Hi everyone:
I took Calculus I back in college and I got an A. But that was 10 years ago. My pre-med advisor suggested me to take Calculus I and II. When I tried to enroll the class, the math department told me they can enroll me to Calculus II since I already took calculus I. I know some of the Med school list Calculus as a required pre-req, some don’t. Shall I just take Calculus II? How many Math classes I need to take to meet the general requirment. Please advice. Thank you.
The math requirement is usually met with simple algebra and trig. HOWEVER, there is a caveat because some med schools do require calculus.
If you decide to just go ahead with calculus II, then you might do well to buy a review book of some kind to be sure you are still up to speed.
The best way to know what you need, as far as calculus, is to check with the individual medical schools where you are planning to apply.
Another thing to consider is a course in statistics. That can be really useful in med school and/or future research!
The question should be framed do I need this course or if by taking it optionally, what is the risk to my GPA, workload, stress level, etc. As Linda said, not too many schools require it and a course in stats would much more useful.
Personally, while I can master much in school, Calc II by far was the hardest course I ever took. Unless you have a strong need for it, I would stay away from it. Gives me the willies just think about Integration or Sums/Series
I agree with Linda, if yo do not need it I would take Stats instead… its way more useful.
Most med schools, if they require calc at all, often stipulate that it is one term (semester or quarter). The MSAR has more details for each med school. A stat class is more and more being required by schools. You might think about the stat class and not the calc II.
Cheers,
Judy
I would avoid Calc II like the plague. In about three semesters and over twelve classes, that’s the one class I got a B in. Dear god I hated that class. The material itself isn’t /too/ bad, however, it’s not easy either and generally the teachers/professors who teach the higher-level math classes are rather narcissistic, arrogant and generally very poor teachers so it amplifies the “suck” factor a lot.
I would take calculus II just because its fun and challenging. Seriously, it is. But if you don’t like math you might want to check with the schools you are thinking about applying to and see if its a requirement. I remember a lot of schools were asking for Calc I and Calc II but you could take a Statistics in lieu of calc II. I took both semesters of calculus but I like math. Its not for everyone so its really your choice. Schools aren’t going to look negatively on you if you only take Calc I (and Stats if you take it in lieu or Calc II).