NROTC AP Calculus Question

trabi_skoda

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Hi All,

I was wondering, if a student takes AP BC Calculus and scores a 4 or 5 (enough to exempt from college calculus), do they still have to take calculus for NROTC, or does the program view AP credit as sufficient to meet the requirement? I ask because DS will be a Tier 3 student, and is in AP Calculus now - which he took partly to avoid it in college if possible.

Thank you,

Trabi_Skoda
 
When we visited VMI, the head of the engineering dept said you can exempt but they don't encourage it. The kids who exempt struggle with the follow up classes. He also said they would rather have strong algebra students rather than high school taught calculus students.


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While hillcher's comment makes sense for an engineering major, trabi_skoda's DS, as a Tier 3 major, will not be taking engineering. I can't give an authoritative answer to your question, but I strongly suspect that if the college is willing to grant credit then he can be exempted from the calculus requirement. The cadre at the college can give an authoritative answer.

Of course there is the calculus based physics requirement, so unless he also has that covered he will not totally escape calculus in college.
 
Ha! True that! Guess I should've paid attention to the small print and I do agree I don't think the non-engineering student would be too worried about calculus! ☺️


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Just asked my 4/c for you. Navy requires calc 1 + 2. You must take 2 semesters of it. He says its part of how they gauge you for commission.

On a personal note, college calculus is WAY different than my son's AP calc course was. Even if he had passed out of the first class with his AP test (which he didn't), he would've taken it anyway. He has mandatory tutoring at his unit (calc, chem, physics) and even with that, it was a lot harder. This semester is even worse. I would encourage your son to do his best to learn the AP coursework, but plan on taking it again in college anyway. And as Kinnem mentioned, the calc based physics is also required in addition to the Navy Engineering course.
 
Thank You All. DS should at least have an easier time of it after the AP. Certainly calc-based physics will be easier with college calculus under his belt. Even as I write this, he is doing his DODMERB physical.
 
Two things:

First, if DS is not a lover of math and is only taking calc for NROTC purposes, he should bust his tail in HS calc and plan to do Khan Academy or some free calc classes on the internet during the summer before enrollong. Math in general and calc in particular are like pull ups, you get better at them by doing them.

Second, your screen name? Trabi is the nickname for Trabant--the VW of East Germany and Skoda--was the VW of Czechoslovakia. Is there a story behind it?

Best of luck to your DS.
 
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I too would endorse going through the materials at the Khan Academy. I found their materials on calculus to be excellent.
 
I am a high school engineering teacher and I have a DS at USNA. He aced his HS AP Calculus and flopped on the AP exam. He did not put effort into it because he knew he would retake at USNA. ...ended up with a B in calc I at USNA. His friend, on the other hand, worked hard in HS AP Calc, took the AP exam and did well, tested out of Calc I at USNA and ended up with an A in Calc II. All of this to say that you get out of it what you put into it. My DS is going to major in economics and he is in the Glee Club (big time commitment). He is very social and takes time to enjoy life at the academy (as much as this is possible). His friend is triple majoring and studies all the time. He is more of a stressed out fellow. His OM rank is great, though.
 
^^^^
Seems to further strengthen my suspicion. If you can test out of it at USNA (duhhh, I knew that!) you ought to be able to test out of it in NROTC.
 
From what DS told me, yes you can test out of Calc 1 and 2, but you then would have to take Calc 3 and 4. They want 2 semesters of calc for graduation. Doesn't matter which Calc classes you take.
 
Navymomwannabe, that does not make sense. If he tests out of 1and 2 then he has the two semester requirement completed. Is there calc 4? I think they go into differential equations after calc 3
 
He just said you need 2 semesters of it. Maybe you can test out of it completely but then I don't know how that is counted towards graduation?

As my son's an engineer, it's moot for him...he has to take a ton of calc!
 
DS scored 5's on AB and BC and started with Calc 3 in college and then to Diff Eq and he was a Tier 3 and now at NPS. In his case it was the right decision to take the AP credit. He is doing great at Nuc school without taking the college Calc. 1&2
 
Thank you all for your replies. DS came home after the DODMERB exam looking fit as a fiddle, and we chatted a bit about your answers on calculus. He's going to get in touch with the battalions at the schools he's applied to and see what they think. At the worst, he's better prepared for college calculus. I am happy to say that even though his heart is in the social sciences, he's much better at math and science than I am, and with diligence and a good work ethic should be able to handle it. His older brother is a math major and always insists that calculus explains the world, which son #2 takes as a kind of challenge :)
 
I don't know about the world but it certainly explains the universe! Just ask it's inventor, Sir Issac Newton! :D
 
Touché! In fact, boy#1 says it explains 'everything' which is closer to the universe than it is to the world. It is funny to see boy #2, whose intellectual interests run more to social science and politics, still work hard enough to show that if he wanted to, he could do math and science as well as his science-oriented big brother. I know I'm hijacking my own thread, but now I'm watching boy #1 think about applying to the uniformed services medical school as his #1 med school choice. He's thinking air force. There's already some good-natured back and forth about which service is better/cooler.
 
Second, your screen name? Trabi is the nickname for Trabant--the VW of East Germany and Skoda--was the VW of Czechoslovakia. Is there a story behind it?

Trabi,

So what's with the screen name? Are you some kind of holdover deepcover spy from the cold war?
 
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