<p>Hi CC,</p>
<p>I'm trying to see which type of calculator I should invest in. I am currently a senior who has taken Calc AB and the AP exam. I will be taking BC in the spring and the AP exam for that, and then in college I'm going into Computer Science. After getting my HP 40GS stolen, I've started weighing the options again before sinking more cash.</p>
<p>Here is my perception given what research and experiences I've pulled from:</p>
<p>On one hand, graphing calculators seems to be standard-issue, especially TI-84/83+/89 being accepted most everywhere (CAS has exceptions) and, obviously, gives a graphical advantage. On the other hand, it seems like for 1/5 the price I can forgo the graphing component and get a "high-end" scientific calculator like the TI-36X or Sharp EL-W516X that still does calculus, matrices, stats, etc just like the more expensive counterparts.</p>
<p>I'm leaning towards the second option. It seems like a much more economical option, especially if I can be confident in working without graphs. MATLAB, Octave or some other software aid can supplement in college where allowed and needed.</p>
<p>What I want to know is, what parts work and don't work about this interpretation? But also more importantly, what college classes generally (dis)allow which kinds of calculators? If you haven't seen any patters just tell me which calculator you used and how that worked out and I'll do the work of generalization.</p>
<p>I hope that this makes sense, that you post your feedback, and that I've posted this in the most appropriate place.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>