My kid is doing IB math SL. It covers about the same amount of calculus as in AP calculus AB. Will it be enough for MIT?
@TimeUpJunior there is no requirement that applicants have to have completed calculus before enrolling at MIT.
MITer94 is technically correct, but they do highly recommend it. However, the calculus in math SL will be sufficient.
@TimeUpJunior yes, I took Calc BC. A 5 on BC exempts you from having to take 18.01 at MIT.
I was in the middle of my Calc AB class when I applied to MIT.
Good info, thanks @rothstem and @MITer94
We toured Harvard and MIT last month, we were very impressed with how clean and neat MIT is. The lawns were squared and manicured, the trees and in perfect line, people walked on the wide pavements.
The tour guide was great, we could tell he loved showing us MIT, it was more than just a job for him.
My two kids, one junior, one 8th grader, love MIT too.
While it is true that we do not technically require calculus (at least, not in the same way that we require two SAT IIs), it is exceedingly rare for us to take a student who does not have calculus or some equivalent on their transcript. Particularly if that student is in a domestic curriculum.
IB SL is okay, as is APAB or even Regular Calculus. But if a student isn’t at the level of calculus (i.e., they have not yet advanced to that level), we almost never (and I’m hedging here just in case there is an exception I missed over my years in the office) admit them, because there’s no math offered at MIT lower than the level of approx APBC.
On MIT’s website, it says “Math, through calculus”. The key work here is THROUGH. It can mean 1. moving in one side and out the other side, 2. continuing in time toward completion of
I personally believe that MIT requires applicants to have SOME calculus (the more, the better). You don’t need to have completed AP Calculus BC to apply to MIT. @rothstem is a proof, assuming he/she was accepted.
I just finished my junior year! Last final was yesterday!
@rothstem Nice, what class?
Also I just finished my last year at MIT! Had a final exam earlier today (sucks, I know…) but at least it is over 
@MITer94 — Congrats! But does this mean that you won’t be responding to questions on these threads? A loss for all applicants!
@CT1417 Thanks! I’ll likely still be around, although it depends on how busy I’ll be in the future.
@rothstem I assumed correctly!
@MITer94 What are you going to do next? get a job and make load of money? go to graduate school and get a bigger degree? Thank you for all the insight you impart on CC. Best luck to you in whatever you do!
@TimeUpJunior internship, then a master’s (possibly a Ph.D.) in CS, but not at MIT.
Thank you!
What about lower income applicants whose school doesn’t offer calculus?
Would they be expected to find a community college that offers it? What if there isn’t or their district won’t pay for it, how would a guidance counselor express this in the recommendation ?
@MYOS1634 This looks great and it’s free!
https://www.edx.org/course/preparing-ap-calculus-ab-exam-part-1-ricex-advcal-1x
@MITer94 6.033
@rothstem ah nice. I had 6.045 yesterday.
There was one such student who on this board claimed to have been admitted despite a lack of calculus, I think it was 4-5 years ago if I recall correctly. Of course, anything anyone claims on CC has to be taken with a grain of salt, for there are many, many ■■■■■■ under the bridge, but as I remember the thread, the student had done everything up until calculus and was ready to start calculus.
18.01 does not pre-suppose any calculus. The prerequisites are high school algebra and trigonometry. However, 18.01 also covers in 12 weeks what most high schools cover in a year. I believe that it is certainly possible, if rare, to get into MIT if your high school did not offer calculus. I would think it near impossible to get into MIT if your high school did offer calculus and you elected not to take it.