<p>I made a 5 on the AP Calculus AB test, and that qualifies me to place out of M408C at UT... My question is, should I do it? My high school teacher was really good and didn't just "teach to the test" and I did well in the class, but my memory isn't the greatest and I might have forgotten some things. </p>
<p>My major is ERB in the Business school, this is why I have to take the full Calculus track.</p>
<p>If any other students have done this (place out of C, gone into D), please tell me your experiences (how well did you do in D, was it hard, etc). I'm worried that I may do badly in 408D if I don't take C, but I've also heard from some people on the forum that Calculus is a weed-out class and the less you take at UT the better...</p>
<p>It really depends on you. I made a 4 on the AP test, many moons ago, and decided to take the first calculus course. My son got a 5 on it, and skipped the first class last year. He did fine, and got an A in the second one. If you made a 5, I would think you’d be OK to go on to the second course. I doubt you’ve forgotten much, and you could catch up quickly on the things you don’t remember.</p>
<p>Calculus is a weed out class for those who have not taken calculus before. All of the people that I know who had a tough time with C had only taken precal in high school. The professors go through the material quite fast, and you can only imagine how tough it can be to grasp the concepts of derivatives, integrals, etc. at a fast pace.
I am a math major and earned a 5 on calc AB, but I still decided to take C. I thought it was pretty nice review, and good to have your first semester. I never stressed over it, and earned a high A. The most studying I ever did for my class was glance over the teacher’s posted online notes five minutes before an exam. It can be boring, but still I would never turn down earning an easy A at UT. The upper-division classes get difficult, and it’s nice to have that A at the top of your transcript.
D is a straight continuation from C. Most professors will not review or even touch C concepts. D covers series, sequences, and vectors, and requires a lot of memorization and practice, as well as graphing on a 3-dimensional plane. I had the problem of being one of the few in my class who had not taken BC calc in high school. The class moved at a fast pace because some vocal students would complain that they already knew this and urged the professor to move forward. The prof still gave a nice curve at the end, and even at that I earned a B+. If I had taken D during my first semester at UT, I would have been overwhelmed in that type of class, and that’s that I felt math would come easy to me. I don’t regret taking C my first semester; it helped me in my transition to college. I even made new friends tutoring students who were having trouble.
I don’t personally know anyone who placed out of C. However, I do know some people who placed out of chemistry and physics with their AP credit. From what they told me, the AP and UT material differ, and it was intimidating taking their first semester with upperclassmen.
Anyways, I hope that helps you in your decision. Good luck at UT! :)</p>
<p>Thanks lmcDoctor10 and MaineLonghorn for the insightful information! I’m still not completely sure what I should do, take C and then D or claim credit for C, but I’m going to get advice from some other students here. Please, if anyone else would like to chip in their own 2 cents about this, please do!</p>