Should I repeat Calculus AB freshman year?

otc2010
Wed, 04 May 2011 14:13:57 +0000

My son is a freshman CE major, currently taking CAL 2; took CAL 1 first semester after taking AP. He got a 2 on the AP as well, but had planned on retaking due to not knowing the material well enough AND having to take 4 semesters of CAL as a CE.

Hopefully, you went ahead and took the test as your score will help you decide. You will need to take the MDPT, which is a Cal U math placement test. I recommend studying a bit (you’ll find 30 questions online) just to get your brain around what they’ll ask - doesn’t take long. You cannot get out of taking the MDPT unless you got a 3 or higher, but you won’t have the score by SOAR anyway, so plan on testing. (Just an FYI…you cannot get on a 4-yr engineering plan if you don’t pass the MDPT).

Engineers at CSULB have their schedules made for them, except for electives, so you don’t need to worry about how many sections are available. They’ll open another if need be. You’ll bring transcripts, AP test scores and MDPT results to SOAR where you’ll meet with an engineering adviser. They will be the best person to advise you, since they’re all engineering majors, on re-taking the class or not. They’ll not only consider how well you did on the AP, but what your course load looks like in your major. I note from looking at the CS Road Map (http://www.csulb.edu/colleges/coe/cecs/views/programs/undergrad/documents/cecs_plan05_06/computer_sci40506.pdf) that it looks like you need only 2 semesters of CAL. I also note that Phys 151 is slated for 3rd semester, whereas my son has it now, along with CAL 2. This is an easy class for him, but it is time consuming and the lab goes until 10pm for him (glad you won’t have to deal with that!). This fact seems like it makes taking CAL 2 earlier more doable, based on my very limited knowledge - I have no idea what the load is for the 2 programming classes you have listed, of course. A final thing to consider is that my son reported that there was no review in CAL 2 - straight into the material, at a fast pace. That might be too much if you don’t review over summer or anticipate having some college adjustment issues initially (most everyone has a few of those!).

All engineering students are encouraged to use the student services tutoring - you get a pass in the eng office and it’s only $40 a semester. My son did not need this at all for CAL 1, but did take advantage of it during CAL 2. He was glad he did as there are fewer problems on each test - you need to know the material a lot more thoroughly. From what he says, CAL 2 is not the big bottleneck CAL 3 is, but it doesn’t look like you need to take that. He has met many guys that took CAL3 two or three times to pass and had no problems passing CAL 2 - that tells you something.

Hope this helps…sorry it wasn’t sooner.