<p>How tough do you find it?
Is it too much if you've only had AP Cal AB?
What's the best way to handle it?</p>
<p>I took AB in high school and took 112 my first semester. I didn't think it was too difficult in terms of content, but then again I had a <em>great</em> high school calc teacher who finished the AB syllabus sometime in March of my senior year and started us on calc II soon after.
Still, it's a difficult class, but is by no means overwhelming (and I'm speaking as a humanities major here!). Try as hard as you can to get a good professor- it makes all the difference. Look them up on ratemyprofessors.com. Some professors are amiable, clear, and open, and some are utterly incomprehensible and distant.
Still, despite the difficulty, it isn't hard to get a decent grade. The typical Cornell curve is employed and hands most people Bs (myself included, and I handed in maybe 9/14 of the problem sets and my prelim grades were 59, 71 and 67 on the final. I never went to the 00 sessions. I'm not advocating my horrible work ethic- not handing in problem sets is, for obvious reasons, a bad idea- but my experience just goes to show how much a curve can help you).
Calc AB is by all means sufficient preparation (provided it has been less than a year since you finished the class). The best way to succeed in this class is, well, the best way to succeed in any class: go to class. Do the homework (well, I'm being a hypocrite here, but it's common sense- I just chose to ignore it sometimes XD). Go to office hours (if you have a good professor) or 00 sessions (if you don't) if you feel yourself falling behind. OH, and a great tip I took advantage of- if you're too lazy to go to the 00 sessions (like me...heh), at least join the 00 site on blackboard. The guy who leads the sessions (Mark something) posts TONS of sample tests and writes out the answers along with explanations that are clear as day. Very helpful for me, whose professor had trouble speaking in comprehensible English and who confused me on a regular basis.
Most importantly, though, PLEASE try to find out who the GOOD professors are and get into one of their sections!</p>