get a 5 on the AP exam which is the minimum to place out) or in Multivariate Calculus (which is usually taken after calc 2 and possibly concurrent with differential equations) since I passed Differential equations on a college level. I talked to some people at VCU and many weren't sure and they always sent me to someone else. My argument is that since Differential equations requires a strong knowledge of Calc 2/BC calc, I should be able to place out of it. The reason I don't think I got a 5 on the AP exam is for 2 reasons. One is that I tend to make careless and stupid mistakes. Often I go back and check for those but I didn't have the time to do so on the AP exam. Secondly, my weakest point in the BC curriculum was series and sequences which I think hurt me significantly on the AP exam. To put it simply, I don't think that that one exam fully represents my abilities compared to my performance in differential equations. I just don't want to repeat the class just because of that one topic especially when I feel super confident about almost everything else. If you guys think I should place out of Calc 2, what are some ways that I can defend my case and convince them to let me place out. As of right now, I'm trying to contact the head of the math department and maybe eventually the dean himself. By the way, your responses don't have to be in relation to VCU, but I would like a general idea of what you guys think of this situation.</p>
<p>What topics does Calc 2 cover? What about multivariate?</p>
<p>Calc 2 covers mainly topics from AP calculus BC which are in depth exploration of derivatives and integration, applications of derivatives and integration, integration techniques, and the convergence and divergence of series/sequences. Multi-variate calculus is essentially kinda like calc 1 but is explored through the use of multiple variables as the name suggests and also involves vector analysis (2D and 3D) in relation to calculus</p>
<p>Well, you need to talk to the math dept if they’ll even let you skip Calc 2. And you also need to see whether or not Calc 2 is a requirement for you major, and if it is, whether the department for your major will even let you skip.</p>
<p>I think you could skip Calc 2, but then again, there’s a reason the class exists.
Differential equations, though, is typically easier than multivariate calculus.</p>