Hello, my daughter is looking into being a biology major in college with a goal of possibly becoming a PA. Would you recommend she take DE calculus or DE stats her senior year? She is currently in precalc and an average math student. Thanks for any insight!
My vote is for calculus. She’ll need it for her intended major and having some exposure in HS will help her be more prepared for college.
Is there an AP option for her or just DE? I ask because her DE grades will follow her to grad school.
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Thank you for the advice! There is an AP option but since she isn’t the strongest math student she was thinking DE would be a better option to keep her gpa on the higher side. If she has to retake calculus anyway, would the DE make a difference since she took it in highschool instead of college?
If it’s DE, then is it Calc 1 in a semester? This is actually faster than AP Calc AB, so I’d keep that in mind. Maybe take DE Stats first semester and then DE Calc second semester? This way, the grade won’t directly impact admissions, if that’s a concern.
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It a DE class over 2 semesters. Do you think that would be more rigorous than AP?
I’m not sure. I’m used to DE classes basically being collegiate level, so Calc 1 would be in a semester. Is this Calc 1 as 2 semesters? If so, then that doesn’t sound like anything more than what would be in AP Calc AB.
Biology majors in college commonly need to take calculus and statistics. In some or many cases, the required statistics course may be calculus-based or one which is specifically for biology majors. Of course, there can be variation in requirements at each college.
Without knowing the colleges that the student will attend for biology, calculus is more likely to be useful for subject credit or advanced placement than non-calculus-based introductory statistics.
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Does your child have a college list yet? If so, look at the math requirements for bio majors. My niece actually needed to take even MVC for her biochem major. And yes, calc based stats too.
In terms of AP vs DE, if AP calc AB is an option, I’d lean in that direction over DE because if it isn’t a strong grade, that won’t follow your student to grad school.
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While colleges often do not mind if the student retakes prior college courses or AP credit, you may want to check if PA or other health profession schools consider that a negative (i.e. “grade grubbing”) for admission.
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I would take a class at high school. It’s Senior year. First semester grades may not even be considered by the college. But if your high school offers a class, I’d take it vs. at a college or DE - which in my mind, should be for courses not offered at high school.
If you’re applying to high level schools, I’d take calc. Even if not, I’d take calc as most will find stats easier. But you won’t need calc to get into a non high tier school.
Like many kids will, you can repeat the class in college.
Taking an AP doesn’t mean you have to take the AP credit for the class.
Some will recommend to you that you repeat major critical classes in HS. My son heard this at a student panel, didn’t listen, jumped ahead in college based on AP and had to withdraw. If he had listened, he would have not taken the AP credit and simply taken the class again in college.
If your student isn’t the strongest in math, she can do this - even if she gets an acceptable AP score. She simply wouldn’t submit it. This would prep her better for calc in college.
Best of luck to her.
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I vote for calculus.
Wouldn’t DE grades go with her to grad school? This is something to consider, unless you are confident that she will earn a good grade.
She is planning on applying to the University of South Carolina, Tampa, Delaware, Maryland, SUNY Albany, UMass Amherst.
Thank you for this information!
Has she looked at the requirements for biology majors at these schools?
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I just looked at two PA programs. Both require statistics as a prerequisite for admissions. DE classes will follow her to grad school.
Undergrad biology majors include calculus (at least my daughter’s did). I would take calc senior year, as I think it would be helpful for her as a bio major.
She needs to do well in undergrad in order to get to grad school.
I asked a similar Q yesterday on another board - but my daughter is deciding between Calc on her regular 12th grade in-school schedule (Non-AP and non-DE) or taking it directly through the college this summer between 11th and 12th grade as college credit.
Her older sister (Pitt freshman) took Calc in hs as d/e (no longer an option) and Stats directly through the partner college before starting at Pitt. Pitt took both Calc and Stats as transfer credits and both fulfilled requirements in her pre-PA plan that she began with. I’m curious what is meant by d/e grades follow to grad school? My older daughter earned approx 70 college credits (some d/e and some directly through college) and all C or above came in as TR credit (no grade and didn’t affect her Pitt GPA).
Many colleges require a semester of calculus for biology majors. The student can look through the online course catalogs of some colleges being considered. The majority of STEM students will have some calc in HS so not having that background could put her at a disadvantage in college.
If calculus is needed in college, I’d recommend taking it in HS (even if the course is repeated in college). Consider if AP makes more sense than DE if planning to retake in college. If there is a non-AP calc class in HS that could be an option as well.
ETA: Does her current teacher and/or guidance counselor have any recommendation regarding an appropriate placement in a calc class?
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Thank you for this suggestion. Will do!
Thank you for this information! I am curious about the grades following as well. I was under the impression it was just credits but I’m not sure.