Will Calculus kill me?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>So I took AP Calc BC in high school (and bombed the AP), along with a Calc I dual credit course through a local community college and got credit for it.</p>

<p>However, in the fall I won't be taking Calc II because the only class offered conflicts with sports. Basically my question is: if I take Calc II in the spring, will it be super hard, or will there be a refresher period where we go over some Calc I stuff?</p>

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<p>It will likely depend on your school and your professor. You probably won’t spend a significant amount of time going over previous material, since it will be assumed you already know that. How did you do in the Calculus I course that you took through the community college? It’s possible that you did poorly on the AP test because you don’t test well or you were just having a bad day.</p>

<p>It will likely be somewhat easier since you’ve already had some exposure to the subject. Take advantage of your school’s resources (office hours, tutoring centers, etc), and do as many practice problems as you can. </p>

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<p>For the dual credit, I got an 89 on the final and an A in the class. I had to teach myself the BC material, but I have an idea of what I was doing with series and sequences. </p>

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<p>Calc II is often considered the hardest of the Calculus sequence (I, II, and III) - it demands a very strong Calc I foundation.</p>

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<p>Try the old calculus 1 final exams from your school to see how well you know the material based on the expectations of your school’s math instructors.</p>

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<p>I took Calc BC as a junior. In my senior fall, I took multivariable at a nearby university. Since the school was on quarters, the class wrapped up around November and I wasn’t taking any math from then on. I got to MIT in the fall, signed up for multivariable, and did very well. Even after 9+ months away from math classes, it was fine. I just made sure to go to office hours whenever I was confused and to always be willing to ask my TA questions.</p>

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<p>Yes, but the OP said he or she bombed the AP Calc BC exam. You, however, took multivariable and then redid it at MIT (with 9 months off). The fact that you go to MIT also suggests you probably did well on the AIME and/or USAMO.</p>

<p>The time off isn’t the problem, in my opinion. 3 or 4 hours of studying should be enough to relearn whatever you forgot in math. The fact the the OP ‘bombed’ the AP exam is more concerning. With that said, however, I wouldn’t be too worried, OP.</p>

<p>At least in my school,calc 2 was very unrelated to calc 1. Of course, dependent on school. Calc 2 was integration and probably used little to nothing from Calc 1 (although a good Calc 1 basis would help you). Multivariable, however, will integrate both calc 1 and calc 2 material.</p>

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<p>I would suggest taking Robert Ghrist’s Calculus course on Coursera. It helped me get 5 on Calc BC. Also Steve Fowler’s Calc 2 on Sequences and Series. Both on coursera. Great part is that it reviews without the stress of “commitment”. </p>

<p>Link to Ghrist’s course: <a href=“https://www.coursera.org/course/calcsing”>https://www.coursera.org/course/calcsing&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;