<p>I'm a senior in high school right now and still contemplating whether I should take the AP Calculus AB exam (which is tomorrow). I'm going to major in Computer Science this fall and I'm not sure if getting college credit for passing the AP exam will be worth it. If I get the credits to skip Calculus I, will I have a hard time adjusting to Calculus II? I'm doing fairly okay in the actual class for calc AB, but I do struggle in some parts (I've earned a low B), and I don't want to move on to Calc II if I can't handle it. Advice, por favor?</p>
<p>Oh yeah, I'm new to this site. Hi (:</p>
<p>I took AP calculus last year as a senior year. I got B’s both semesters. I ended up getting a 2 on the AP.</p>
<p>I remember there being like 2-3 classes for calculus I and 1 calculus II open last year. I retook calculus I to fulfill my GE requirement. It was a nice review and ended up being fairly easy since I was exposed to the material beforehand.</p>
<p>Since calculus is a prerequisite for most of your engineering classes, I think it would behoove you to get them done as soon as possible so you can focus on classes for your actual major. Worse case scenario you fail the AP and lose out on a few bucks. My advice to all freshmen is if you can take APs, take them. Those credits are important in college since they determine the order of people who register first for classes. The more college units you have, the sooner you register for classes. As far as not being ready for calculus II, only you can answer that. If you do decide to take the class, it will easily be your most difficult class. However, your other GE classes you take along with that class will be relatively easy, at least they were for me and most freshmen I know. In the end, it’s all up to you. Good luck with your decision!</p>
<p>My son is a freshman CE major, currently taking CAL 2; took CAL 1 first semester after taking AP. He got a 2 on the AP as well, but had planned on retaking due to not knowing the material well enough AND having to take 4 semesters of CAL as a CE.</p>
<p>Hopefully, you went ahead and took the test as your score will help you decide. You will need to take the MDPT, which is a Cal U math placement test. I recommend studying a bit (you’ll find 30 questions online) just to get your brain around what they’ll ask - doesn’t take long. You cannot get out of taking the MDPT unless you got a 3 or higher, but you won’t have the score by SOAR anyway, so plan on testing. (Just an FYI…you cannot get on a 4-yr engineering plan if you don’t pass the MDPT).</p>
<p>Engineers at CSULB have their schedules made for them, except for electives, so you don’t need to worry about how many sections are available. They’ll open another if need be. You’ll bring transcripts, AP test scores and MDPT results to SOAR where you’ll meet with an engineering adviser. They will be the best person to advise you, since they’re all engineering majors, on re-taking the class or not. They’ll not only consider how well you did on the AP, but what your course load looks like in your major. I note from looking at the CS Road Map (<a href=“http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/coe/cecs/views/programs/undergrad/documents/cecs_plan05_06/computer_sci40506.pdf[/url]”>http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/coe/cecs/views/programs/undergrad/documents/cecs_plan05_06/computer_sci40506.pdf</a>) that it looks like you need only 2 semesters of CAL. I also note that Phys 151 is slated for 3rd semester, whereas my son has it now, along with CAL 2. This is an easy class for him, but it is time consuming and the lab goes until 10pm for him (glad you won’t have to deal with that!). This fact seems like it makes taking CAL 2 earlier more doable, based on my very limited knowledge - I have no idea what the load is for the 2 programming classes you have listed, of course. A final thing to consider is that my son reported that there was no review in CAL 2 - straight into the material, at a fast pace. That might be too much if you don’t review over summer or anticipate having some college adjustment issues initially (most everyone has a few of those!).</p>
<p>All engineering students are encouraged to use the student services tutoring - you get a pass in the eng office and it’s only $40 a semester. My son did not need this at all for CAL 1, but did take advantage of it during CAL 2. He was glad he did as there are fewer problems on each test - you need to know the material a lot more thoroughly. From what he says, CAL 2 is not the big bottleneck CAL 3 is, but it doesn’t look like you need to take that. He has met many guys that took CAL3 two or three times to pass and had no problems passing CAL 2 - that tells you something.</p>
<p>Hope this helps…sorry it wasn’t sooner.</p>