I’m a senior right now who is going to go into Saint Louis university, and instead of taking precalc. I decided to take AP stats because I felt it would look better succeeding at a college level course, which I did. Now I’ll be going into biomedical engineering, and I feel that I want to take precalc over the summer. I do not want to be behind in class especially since my major is a STEM major. Should I do this? Or should I just take precalc in college? I have no issues with taking summer classes and have done it with every summer in high school so far. Also for anyone who has done either of these things (take summer classes for precalc or started college in precalc). What are the pros and cons of the decision you made?
You should definitely take precalc over the summer.
Engineering majors need to take calculus based Physics which requires at least Calculus 101. The typical curriculum will have Calc 101 1st semester, Physics 101 and Calc 102 second semester and Physics 102 third semester. Fourth semester may have several classes that require Physics 102.
I would google your schools recommended curriculum to see what I mean.
By delaying Calculus 101 until second semester you might already be committing to an extra semester of college depending on course availability further down the line.
Ok, now should I take precalc at a community college, another university near me, or even try an online class? I would also like to take Chem not because I want to transfer into Chem 2, but I wanna get prepped for it. . Is that a good idea? Or should I just try to get into chem 2 with the credits I have? Everyone at SLU tell me that BME is very hard, so I’m not too sure if I want to transfer into higher tier science classes even if I have the chance.
Careful with taking precalculus at a community college over the summer before your freshman year. Check with your university to get permission FIRST. This is because you might LOSE YOUR FRESHMAN SCHOLARSHIPS since you won’t be a first time freshman once you enroll at a community college after high school. You might actually be considered a transfer at that point, so call admissions to find out what is best.
Oh god, thanks for the heads up. I’ll email my admissions counselor to see if I can get permission.
Please get Pre-Calc out of the way before you head off to uni if you’re STEM major, by any means possible. GL!
Keep in mind there aren’t that many new concepts introduced in pre-calc. Many students skip it altogether and move into AP Calc. however, I am not sure how that would translate into a college setting, since calculus does require a strong algebra base that is worked upon in pre-calc. Nonetheless you will still want to have it on your transcript.
Ok, assuming that I get permission to take classes elsewhere. Where would be best? Community college or online classes?
IMO, community college
I would say to definitely take it and to take it at a community college and get credit for it (assuming SLU is okay with it).
I took pre-calc and calc back in high school, and it’s true that a lot of new stuff props up in pre-calc. It’ll be good if you get a thorough grip of it in a college-level class because that will make taking calc much easier.
In the event that thay you couldn’t take pre-calc over the summer, could you take pre-calc in the fall, calc 1 in the winter, and calc 2 over over the summer?
Getting credit for it is relatively unimportant. It won’t count for any required courses in an engineering curriculum.
I would think most engineering majors would be taking Calc in college the first semester, if not having already taken it in HS. So if you can (and check with the Univ. to make sure), definitely take pre-calc over the summer so you can be ready for calc. Engineering depends on Calc and you don’t want to get behind.
There is no con unless you can’t afford it or already have summer plans.
You NEED to take precalc in the summer, they don’t list math below calc for BME majors:
http://parks.slu.edu/departments/bme/bme-programs-of-study/bs-biomedical-engineering/
A community college would be cheaper than online I expect.
Either way, you probably will have to take a math placement exam: http://mathcs.slu.edu/undergrad-math/placement/math-placement-test
I agree also that if you can’t swing it in the summer, you need to focus on getting back on track through winter courses.
The problem is not just not being able to take calc first semester, it is if some of the other courses such as physics require calc as a co- or pre-requisite. Your entire plan will fall behind.
Of course, you could just call the department advisor and ask what is your best option. You aren’t the first one accepted into their program who doesn’t have pre-calc.
This guy might be able to tell you who the department advisor is:
http://parks.slu.edu/faculty-staff/parks-staff/steven-brooks/
Here is another thought - any way you could take pre-calc in the summer at your high school? Sometimes they allow unique arrangements to help graduates. Really all you need to do is learn it, not get credit for it. You could even look for an online K-12 pre-calc class, which might be cheaper than a CC class even.
Definitely, but make sure your not matriculating but doing a Early College Program of some sort so your still considered a freshmen. I took Precalc over the summer so I could take AP Calc this year(junior year) then I’m planning on taking a night math class one or two semesters for Calc 3/differential/ or multi variable Calc so it’s definitely doable.
Hey, I took precalculus at STLCC Forest Park during summer 2013. Go for it.
Another option would be to use the Khan Academy website to take the class. The course is free and since you don’t need the college credit for the course there isn’t a downside there. The difficulty would be that there isn’t anyone to ask questions of or to keep you on a timeline.
I received a reply from my college adviser, and she stated that I am allowed to take a community college course to place me in Calculus, and if I would not do so. I would be taking college algebra, which I understand is the step before calculus, and that I would only be behind in my math courses. She said even if I do not choose to do this. I can catch up sophomore summer. I’ve decided to take precalc at my community college, and maybe other courses to prepare for college. Thank you all for your opinions, it has been of great help.