<p>so, I am working out my schedule for next year, and I notice that the two math classes I am looking at (diffQ and prob) are both (duh) offered by the APMA and MATH departments. Since I am in engineering, i am technically restricted to taking it in the APMA department, but I could probably course action into the MATH ones if I wanted to.</p>
<p>That said, which department would you recommend taking it from? The professors teaching the MATH classes seem to be generally more well regarded than the ones teaching their APMA equivalents this year (Kreite (sp) is teaching the MATH diffQ, he is supposed to be very good).</p>
<p>APMA will probably be more theoretical, MATH will probably be more straight forward. Obviously, if DiffEq can be easy, the MATH dept will make it so. APMA classes like to tear people apart to weed out the weak links in the e-school. But, either way, i'm sure you'd do ok, as you seem to be good at the theoretical side of math.</p>
<p>yeah, supposedly the APMA is more 'sweep the theory and proof under the carpet and work example problems' kind of like high school math. They concentrate on applying the math to problems engineers are going to face. The MATH is supposed to be more along the lines of theory, proof, and such. Though diffQ is going to be solving differential equations no matter where you take it, the way it is done will be somewhat different.</p>
<p>I could swear I heard someone say "avoid APMA at all costs" because the prof's aren't as good and the homework load is larger. I think it was Malex that said that. I do have a feeling I would rather learn more theory and then finding how to apply it than just being taught applications with no background.</p>
<p>Really? I would think APMA would be more focused on "how to apply this" since diffEq is used a ton in EE and a few other concentrations. This would thus result in more p-sets, like you said, to broaden the scope of how to use it. MATH, on the other hand, I thought, would be more "here, this is diffEq, here's a few sample problems that you need to know for the test, kthnxbye"</p>
<p>Here's the thing that really messes with people: MATH staff sometimes teach APMA courses. The best way to determine which department to take is to look at the instructor's department. Most of the APMA staff are either APMA or in Engineering, but there are MATH staff that can be a little more lenient. There are a few diamonds in the Engineering rough like Joanne Dugan who is teaching a section of APMA 310 (E-School Probability) this fall. I go more for the staff than for the department. When you get past Calculus, things tend to blend with the two departments. APMA is just more strict on the learning curve. Go with either if the right instructors are teaching, but go with MATH if you can't get into Prof. Dugan's class.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice Malex. That should be a big help. I have heard very good things about Dugan. I have also heard good things about Hasler though (teaching MATH 310) so I'll just have to see what I can get into. Dugan's section is full right know but I may be able to pull it off if I stalk ISIS.</p>
I go more for the staff than for the department. When you get past Calculus, things tend to blend with the two departments.
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<p>Agreed. After the calc sequence, the difference in teaching style and workload in APMA and MATH is negligable. I think APMA 213 and MATH 325 (diff eq) actually had the exact same problem sets in past semester. Pick a class base on the professor or what best fits your schedule.</p>
<p>i had a friend who took honors calc iii and loved it. i know it was very different from its non honors counterpoint. if you like math you will proly like it.</p>
<p>if youre considering transferring into the college, then it is imperative to take math and not apma classes since you can only offer up 2 apma classes for the math degree beyond 231... this is on the 'undergraduate record' site if you need more clarification (an easy google away).</p>
<p>prob is killer in apma as malex and another friend we share have complained to me. i took the math version and it was annoying but i got an a- so obviously you will be fine. i already promised my notes to tennis though. im not sure how the new prof will be - the one i took it with had been teaching for, like, 40 years and retired after our class; he definitely pushed all of our grades up quite a bit. hey, not complaining.</p>
<p>diff eq is killer in both math and apma, from what ive heard. this is why i transferred it. XD but you'll get through. good luck!</p>
<p>The day after my Prob final and at least 4 shots of various concoctions I destroyed a paper with Probability Density Functions and Cummulative Distribution Functions for various Random Variables. It was not a pleasant moment despite it being my friends' wedding.</p>
<p>jesus! The way I look at it is this: I am going to go against my better judgment and sign up for both of them... and I am going remember when the freaking drop deadline is. I have a brilliant friend who is also taking prob so hopefully he can help me through if it gets too intense. If not, I'll drop it and only have 4 classes, or maybe I'll add something easy. Whatever, if you drop a class then its no big deal right? It gets recorded that you've never taken it? Or does it show up as a drop?</p>
<p>Just looking through how am going to fulfill all of my req's for 2 majors showed that If I don't take prob now, I'll probably have to take a class J term or over the summer, but they don't offer very many upper level classes, so yeah, it would just be easier to go ahead and do it now, and if its too much then screw it.</p>
<p>Sigma, Calc III honors seems really cool. You should definitely take it if you like math, and I heard you say that you wanna be a math major, so go ahead and take it, it will be completely worth it.</p>
<p>As long as you drop it before the deadline, it's like you never took it. Word of warning: the College and the e-school have different deadlines, so MATH classes will be different from APMA classes. Look into that. As for your reqs, maybe you could take an elective class over j-term or the summer. I'm using J-term this year to fullfill a tech or humanities elective, and summer next year to get hard classes out of the way.</p>
<p>Oh, and Calc III sucks. Worst class evvveeerrr</p>
<p>Elective classes? I 'ardly knew her! (ok... I bet no one on here got that, but Im ok with it).</p>
<p>Calc III rulz. It was 1000 times easier than Calc BC for me, but thats probably because I took it in high school and not in college and there were 8 people in the class. Still, go with honors. Heres why: You will be in the class with very intelligent students, and while that may through the curve a little bit, having smart peers that have a mind for mathematical thinking with really help you learn the material.</p>
<p>In addition, the preparation will probably be much better than regular calc III, especially if you get some idea of proofs and the more abstract problems of Clac III (familiarity with those is a great idea, transferring between coordinate systems can get icky, so can that thing with lambda that I dont remember the name of...)</p>
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As long as you drop it before the deadline, it's like you never took it. Word of warning: the College and the e-school have different deadlines, so MATH classes will be different from APMA classes. Look into that.
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<p>Wrong. Drop deadline is determined by the primary school of enrollment, not the school in which the class is in.</p>
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Really? I would think APMA would be more focused on "how to apply this" since diffEq is used a ton in EE and a few other concentrations. This would thus result in more p-sets, like you said, to broaden the scope of how to use it. MATH, on the other hand, I thought, would be more "here, this is diffEq, here's a few sample problems that you need to know for the test, kthnxbye"
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<p>DiffEq wise both math and apma use the same book (boyce) - generally the only difference is homework size. APMA is something like 10-15 problems per section, while MATH is more along the lines of 3-5. Of course, your mileage may vary depending upon who teaches it.</p>
<p>In general though, most find APMA easier than MATH given the focus on application rather than theory. It's a lot easier to use a formula rather than to prove it.</p>
<p>Woo finished my schedule. Calc III honors was the only one that had a good time for me anyway. I've heard others also say its easier than Calc II...and I have like a 101% in Calc II right now lol.</p>
<p>meant to say: Word of warning: the College and the e-school have different deadlines, so MATH classes might be different from APMA classes. Look into that.</p>
<p>Obviously, the answer is given: it doesn't matter, only your current school's deadline does.
Thanks :)</p>