Should I take Pre-Calc after taking Calc 1 in HS?

[Gallix23]

Hey everyone,

I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I got accepted to my #1 school for the spring semester, so for the fall I'll be taking classes at a local state school just so I'm not behind credit-wise (and it saves a ton of money )

I'll be majoring in Bio, so I looked at my major on NEU's (my top school) website to see the suggested courses to be taken for spring admittance. It lists gen chem, intro to bio, and it says pre-calc with an asterisk. When I checked out what the asterisk was for, it says that calculus 1 should not be taken because NEU offers a specialized calculus course for the spring semester. However, I am currently taking calc 1 now, so pre-calc would probably be a breeze for me.

Should I take pre-calc in order to keep things refreshed in my mind and snag an easy A for the first semester, or should I just take another science class/different type of class and wait for calculus to start at NEU? Would taking pre-calc look bad?

Thanks for the help

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[i am the moon]

It's usually pretty obvious to adcoms when you just took a class for the "easy A." Go with calculus I. You're already taking it, so it's still fresh in your mind. I went from pre-calc in high school to calc I in college AFTER taking a gap year and did very well. No reason you can't do the same.

 

[tennisball80]

It's usually pretty obvious to adcoms when you just took a class for the "easy A." Go with calculus I. You're already taking it, so it's still fresh in your mind. I went from pre-calc in high school to calc I in college AFTER taking a gap year and did very well. No reason you can't do the same.

How does ADCOMS know which courses a person has taken in high school ?

 

[i am the moon]

How does ADCOMS know which courses a person has taken in high school ?

They don't, but they do know what you took in college, and it looks better to take a more challenging course.

 

[Gallix23]

It's usually pretty obvious to adcoms when you just took a class for the "easy A." Go with calculus I. You're already taking it, so it's still fresh in your mind. I went from pre-calc in high school to calc I in college AFTER taking a gap year and did very well. No reason you can't do the same.

Yeah I know that, I will be taking Calc 1, just not in the Fall semester. My school said that I shouldn't take Calc 1 at the state school because of their specialized Calc 1 program that I'd start in the spring, and they advised pre-calc. I don't know whether I should take pre-calc, or if I should just take another science or something.

 

[Crazyday]

I'd personally take something more interesting. That sounds like sitting through an Algebra I class when you've already aced College Algebra.

 

[Gallix23]

I'd personally take something more interesting. That sounds like sitting through an Algebra I class when you've already aced College Algebra.

True, but then again I don't want to not take pre-calc and have all my calc knowledge slip away over the course of the semester either, hmm....

 

[niblet]

I think the thing to do is to take a non-math class in place of Pre-calc. It's just a suggested schedule; you don't have to adhere to it--and in your case, you shouldn't. Pre-calculus isn't Calculus, so it really isn't going to aid in your remembering of Calc material. You should be proficient enough in math having already taken Calc 1 that the pre-calc course would do you no good other than giving you an easy A. You'd be better off getting a gen-ed class out of the way or taking a class you find to be interesting.