CAL III at CC or Multi variable CAL in HS?

3scoutsmom
Wed, 01 Oct 2014 16:51:26 +0000

My D16 hopes attend OU and we are trying to figure out the best math class for her to take next year. She’s currently in AP CAL BC and will likely get a 5 on the AP test. Her high school offers a class called Multi Variable CAL that is a combination of CAL III first semester and Differential Equations second semester. This class is weighted the same as an AP class but there is no AP test for it so there is no college credit.

OU will accept CAL III taken at our local CC if she takes it dual enrollment next year.

Do you think it’s better for her to take the CAL III at the CC or take the multi class at her high school and then take the “advance standing test” for credit once she’s admitted to OU?

Multi class
pros:
no travel time
no extra expense
two semesters (will cover more material than CAL III)
will bump up GPA

cons:
no auto college credit
will need to get departmental permission for the advance standing test
will need to take the test the advance standing test

CAL III at CC
pros:
college credit
experience in a college classroom

cons:
expense (tuition, registration, books, parking)
travel time
will need to take placement test (more time and expense)
will conflict with some EC’s
one semester

At this point I’m leaning to suggesting the she take Multi-variable at HS but I don’t have any experience with advance standing exam and don’t know how difficult it is to get permission to take them or how they are viewed at OU. Are there disadvantages to taking an advance standing exam that she should be aware of?