@bandmomof3 I would say that going into Calc II fall of Freshman year is not a good thing. I remember it being the most difficult of the sequence and I took DiffQ over a summer (transferred fro Econ to Engineering at ISU after Freshman year - reverse of most).
If he is good for Calc I, then consider going lighter in Fall of Freshman year. A great class to take that fulfills an SB requirement is Macro Econ. Not a difficult class and fulfills a requirement.
@CyclonesGrad I think somewhere it was recommended engineers take both macro and micro for the career elective requirement at UA. I plan on taking more because I love my economics 
I think you are correct and I recommend that sequence to anyone. Good courses and easy to understand for an engineering type.
Taking it Freshman year is a good choice if you have room in your schedule.
There’s no doubt many students will forge ahead with Calc 3 (which sounds, for some reason, to be less problematic than skipping to Calc 2) and never miss a step, but it’s hard to know who can do that reasonably and who will be tripped up. Hard to answer that question for another family.
Taking Calc 1 at a local school over the summer (unless it’s a community college) sounds expensive to me.
@LucieTheLakie plus doesn’t taking a course over the summer at a community college once you graduated make you a transfer student and therefore disqualify UA freshman scholarships???
In making this decision, also have your DS consider how he gets his grades in his HS class. I have no experience with UA (yet) so I don’t know that it applies, but I know many, many, MANY large engineering schools have unfortunately gone to common time, multiple choice exams in first year calculus, chemistry, and physics. So, if your DS feels like he understands the material solidly but routinely is relying on partial credit on tests in his HS class due to careless errors (vs. not knowing the material) to get good grades, then that is something to consider as a reason to perhaps skip the Calc 1 class, if UA also does multiple choice tests in calc 1. However, if they also operate Calc II in a similar fashion, skipping Calc 1 and going straight into Calc 2 won’t help from that perspective. At some schools, Calc I and Calc II both operate this way, and are taught by TA’s, but then magically, in Calc 3 you get an actual professor and tests are at least partially developed/graded by your own instructor and include free response questions which provide for partial credit. This will actually be one area we investigate as we do college visits with DD this year.
^ yes, maths in college/engineering is usually black or white, right or wrong, and not partially correct! the point about partial credit is a valid one!
My DS is in Calc 1 right now dual enrolled with UF . . . here in Florida it’s MAC2311 (Calc 1 & Analytic Geometry).
Should he consider repeating Calc 1 at UA (assuming he goes there of course)? He’s probably got a solid “B” right now. He aced Pre-Calc. Calc 1 seems more challenging. Should we wait and see what happens? And I’m wondering if UA would even let him repeat.
I really like the idea of a solid foundation in Calc.
@SouthFloridaMom9 based on the course he’s taking he will receive MATH 125 credit at UA. One thing to consider though is if he gets a B or less, that grade will be reflected upon transferring to UA in his college GPA. If you feel like he wants to get an easy ‘A’ by retaking at UA for the college GPA boost, I would advise that. Your son can retake the course at UA if he wishes to as the policy allows.
retake course policy: http://courseleaf.ua.edu/introduction/academicpolicies/gradesandgradepoints/#repeatcoursepolicytext
My son only was offered AP Calculus AB at his high school. He did very well so he did start at Calculus 2 at UA, but took a “regular” class instead of honors. He did well so this worked for him. (He has done well in subsequent calc classes.) As other members posted, it is definitely based on the student.
@SouthFloridaMom9, see how he finishes out the semester. If he doesn’t ace the course, I would recommend re-taking it. It’s always good to get off to a good start first semester, especially in engineering where it only gets harder.
My son is one of those students where the professor and the format of the class makes a huge difference. Several of his math classes, he will get 95-99% of the available points. Then in Trig - he missed an “A” by about .001% of the points. Drives me crazy.
This semester in Calc 1 he has a tougher professor and format.
I feel like - if you understand math you understand math. Why does the prof/format make such a difference?
We err on the side of better foundation than moving quickly. At least that’s how I’ve always directed his homeschooling.
I hate to say this, @SouthFloridaMom9, but unless your student is the type who can teach himself the subject matter, better to err on the side of caution. Some of those Calc I instructors are not going to win any teaching awards!
For a Finance major who comes in with AP credit for Calc AB (which will give credit for Math 125)… Is this really their last math class? So they won’t have to take any math at Bama? Just wanted to double check I was understanding the requirements correctly. Thanks for the help!
My son took Calc AB in high school, felt well prepared and got a 5 on the AP exam. He made the decision to take Calcl Honors (145). He probably could have skipped to Calc ll, but has definitely found it more challenging. It was helpful to his GPA to have an A+ in 145, plus have 4 hours of honors credit.
My son chose to go straight to honors calc 3 based on his AP scores in Calc AB and BC, and had no regrets last fall. The advice here on cc and the strength of his high school’s math department also came into play. In addition, it couldn’t hurt to ask parents of upperclassmen (that are studying engineering), from your child’s high school, to see what their kids did. I felt it was helpful hearing about the other kids experience in calculus (at whatever level) in college to help make an informed decision.
Just want to make a comment on this for engineering students. I work with some recent (<5years) college graduates from OSU, UW-Plateville, UIUC.
They all pretty much said that they were counseled to retake the highest math ,science classes that a student had in HS. They also said the advice was good for them because there were some concepts not taught in HS, especially Calc, that were taught in the college class. They also said reviewing the material in detail one more time before diving into new material was beneficial.
Just some food for thought.
If you are taking the AP Calc test in May but will not have the results at Bama Bound how do registering for classes work? Do they make you take Math 125 even if you think you will test out of it with the AP results?
^No, you can sign up for the class that you believe you should be in, you don’t need your results at Bama Bound. Now if your results aren’t what you expected, you can go online (at certain times) and switch classes. I know several students who changed their entire schedules after they got home from bama bound, mostly to get a better time or class that wasn’t available when they first registered.
(Lurker jumping in late here): my D begins UA this fall. She took Calc AB junior year, A student and 4 on the AP. They couldn’t make Calc BC fit this year so she’s in AP statistics instead. She’s going into aerospace engineering, and is leaning toward taking the whole calc sequence from the beginning - calc I as a refresher before attacking calc II second semester. We heard from all other prospective schools, “oh, our calc is different. Often students who take the AP credit fail out or end up going back and taking the sequence from the beginnig anyway.” She’s a Presidential scholar so it isn’t a question of paying for credits. She loves math (thought about majoring in it) but since she’s been away from calc for a year, figures she should take calc I as a refresher to have a solid foundation for calc II and III. Good idea or no?