For pre-med, I have to take Gen Chem. And a pre-req or co-req for Gen chem 1 is pre calc or calc 1. I dont know if I should take calc. I havent taken a hard math in over a year. I took college calc in HS junior year. So, Im pretty rusty. Math isn’t my best subject in general. Im a freshman btw. So, if I take pre-calc does that look bad to med schools and grad schools because I took calc 1 in HS? I think I should take pre calc now. Calc 1 later. You might be thinking that colleges dont look at HS GPA, but I took college level classes like College Now so I have to. For reference, I got a C in calc. I mean school is starting soon so I have to review while Im taking the class if I take Calc 1.
Take precalc if that is where you think you should be. Taking a class you are not ready for and bombing it will look worse to med schools than taking the class you belong in and doing well, even if the class is at a lower level.
what under grad are you currently attending?
I disagree with @AroundHere. Since you’ve taken and passed Calc 1 already, and you will have to report the class and send official transcripts showing it when you apply to med school, taking pre-calc is going to look bad. You may even be questioned about why you retook calc 1 since you’ve passed it already. Med school adcomms are quite critical of people who they believe are “padding” their transcripts by retaking classes to improve their GPA.
Your college’s academic support center offers free tutoring–be sure to check it out.
Since you’ve taken (and passed) calc already, you should be ahead of most your classmates since this will your second pass at the material. If you work hard and do lots & lots of problem sets, you should be fine in calc.
I have to take Calc as a co-req to Gen Chem. But so you think that calc credit should carry over? Im not even trying to pad or bolster my gpa or anything with this class. This is going to be a weak class for me so Im scared more than anything. Yes, I know I will have to send my HS transcript with college classes I took. I tried to explain that in the original post but I guess I couldnt get that across. I understand what you mean. Thank you for your tips and advice!
I go to a top public school in NY
Take calculus 1 - you already have an idea of the basics so it should be easier the second time around and yes med schools will see you already took precalculus and calculus in high school, and while they consider it perfectly normal to ‘retake’ calculus in college, they’d frown on your taking a class you presumably took your sophomore year in high school.
If you also take chemistry (which I assume make 4+4 credits with calculus) take two easy 3-credit classes (suggestion: sociology and one typical gen ed known for being relatively easy). Don’t take biology on top of these, take biology over the summer. Freshmen shoot their GPA by piling up all their science/math classes right away. For a premed, slow and steady wins the race.
Thank you! I am afraid of doing worse on Calc this time around because I havent taken a traditional math in over a year. I didnt take math last semester. Should I postpone calc and chem for the fall? Just a side note, I didnt take pre calc in HS cause they didnt have. Went straight to calc. But I get what you mean! I might take Calc1 w/ lab (5 credits) and chem w/lab (5.5 credits), with spanish (3 credits), plus a gen ed. But I think spanish is gonna be hard on top of it all cause of the memorization.
Take EASY classes for 14-15 credits.
So, if chem+calc=10.5, is there any class you could take that’d be an easy 3 credits (my suggestion: sociology, counts for pre-med core and is often the easiest class among them) plus a 1-credit physical education class?
hmm so you recommend skipping spanish and taking sociology or something of the like?
The longer you postpone your harder classes, the rustier your math skills will get. Does your college offer math placement tests to help you figure out where you belong?
I barely passed into Calc in the placement. I was just thinking I could study and take it in the fall. That means take chem and calc in the fall.
In that case it means you need to take biology, biostatistics or statistics, and psychology in the spring along with Spanish.
I took college level language in HS too (not Spanish ). Should I take Spanish then?
I would take Calc 1 again in college. You need it for Premed and you need it for the Gen Chem.
Calc 1 will be easier this time because you have seen it before.
My Credits didn’t transfer. Will med schools understand? Keep in mind, it was a college credit HS class.
If your Calculus credit didn’t transfer, then just take it again.
If your credits didn’t transfer then you must take calculus 1. Review beforehand but it should be easier the second time around if you keep up with the HW.
However, all college courses count when applying to medical school. This includes college courses taken while in high school.