<p>Great now I've gotten two different stories, lol. But thanks for everyone's input.</p>
<p>2 Strats.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Validate the course and take a harder course and my plebe year harder but make later years less stressful.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't validate courses and have plebe year a little easier and better grades.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>And not necessarily will you do better if you re-take calc 1 or 2. I know people who validated and then decided to take calc 1 and didn't do as well as they had hoped. Seriously, validation really makes life easier down the road.</p>
<p>Another thing about Cal II.</p>
<p>Cal I won't exactly be on my mind during plebe summer, so will Cal II have some reviews with later Cal I stuff?</p>
<p>How about taking the validation exams, seeing how you do, and taking it from there. It pays to have a bird in the hand before you decide on what it is you will or will not do. Lots of time to figure out the options....AFTER you pass (or don't pass) the validation exams.</p>
<p>And before even getting to square one, make sure you pass the rest of your senior classes....they will count.</p>
<p>Whats it take to validate English? And do you have to take another English class in place of it or can you take any class you want in its spot?</p>
<p>How does validating really work? I mean I know you take validation exams incoming as plebe, but does validating mean that you are exempt from the class or that you're exempt and you get credit for having taken it prior or what? Do you have to had taken the class to be able to validate?</p>
<p>I'm trying to get into the Master's program (I forget the acronym) for senior/first year, so this is a big point of interest for me. And I'm sure other people are looking forward to lessening the stress of plebe and future years.</p>
<p>Are the validation tests multiple choice or short answer?</p>
<p>Everyone will take validation exams... consider them more like "placement" exams...
everyone will take chem and calc.... in some form or another. You might validate out of one level, but that means you will take the next level up. There is no escaping classes.
A 5 on an AP test MAY validate you automatically... go to the website and check out which classes they apply to.
If you validate, you do not get credit for the class. You are still going to need XXX amount of credits to graduate.</p>
<p>clif......will all due respect....
there is a lifetime between now, taking validation exams, and even thinking about getting into the Masters program at USNA.</p>
<p>Lifetime.... aka...plebe summer, plebe chem, plebe calc and plebe year.
They don't call these courses "plebe killers" for nothing.</p>
<p>And when you get by those, there is still youngster year (academically heavy!) and second class year to get through.
And when you get through those.....
there will be LOTS of company competeting for the LIMITED SPOTS of graduate offerings.</p>
<p>Lessening the stress of plebe year.....
it's all about attitude.
listening.
following.</p>
<p>Then pile on tests and grades and papers and cfa's, inspections and parades and mano-things and company things, and all the other stuff that makes this a pressure cooker.</p>
<p>While I am in favor of "looking ahead, planning ahead," there is a time and place for everything.....</p>
<p>get there.
get through I day.
Get through week 1.
take the exams.
see what you get.
survive plebe summer.
get past calc and chem....whether or not you validate, you are still going to have these classes in some form or another.
Get your grades.
Factor in OOM items...... at USNA, it's not all about the grades.
Times that by at least 3 years.
THEN see where you "rank."<br>
THEN see if you are in the running for a graduate program.
THEN see if you major offers one that the Navy will pay for.</p>
<p>You may be the "best and the brightest" now.... but keep in mind there are 1200+ other "best and the brightest" joining you on I-day.... they will be your competetion from here on out! See how you rank against them.... and don't overlook that it's not "GPA".... its "OOM." BIG DIFFERENCE.</p>
<p>best of luck!</p>
<p>^^^^ Extremely good advice!</p>
<p>
[quote]
the simple way it was explained to me is that calc II is a horse of a different color. it's material that doesn't quite fit into another category. calc III is the next logical step after calc I.
[/quote]
Not quite... Calc I is followed by Calc II And then followed by Calc III. Calc II is by no means the "logical next step after Calc I. In fact from the course descriptions you will notice that CalcII is a continuation of Calc I</p>
<p>
[quote]
SM121
Title: CALCULUS I
Credits: 4-0-4
Description: The first of a traditional two course sequence covering differential and integral calculus of one real variable and infinite series.</p>
<p>SM122
Title: CALCULUS II
Credits: 4-0-4
Description: Continuation of Calculus I.
Requisites: Prereq: Calculus I (SM131 or SM121 or SM161).</p>
<p>SM221
Title: CALCULUS III WITH VECTOR FIELDS
Credits: 4-0-4
Description: Differential and integral calculus of several real variables; vector analysis including integral theorems.
Requisites: Prereq: Calculus II (SM122 or SM162).</p>
<p><a href="http://www.usna.edu/acdean/courses/SM.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.usna.edu/acdean/courses/SM.html</a>
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Don't really worry about VGEP yet, everyone says they want it plebe year but by the time firstie year rolls around most of those who wanted it won't get it because of OOM and such. Validation for english is writing an essay or a 5 on AP Lit. then you take he151 (?) and then 2nd semestter you don't have a class. you have to take another required class for later on or just have less credits that semester.
Most validation exams are multiple choice scantron, much like tests here. It doesn't make them any easier in my opinion. They make it so there really isn't a logical way to figure out the answers just by looking at them. The calc validation is online before you go to plebe summer.</p>
<p>The calc vad. is online?</p>
<p>What?</p>
<p>should be so for all this year our son took it online from home. There is a time limit I believe' but you can stop and start at your pace. You just log on and off if you need a break.</p>
<p>Navy2010: there was no intention of sounding ahead of myself, I realize those challenges you mention. There is four years and more than a GPA between me and the master's program... So I guess I've got a lot of work from here on out. Cheers!</p>
<p>WOW, I would have never found that validation website.</p>
<p>How did you guys find out about that? My acceptence letters said NOTHING about that!</p>
<p>If I took Calc I on college level, but don't want to validate it, can I take the validation exam and opt not to take it?</p>
<p>Also, I took Eng 1101 and 1102 @ local college, how could I validate those?</p>
<p>there will probably be information about the website in the permit to report package.</p>
<p>In the case of trying to validate Eng, what kind of English Validation Test is it? Does it have to do with writing or lit? Like I have already taken Eng Comp I & II at a local college but they have to do more with Literary Analysis, what are the English Classes at USNA like?</p>
<p>As said many times before, you want to validate, only good things can happen unless you slack off and don't pass. Also as I said earlier the english test is an essay. Just taking english before hand won't get you a validation. Here classes are almost completely reading works and such. Not a lot of papers but it seems to be a fairly hard class to validate. And you still have to take 1 semester.</p>
<p>I just filled out all of the Academic Background Information, but I have one question. In the Political Science section it says that validation may not be the best course of action for the course FP130 U.S. Government and Constitutional Development. I took AP Government in high school and did really well, but decided not to take the AP Exam. Would any midshipman like to comment on whether I should attempt to validate this or was this class one of the "keys to success at USNA"?</p>
<p>What kind of essay to validate english? Are you given a piece of literature to analyze or what?</p>
<p>
[quote]
If you validate, you do not get credit for the class. You are still going to need XXX amount of credits to graduate.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You may not be graded, but you sure as hell get credit for the class... Atleast I know I did. Validating classes is good whenever you do it, because you do "escape" classes.</p>