It is on my transcript. I took it through my state’s virtual school, so the class is still there in my transcript. There isn’t really a teacher teaching us, so we have to do the assignments and learn the work ourselves (self-study)
1 Like
My understanding is that colleges generally like to see a math class each year of HS. Do you have any that would make sense to take?
No intent here to “berate,” just trying to be helpful… the lack of senior math class was my main concern as I followed this thread.
5 Likes
Remember to submit your virtual school transcript to your colleges and your high school, otherwise, your credits won’t be included/counted.
Yes, you may have to pay a fee, for each school to receive a copy.
Retaking calculus 2 after a 5 on BC can look like grade grubbing to some medical school application readers. If your college gives credit for calculus 2 after a 5 on BC, then taking calculus 3 will avoid the appearance of grade grubbing.
^ not necessarily - it depends on the college and on the HS (ie , the weaker the HS and the stronger the college, the less likely it is the course is similar). Generally, med schools wouldn’t take APs into account. A student who took AP Psych still needs to take Psych in college, a student who took AP Stats still needs to take Biostats… APs are college level but not taken in college.
Jumping straight into Calc 3 as a first semester freshman, right after BC, is typically not a good idea, unless the student took the Calc 2 final and did well + has shown considerable autonomy. Some may pull it off but it requires excellent self knowledge when deciding whether one will be able to.
Finally, students aren’t required to report and “take” their AP credits: if they don’t report some scores, they don’t appear anywhere on the college transcript and no med school would know they even had the scores. (Mer schools don’t bother with HS transcripts!)
2 Likes
Note that page 40 of https://students-residents.aamc.org/media/11616/download indicates that “If you take a college-level course for which you already have been granted AP credit by the same institution, the AMCAS program considers the course a Repeat. For example, if you received AP credit for your AP Psychology course and took an Introduction to Psychology course at the same undergraduate institution, you should list Introduction to Psychology as a Repeat.”
So premeds who want to repeat their AP courses without having to mark “Repeat” (which gives the appearance of grade grubbing) would have to not send AP scores to their college (and not get the AP credit). Of course, if they later decide not to be pre-med, then they may have foregone otherwise useful AP credit.
1 Like
This is not unusual and is recommended by many pre-health advisors. Based on the advisors’ guidance, my premed D21 did not send AP scores for any sciences (her college only gave credit for 5s and she had the scores to receive credit). The college classes were more in depth and my D felt better prepared after taking them. She said the first half of the semester covered the AP material and then progressed well past that for the remainder, which better prepared her for the next sequence.
Exactly.
I’m emphasizing both of these poster’s comments because I believe many students are misunderstanding the points being made about AP scores and med schools.
2 Likes
All true, which begs the question of why bother to do the exam in the first place in this instance. Is the BC exam without the high school course going to make or break an undergrad college app? I doubt it.
1 Like
The OP is a HS junior. The focus now is undergraduate admissions. Discussion of what their med school application is pointless. Discussion of what choices they should have made with taking the AP exam is pointless. Discussion of the value of the AP exam without the course is pointless. Discussion of the exams results, which won’t be released until 7/7 is pointless.
IOW, move it along. Hell the user strategize senior year, because they clearly haven’t thought that through.
In a year or so, once the OP has a college acceptance they can return and ask about oremed resources at their chosen school. Until then, it’s premature
I don’t know what type of colleges you are applying to, but if you are applying to highly rejective colleges, I would encourage you to not let your rigor drop for senior year overall/in core courses. Even if you already have four years of math. When mwfan reads an app and there’s no senior year math class….I write “NO SENIOR MATH” at the top of my notes. Seriously.
5 Likes
So BC Calc will be on the transcript and the test has been taken. Great! OP has another year to decide whether or not to report the AP score.
@devara27340 The big question now seems to be whether to skip any math senior year, and as Mwfan noted that may present a problem for admissions at more selective schools. Listen to their advice as they have actually worked in admissions.
Does the virtual school offer any options?
3 Likes
I think the key point in the discussion above is that it’s up to you to report a score or not.
You need to have English and Math senior year, plus other core courses (typically Foreign Language level 4, history/social science, and science) plus at least one class that reflects your academic interests.
Will the online school list BC for junior year and if so, in addition to what math class? What senior math classes follow whatever you were registered for this year?
What colleges are you aiming for?
2 Likes
My understanding is that this was some sort of parental expectation.
Whatever the reason, it is what it is, and now OP needs to find a senior math class.
4 Likes
Most likely a couple of BS/MD ones.
Additionally, if I went through MIT OCW Calculus, would that give me the required knowledge to do well in Calc 3?
If you are aiming for bs/md programs, there are much more helpful things to do with your time than more self study.
5 Likes