nhsharvard

I received a 4 on AP Calculus AB this year.

Should I take Math 1B?

My possible 1st semester schedule as a Freshman is:

American Studies 10 (Lec/Dis): 4 Units
Mathematics 1B (Lec/Dis): 4 Units
College Writing R1A (Lec): 6 Units with Larkin

tastyb33f

I would suggest against it. To do well in Math 1B, you need a VERY strong foundation in Math 1A (which is basically AB calc); personally, I wouldn't skip Math 1A with anything less than a 5 in AP Calc AB. Math 1B is notoriously difficult here (well, okay, it depends on the teacher, but for the most part, it's very difficult).

graciee1

how did u get your ap score? probably a stupid question, but i dont plan on using any of my scores anyway, so i didnt have them sent to berkeley (or at least i didnt actively make them available)


but still how did u get it? id like to see mine...

nhsharvard

You should have sent them to Berkeley. You could get Sophomore standing with them. I have 32.1 units from college classes I took at CCs and Sac State and AP exams I passed. You can still send them.

I used AP grades by phone. The AP forum has a bunch of other people saying that they got their grades already. The feee is 8 dollars for grades by phone, but I was too impatient this year. Thus, I used it.

Sambago

Yeah, how did you get it already? I thought they weren't supposed to be released until July 1st.

tastyb33f: You say Math 1B's difficulty depends on the teacher. Who are the good teachers?

Cupola

I agree with tastyb33f. College classes in general hold you to a much much higher standard than AP tests (which only require about 50-60% of the possible points for a 4). Math 1B has a reputation for being notoriously evil when it comes to grades - though I'm not sure this is really true anymore - and as such, you should take it only after strengthening your calculus foundation in Math 1A.

bartleby

If you don't send your scores (at least the ones you reported on your application) to Berkeley, you may get your admission rescinded.

Azure326

Go to schedule.berkeley.edu to see who is teaching Math 1B. Then look them up on pickaprof.com and ratemyprofessors.com. Always try doing a forum search here for results for that professor. That should be a decent start.

Math 1B's material is not very difficult. I think if you got a 4 on the AB exam you should be ready to go into 1B. In retrospect, the material/exams for 1B were nothing amazingly difficult. The only difficult part would be making stupid mistakes that hurt your grade because of the curve. I never encountered some difficult topic or problem on any midterm/final/quiz for 1B.

Yourzer

I got a 5 on the AP calculus AB test and did well in math 1B. You actually don't need a really firm foundation in calc AB for math 1B. Just know basic calculus and they'll teach you the specifics of whatever you need to know.

nhsharvard

I'm thinking about taking Math 1A with Olsson in Dwinelle.

I don't think I'm ready for Math 1B and I'm not sure if I'll be able to skip Math 1A if I possibly major in Economics or Mathematics.

And does he awknowledge Berkeley time? I also have a College Writing R1A in Dwinelle.

Azure326

Why wouldn't he acknowledge "Berkeley Time"?

somemom

My D could not get math in the fall so by the time spring rolled around she decided the gap since HS calculus was too long and took math 1a, she was very glad she did as even with a great AP score, there were things she had not been exposed to in the depth !a covered them

monkeyavenger189

Don't do it. Just take math 1A. I've seen people get A's in math 1B without taking math 1A, but if you're that good at math, then you could also get an easy A in math 1A