<p>That seems crazy. Why would you need that if you had passed a college Calc I class? That’s silly.</p>
<p>I’m often trying to figure out what level these math classes are in relation to college level and what I took back when the dinosaurs roamed. We didn’t have pre-algebra or pre-calc. </p>
<p>Are today’s precalculus classes comparable to a Calculus 1 course we would’ve taken 20 or 30 years ago?</p>
<p>AB or BC AP Calculus Test score of 3 or higher
IB Mathematics HL or SL Examinations score of 4 or higher
Transcript from a college or university with credit for a college level Calculus I course (or higher) with a grade of “C” or better.</p>
<p>I believe any of these work when you show up. SAT 600 or ACT 26 only work for admission. It is possible my kid’s letter stated AP because that is what was listed in the college app for senior classes. </p>
<p>It is quite possible engineering school just wont admit you if you don’t show calculus happening in the senior year.</p>
<p>You can take the test without taking the AP class. Test date is Wednesday May 8. Dates for actually ordering the tests are coming up in March though.</p>
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</p>
<p>Typical math progression, then and now:</p>
<p>8th grade: pre-algebra
9th grade: algebra 1
10th grade: geometry
11th grade: algebra 2
12th grade: trigonometry / precalculus
college freshman: calculus</p>
<p>Of course, some students start algebra 1 early, in 8th or 7th grade, so they complete calculus (BC) in 12th or 11th grade. Other students who are weaker in math may have to take (or retake) some of the high school level math (algebra 2, trigonometry / precalculus) as remedial courses in college.</p>
<p>Agent99,</p>
<p>I think that it is more likely that pre-calc and trig are interchangable terms. I know that my d has a semester of trig and then a semester of precalc when she was a sophomore in HS.</p>
<p>Re: #123</p>
<p>No mention of an ALEKS placement test score in the letter? That appears to be what they use for math placement for students who have not taken calculus in high school (as indicated by the M408C description).</p>
<p>Pre-calculus is the education system’s way of addressing students entering Calculus that were not quite ready. It’s like a roll-up of all the classes that should be BEFORE calculus, giving a glance at all of them and the beginning principles of calculus:</p>
<p>algebra, plane geometry, solid geometry, analytic geometry, and trigonometry and the beginning principles of calculus</p>
<p>So it’s more than trig, but if you had trig, and the introductory unit to calculus - then you’re probably equivalent.</p>
<p>I THINK</p>
<p>RE: post #127</p>
<p>I believe an ALEKS Math test is required for all incoming UT engineering students regardless they have had AP Calc in HS or not. My S scored 5 on BC and claimed credit for M408C. He was still required to take the ALEKS. For him it was a requirement rather than a placement.</p>
<p>I took Algebra 1, Algebra 2 & Geometry (with a bit of Trig toward the end). The next class up at our school was Trig, which I did not take. No calculus until college.</p>
<p>The progress for my DD was/is mid-school: Pre-Algebra, Alg. 1. High school: Honors Alg. 2, Honors Geo/Trig, Honors Precalculus, Honors Calc. 1 & AP Calc. Pre-calculus is a prerequisite.</p>
<p>So my question is: Did we just cover Algebra & Calc faster than they are today?</p>
<p>“No mention of an ALEKS placement test score in the letter?”</p>
<p>I don’t believe it fulfills the Calculus requirement. </p>
<p>UT engineering is a top 10 school. They expect engineering applicants to prove that have taken AP or college course. If you don’t have it when you show up, you just need to choose another major or finish calculus first before you get to engineering school if I am not mistaken.</p>
<p>UCB - UT does offer credit for several 408x classes based on the AP scores.</p>
<p><a href=“http://ctl.utexas.edu/programs-and-services/student-testing-services/search-for-exams-by-type/#20[/url]”>http://ctl.utexas.edu/programs-and-services/student-testing-services/search-for-exams-by-type/#20</a></p>
<p>sunnydayfun - did he take it after he showed up at the school?</p>
<p>I am only on page 2 of this thread, but I just had to point out something:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>The last sentence is what is striking me. Never have I heard an admission person say anything close to this. They are always positive and stress the fact that they look at the “whole” person…</p>
<p>ALEKS test is just an assessment tool for the UT professors. Students are encouraged to complete all the ALEKS (Math and Chem) before school starts or during the first few weeks of school (depending on the depts and professors). The learning modules and tests are online. The requirements will appear on students’ EID status after enrollment.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Nothing on UT Austin’s web site mentions a calculus (in high school) requirement, but there are plenty of references to a “Calculus Readiness Requirement”.</p>
<p>Given that the standard course sequencing for UT Austin engineering majors starts at M408C, which requires only a sufficiently high score on the ALEKS placement test as a prerequisite, it seems highly doubtful that calculus in high school is actually required.</p>
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</p>
<p>Most other top 10 engineering schools do not require calculus in high school. Only Caltech and Cornell list it as required; MIT, CMU, and Purdue indicate a preference or recommendation for taking calculus in high school. Stanford, Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Illinois, and Michigan do not specify calculus in high school, though it would normally be assumed that engineering applicants anywhere would take as much math and science as available to them in high school (not all will have calculus available to them, possibly due to placement decisions in middle school, or non-availability at their high schools).</p>
<p>UCB -See if you can find someone who says they got in last year into Engineering without doing calculus.</p>
<p>UT has an auto admit requirement. A department can do whatever they want in order to filter out unwanted students. Requiring calculus (AP or college level) seems to be their way to stop applications.</p>
<p>Saying again…DD has an engineering degree. The highest math level course she took in high school was precalc. She took NO AP math or science courses in high school. I guess it’s a miracle her school accepted her and allowed her to major in engineering.</p>
<p>Texaspg, my guess is that on the Texas Common App, if a student put in that they are taking AP Calculus their senior year, the school would want to see that score to satisfy the requirement. That’s probably the driving force behind the letter. I would be surprised if they’d clearly post the requirements for Calculus “Readiness” on their website, require Calculus in their coursework, and then negate the previously stated requirements. The reason ALEKS probably wasn’t mentioned on the letter was because it had to be in by Dec. 31 to be considered. So if they don’t have an ALEKS with an 80 or higher on file for a student, the student probably got a letter. Just guessing.</p>
<p>^ precalc should work for admission at most places. In a holistic analysis, schools don’t force you to take something that is not available in your school.</p>
<p>I tried to find the letter which mentioned completion requirement but could not find it.</p>
<p>sunnydayfun - Do you remember receiving a completion of AP with a score requirement with the admission letter?</p>
<p>cromette - based on what sunnydayfun posted, it looks like they still need to take ALEKS after enrolling?</p>
<p>^I don’t recall AP score requirement statement in S’s admission letter at all. When S was accepted into Cockrell, he had already fulfilled two Calculus readiness requirements: SAT and ACT Math. There was no reason for UT to request the AP scores.</p>
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</p>
<p>Where is this coming from??</p>
<p>At the bottom of this page</p>
<p>[Calculus</a> Readiness Requirement - Cockrell School of Engineering](<a href=“Undergraduate Admissions”>Undergraduate Admissions)</p>