Curious, isn’t it redundant if AP tests anyway guarantee to go to next level?
@cshigh “The placement test gives a measure of a student’s mathematical skills at the time it is taken” which is important to understand, since it is possible to take and pass an AP exam and then not actively practice math for as long as a year before starting college. Math is a skill that requires practice. If you are out of practice, then it is important to know that you would be better served to “repeat” a course you place out of. Maryland wants students to succeed, not flounder.
In engineering, for example, math is fundamental to many other processes. There were many adult friend engineers that advised my son to ignore his high math scores and “retake” the beginning calc classes, just for his own benefit because sometimes university classes actually do go into more depth than “college level” classes taught in high school.
For those asking about what they do at orientation, found this thread with detailed breakdown of what is covered and @SoofDad’s post #5 gives a great report on the experience:
http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/university-maryland-college-park/1983701-orientation-info.html
@maryversity Would you advise that engineering students retake Calc 2 even if they get a 4 on the AP test? My son is taking Calc BC AP now, but does not seem to be too comfortable with it.
If he’s not comfortable with it, he definitely should. Math is fundamental to a lot of classes in engineering and you are only as good as your foundation. If he gets a 5, it’s a tougher call to make because Calc 2 is a tough class.
My son is very strong in math, got a 5 and really struggled with the decision to go straight to Calc 3 or retake the full calc series from calc 1 to reinforce those skills. Adult engineers unanimously advised him to retake Calc 1 & 2 in college despite getting the 5. Student engineers said take the pass and go straight to Calc 3 because Calc 2 is so tough (and is less like the other calc courses).
My son ultimately ended up taking the pass and started with Calc3. However, note that he took it semester 1 rather than semester 3 because math has to be continually practiced to be maintained. It’s never a good idea to take a semester off from math.
I remember at one point that my son had said if he had time in his schedule (which he didn’t because he was taking extra classes already), he would have liked to take linear algebra. Even though it’s not required, linear algebra is allegedly very helpful for engineers.
@maryversity I emailed to CS admission who advised me to email to UGadvisor(Math). I told clearly that I am not a transfer student. I got the reply that “As long as UMD has your AP score, you don’t need to take the placement test.” Yes the link given by you does not say so, may be they didn’t update the web site yet.
Hmm… that’s news to me, but given that if that one person is incorrect, is there really any harm in you taking the math placement test, just to be on the safe side?
I don’t think it’s a big deal to take it, but if you don’t take it, it’s going to be a huge issue for you at orientation…if this adviser is wrong, you won’t be able to sign up for classes until you take it, and they score it. That happened with one student at my son’s orientation, so I witnessed it firsthand when the mom flipped out about it. Her daughter was a math major so she assumed the rule didn’t apply to her. Long and short was that her daughter was just starting to sign up for classes as the rest of us were leaving…
@reads2222 I spoke to my son and asked if, in hindsight, he was glad he used the AP credits or if he thinks he would have been better off retaking calc 1 & 2. He said he was very glad he used them. However, that is coming from the perspective of someone that is very comfortable with math. So, honestly, I’m not sure there is one right answer for everyone. I would have your son speak to an adviser at orientation.
@maryversity Thank you. I will talk to my son and ask him to speak to the advisor about it.
My son just signed up for orientation. (Honors College…CS major) Has he been assigned an advisor? If so, how do we find out who he/she is?
@UMDtwins - You can probably email the CS Department. It is possible that advisors have not yet been assigned. My D did not meet her advisor until Orientation, but she applied Undecided, and it wasn’t an issue for us.
@UMDtwins They don’t get assigned a specific adviser for orientation. All orientation advisors are trained to deal with issues of the first semester class sign ups for the department they are assigned to. After matriculation, engineering students get a student mentor as well as being assigned an adviser.