In terms of preparation for college and admission if intended major = chem, bio(engineering), computational biology, or EE Would taking MV calc put me at a disadvantage if I want to major in something in science?
@dynamitesamurai I’m afraid of being one of those people who have those AP Bio “horror stories.” I also don’t want to do a ton of memorizing…I don’t think college bio will be simply memorization, so how will AP Bio help me?
Would you be able to transfer the multivariable calculus class?
@halcyonheather Not for MV Calc… But for pre-med, I might as well take the intro bio class, so I wouldn’t (either) transfer the AP Bio class. I’m just wondering which one looks better and will prepare me for college better.
@chopin1810 : (clever moniker BTW) I would go with Multivariable Calculus. If you choose to go for premed or engineering, you’d start in Calc 3 (perhaps 2, depending on the universitysuch as HArveyMudd, Caltech, or MIT), being rather sure that you can handle the class because you know the basics.
In any case, whether you take AP Bio or MV, if you’re going into STEM, do NOT claim the credits.
Calc 3 isn’t needed for medicine.
Multivariable calculus is calculus 3, but if it is not a college course, it may not be transferable for subject credit.
Disagree with the blanket policy of not claiming the credit.
Claim the credit if allowed and either
A. It can fulfill subject requirements but is not an important prerequisite for something else, or
B. You try the college’s final exams and know the material well.
Premed is a special case; if you claim AP credit for premed courses, medical schools still want you to take courses in that subject, though more advanced courses can work.
What does the rest of your schedule look like? If you didn’t take MV calc, would you have a math class? Make sure to have all of your core subjects covered.
I specifically said not to take the MV or AP Bio credit * if the student goes into STEM*…
Stricto sensu, a premed who doesn’t major in a stem field (or perhaps just in biology) only needs one semester of calculus and one semester of statistics to satisfy med school and MCAT requirements. However some majors may require more.
MV may be used as a credit by a premed who does not need more math for his/her major and will thus be done, provided it was taken at a college and will thus appear on the student’s transcript toward med schools, but it’s always safer to have a one-class cushion between HS and college sequenced classes1, especially if the college one goes to is very rigorous.
1 such as Math 1, 2, 3… Foreign Language 1, 2, 3… Physics 1, 2…
unlike History or Literature or arts.
To be fair, if you never properly learned to think in R3 then you’ll have difficulty with surface integrals. Not to mention the definition (physics meaning) of curl and divergence, which can also be a pain to think about in R3.
What does the rest of your schedule look like? It depends.
@NavalTradition AP Physics C, AP English Lit, AP CS, History Honors (there’s no AP for seniors), Religion (required), AP Chem
You already have two sciences but no math so I’d take MV Calc.
AP Physics C + AP Chem = insane, if you add MV + AP Lit + three not fun classes + application season… it’s going to be impossible to handle and your grades may suffer, your applications may suffer… Not sure why you want to do that to yourself.
Are you trying to prove something? Colleges won’t be impressed. The ability to create a balanced schedule is valued in admissions and even the most selective colleges are satisfied if you have 4-8 AP’s for ALL of high school, especially if you have 1 AP science (bio/chem/physics), 1 AP English, 1 AP Calc, 1 AP Foreign Language, and 1 AP History, or double up in one to compensate for something else, plus have several “personal choice” classes. As Stanford put it “it’s not a game of who has the most Ap’s wins.”
Note:
Have you reached foreign language level 4 or AP already?
I would choose EITHER AP physics C OR AP Chem, MV, Honors English, Honors History, AP CS, Religion, one “personal pick” (or Foreign Language 4 if needed).
In any case, don’t plan on taking AP Bio: Two experimental science APs are VERY VERY hard to manage in terms of lab time and time commitments, I can’t imagine your HS would even let you take 3.
@MYOS1634 AP Spanish Language in 10th grade…Almost everything in terms of apps would be completed during the summer. I just love math, science, CS (have a ton of programming experience), and English 
I also attend a pretty competitive school, and I want to be on the top.
Okay then, you can try MV, AP Chem, AP CS, AP Physics C*, Honors English, Honors History, Religion.
That would be considered an extremely rigorous curriculum.
If you attend a competitive school, as long as you’re top 10%, you’re okay. Adcoms won’t care if you rank 4th, or 7th, or 15th out of 400.
- I assume you have already taken Physics classes.
@MYOS1634 Thank you for your response! BTW, how hard is it to study the AP Calc C portion while taking AP Calc AB in junior year? Is it worth it, given the following courseload:
AP Calc AB
AP Physics I
AP Spanish Literaturep
AP English Language
AP World History
Religion
(In this post, I was assuming I would have the AP Calc C portion done, but idk…)
If you’re taking AB this year, shouldn’t you take BC next year?
@NavalTradition Yes, but I want to self study BC and then take MV the following year (my school puts you on a track from the beginning of hs, so the only option is self-study BC or take it in senior year)…how hard is that?
Probably pretty hard, but there’s also virtually no benefit to it. Unless you want to skip directly to upper-level math courses (and many colleges, including Harvard, don’t even allow that) why would you even need to?