<p>Another quick question, this one regardingPre-Calc. I've heard of many people skipping it and just moving on to Calc AB without any issues but is there any point in skipping it? I feel like it's like pre-algebra, we didn't really need it but it helped out a little. </p>
<p>Two questions for this one:</p>
<p>Have any of you guys skipped Pre-Calc and not have had many issues in Calc AB? </p>
<p>Will it be better to just do Pre-Calc at a local CC or on FLVS over the summer?</p>
<p>What do you mean by skip? You should learn the pre-calculus material (especially trigonometry) even if you don’t take the class.</p>
<p>I tested out of pre-calculus, then tested out of calculus, then self-studied AP Calculus BC and got a 4. I’m currently taking three sophomore-level (I guess) math classes at a local university. I’m not a genius or anything and I’ve struggled some, but based on what I hear so have my classmates…I don’t think teaching myself has hurt me in my classes.
But there are some parts of pre-calculus I just sort of…missed. I don’t know conic sections or polar coordinates or sequences and series all that well, though I suppose I could go back and learn more about them if I felt like it. They haven’t been necessary so far, except for at the end of AP Calculus BC (and Riemann sums, but they sort of glaze those over anyway).</p>
<p>You didn’t learn polar coordinates? Does Calc BC not cover polar integration? I thought that was a pretty necessary component. If you don’t know it, you’ll be in serious trouble for a calc 3 class; it’s at least half polar integration.</p>
<p>Yeah, it covers polar differentiation and integration, and if I remember right they usually have a free response question dealing with it. I could do those problems partially because there’s a formula and partially because it doesn’t require that you know every little thing about polar coordinates. I learned them in a superficial plot-a-gazillion-points-until-something-appears kind of way. I can’t get a picture in my head of a polar graph just from looking at an equation.</p>
<p>You’d have better foundation if you take pre-calculus. Sure you can test out of it if you wanted to, but as you can see you’ll probably miss out on things you haven’t learned. A better foundation, even if you know everything, is better than skipping around. You’ll probably do even better in calculus if you take precalc than if you simply test out of it. Doesn’t matter how smart you are, a strong foundation will ALWAYS benefit you. But you have to actually pay attention in your precalculus class.
Honestly, I found precalc harder than actual calculus I. So I’d recommend it.</p>
<p>Thanks both of you for the detailed responses provided. If I just do it over summer at a CC or on FLVS, will there be any point in getting ahead? Do top colleges or any for that matter acknowledge it as an added incentive?</p>
<p>What do you mean by that? Would skipping pre-calculus allow you to take higher-level math classes in high school than you would otherwise take?</p>
<p>Btw, getting high school credit for taking pre-calculus at a community college wouldn’t be the same as just skipping the class. You just wouldn’t have to take it during the school year, and you’d be able to take something more advanced if you wanted to. Make sure your high school would actually give you credit for this, though. </p>
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<p>In a lot of cases this is true, but if you go to a low-performing school it might not be…my foundation in Algebra II isn’t much better than my foundation in pre-calculus, even though I took the former but not the latter. It’s because my school doesn’t cover everything they ought to cover.</p>
<p>I realize that halcyonheather, I know it’s not skipping it, but I would get to do Calc AB as a Sophomore. What I meant by an incentive is do colleges care, is that will colleges like it more that you’ve done more. I know that sounds like a stupid question, so I don’t need an answer to it. </p>
<p>I’m going to take Pre-Calc over the summer and double up on AP Stats and Calc AB. </p>
<p>Would that be too much to take in, or should I just self-study AP Stats this year and do only Calc AB next year?</p>
<p>Would taking Calculus AB as a sophomore allow you to take anything more advanced as a junior or a senior? If so, then yes, it will look good to colleges. Otherwise, there’s not really any benefit to skipping pre-calculus. </p>
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<p>This sounds reasonable. AP Stats and AP Calculus aren’t really the same kind of math.</p>
<p>I’d probably go with this because AP Stats might require some Algebra II stuff you haven’t learned yet. I can’t remember right now how much Algebra II it actually involved, but usually that’s the prerequisite.</p>
<p>Took a quick look at my HS’s high school course catalog, you’re correct. Alg 2 H is a pre-req, thanks for all the help halcyonheather. You may have just changed which uni I will go to.</p>