? AP Calculus BC not transferring when higher math courses are already taken

[Arcadia]

Spoke to the community college counselor where my teens are doing dual enrollment class at. The counselor was saying that some state universities (e.g. UCB, UCLA, SDSU) might not grant credit for Calc BC if calculus is a core course for that major even if the math courses that follow after are completed.

Just curious if anyone hit that issue and was your child allowed to test out?

[Kassia]

That is really strange!  We had an experience that isn't exactly on your topic but I'll share anyway - ds3 took Calc 1, Calc 2, and differential equations for DE.  He did not take Calc 3/multivariable.  The university he attended allowed him to skip Calc 3/multivariable even though it was required for his major because it was a prerequisite for differential equations, which he already took.  I thought that was very nice (and so did he!).  

 

 

[SDMomof3]

My kids had no issues with Calc bc credit at UCSD.
My dd1 took Calc 1,2,3, differential equations and linear algebra as a DE student and UCSD allowed her to go straight into upper division courses. She is a CS major. 
Also dd2 took AP Calc BC and was placed in Calc3, she is a Computer engineering major.

[Kassia]

I should have added that the state universities my kids attend/have attended (Ohio State and UT Dallas)  accept AP Calculus credit even when the classes are required for the major and allow students to enroll in higher level math courses.  

[rzberrymom]

Which major? Anything to do with pre-med? That’s one place I’ve seen UCs not allowing AP credits for certain things (calculus, chemistry, etc.) I read somewhere that it’s because medical schools won’t accept AP credits and want to see a grade in a course.

[Arcadia]

2 minutes ago, rzberrymom said:

Which major?

Computer science or math. Both my teens are biology-phobic, so definitely not pre-med. The counselor also mentioned about computer science major being more difficult to get into due to the state universities being impacted.

[regentrude]

We are running into this issue with the 2020 AP Calc BC exam. Since the College Board cut so much material, students will be required to retake calc 2 even if their AP BC score would normally give them credit.
However, the academic department can always waive a degree requirement. 

I am currently advising a student whose course sequence was such that no credit transferred to us for calc 2, yet the student has successfully completed calc 3 and differential equation. As academic advisor, I can waive the calc 2 requirement for him by submitting a form signed by me and the department chair to the registrar. Other colleges will have mechanisms in place that are similar.

I know of a college that won't give transfer credit for a certain math course take elsewhere if the student is a math major (if they are a physics major, it's fine). That might require a case-by-case appeal and possibly an evaluation of the course content.

So, my advice would, as always, be to ask not just the college, but the specific academic department.

Edited April 7, 2021 by regentrude

[Arcadia]

3 minutes ago, regentrude said:

We are running into this issue with the 2020 AP Calc BC exam. Since the College Board cut so much material, students will be required to retake calc 2 even if their AP BC score would normally give them credit.
However, the academic department can always waive a degree requirement. 

His AP Calc BC exam was taken in 7th grade, 2017. At the moment he is thinking of doing a double major in computer science and math. He doesn’t have a college list yet. More questions to ask when he works out the list of colleges he wants to apply to. Younger one took the 2020 AP Calc BC exam and retook Calc 2 so at least no problems with that one.

Thanks.

[regentrude]

19 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

His AP Calc BC exam was taken in 7th grade, 2017. At the moment he is thinking of doing a double major in computer science and math. He doesn’t have a college list yet

In that situation, he would be sooo far ahead in math than any reasonable department would just waive calc 2. I would not worry about this now and just wait and see; in the worst case scenario, he can ask for credit by examination and take a course exam at the school.

[lewelma]

Multivariate calc is a required class at MIT. Ds had done two additional university classes past mulitvairate, self studied three other uni math classes, and attended three IMOs. He still had to take the final exam for multivariate calc to get credit.

[Lilaclady]

I know Caltech requires all students to start at about the same level irrespective of AP credits. I think it may be better to contact each school your child is interested in individually and verify. 

[NewnameC]

What math classes did your son take after Calc BC? It definitely sounds like something you will want to ask about when making his college list.

[Arcadia]

5 hours ago, NewnameC said:

What math classes did your son take after Calc BC? 

He took all the math classes that are required for a community college math or computer science major:

Differential Equations 
Linear Algebra 
Discrete Mathematics 

[lewelma]

21 hours ago, Arcadia said:

He took all the math classes that are required for a community college math or computer science major:

Differential Equations 
Linear Algebra 
Discrete Mathematics 

The other thing you should look when picking a university is how well all your son's classes will transfer.  It was *very* difficult to get my ds's two 4-year university courses to transfer. We had to provide textbook, year, chapters covered, syllabus, homework, attestation by professor that the exams were proctored and closed book, the final exam, etc.  It was a lot! 

The second thing you need to look into is whether students are allowed to take any class they want without the prereqs, and if the major has set required classes.  DS lucked out as we did not know to look for this, and MIT allows *any* 8 classes to count as fulfilling the major (post 2 calc, linear algebra, and differential eq), and you did not need to have taken the prereqs -- they were listed just to give the kids a sense of what prior knowledge was required.  So 5 of my ds's 8 classes are grad level classes taken without any of the prereqs. (1 class had 5 prereqs and he had not formally taken any of them). Given how advanced your kids are, this might be a critical factor in deciding which schools to apply to. 

Edited April 10, 2021 by lewelma