Calculus Placement Test

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Chicago ✅
21

<p>"Are you headed to Chicago next year?"</p>

<p>Of course. Wouldn't go anywhere else. (Despite the fact that I'm admittedly peeved with the aid they gave me...)</p>

<p>"DS agrees that we should get the Spivak book."</p>

<p>I have one extra note on that. If you browse through the book, it won't look advanced at all. In fact, when I got it and looked through it, it seemed like I had learned all of the book's material in Calculus 1-2. It requires very close reading (from the very beginning; start from chapter 1, despite how elementary it seems), and you'll see this after trying (and sometimes failing) the exercises. If you get the book, the following links are great resources for homework and the like:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.math.uchicago.edu/%7Eershov/16100/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.math.uchicago.edu/~ershov/16100/&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.math.uchicago.edu/%7Ecconnell/162-33/assign.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.math.uchicago.edu/%7Ecconnell/162-33/assign.htm&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.math.uchicago.edu/%7Ecconnell/163/assign.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.math.uchicago.edu/%7Ecconnell/163/assign.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>"They have a consultation meeting with you after you go to the school to decide where you should being your math sequence."</p>

<p>Yep. A few months ago, I was concerned about where I should be placed, so I emailed Diane Herrmann, a senior lecturer, and asked her what I should do. She referred me to John Boller, another senior lecturer, and he sent me a very long e-mail about my choices. He said that before any math major is assigned a course to take, they meet with himelf or Dianne Herrmann. So you'll meet with either of two senior lecturers (with PhDs, of course) who are apparently dedicated to their students (and even prospective students; who else would give such a careful reply to someone looking for guidance who isn't even a university student yet?). You'll be in good hands, so there's no reason to worry about it now. Worry first about your education right now and keep doing well in your classes and then, of course, worry about applying.</p>

22

<p>OK, I'm a math major and I started with 19900. So here's the difference between 160s, 199, 203, and 207:</p>

<p>(the math major now requires either 163, 199, or placement)</p>

<p>160s: if you place into 161 it means you answered all/most of the calc questions correctly but didn't show much proficiency in proofs or didn't do so well on the short answer portion. its not really calculus at all (my roommate takes it so i've glanced at the problem sets), but more of just a year-long introduction to analysis, topology, and real math in general. some people place into 203 or 199 but take 161 instead just to take honors analysis their 2nd year. I don't advise this because you need to really destroy 160s to get the recommendation for honors analysis and a lot of people end up taking regular analysis anyway and you can never predict what will happen to you during the year. also, there are so many great classes in the math department you might as well just get analysis out of the way asap.</p>

<p>199: for people who answered most/all of the calc questions correctly, got some of the trickier short-answer questions right (delta-epsilon, harder limits/integrals) but don't show much proficiency in proofs. The class is a great intro to analysis and linear algebra with a strong emphasis on writing a proper proof. you do a lot of topical work rather than a strict adherence to the analysis curriculum covered in 160s or 203.</p>

<p>203: placement into 203 is for people who show good skill in proofs but were lacking elsewhere. Analysis is really the defining class of the uchicago math major. a lot of econ, physics, and stat majors take it, too and it's pretty popular. my teacher assigned us 18 problems or so a week which took at least 5 hours usually (and the average score was often around 50%) so it can be pretty brutal. one should definitely take it asap since 205 is the prerequisite for a lot of advanced classes, so its good to get it over with. the textbook is patrick fitzpatrick's "advanced calculus" which i like but everyone else hates.</p>

<p>207: you pretty much need a perfect score on the placement test to get into 207. after I took 199 I could easily place into 207 if i could re-take the test (in other words, kids who know the field axioms or similar topics not covered in high school have a huge advantage). i've never seen a problem set from 207, sadly, but apparently they're pretty tough...I'm skeptical that it's harder than math 55, but I don't know that anyone can accurately judge that. The class, to my understanding, covers what 203-205 cover in 207 alone, leaving 208 and 209 to the professor's fancy. i think maybe 20 first-years place into 207? </p>

<p>by the way, the first assignment in 203 will probably involve proving the binomial theorem, which is actually really easy. it disturbs me that a princeton math major couldnt do it. Also, 153 covers like sequences and series i think and more advanced integration. what's different about 150s vs. AP Calc is that 150s doesn't do polars, parametrics, or multivariate as far as i know (or at least not very much?) but focuses a lot more on proving stuff. that sounds redundant. I guess the key theme here is proving things is important.</p>

23

<p>"i think maybe 20 first-years place into 207?"</p>

<p>31 people total are enrolled in Honors Analysis. Do only 10 people/year who don't test into it as freshman take it? That seems rather odd to me, especially if many people are capable of testing into it after 19900. Is it that people (even math majors) would rather take 203 than 207 or what? If so, why?</p>

<p>Also, for anyone who wants a glimpse into 209 (3rd quarter Honors Analysis), there are problem sets at the following link:
<a href="http://people.cs.uchicago.edu/%7Econst/209.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://people.cs.uchicago.edu/~const/209.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Yeah... I have no idea how to do any of that stuff and I haven't even SEEN 90% of it.</p>

24

<p>Phuriku, in order for a second year to take honors analysis, he needs to have completed the 160s and done extremely well in it (I think A-s are needed, which aren't at all easy for the 160s). He also would need a recommendation, and he would need to sign a contract stating that he will devote X hours (I don't remember the number off the top of my head, but one of my first year friends is in honors analysis, so I can ask if you're really curious) to math each week.</p>

25

<p>wow thanks for all that information. i'm still not sure abt this: if you are placed into 203 let's say, will you get credits for the courses b4 it (like 160, 199 etc)? thanks^^</p>

26

<p>viva0yue2006: Yes, you will. For 16- sequence, not for 199 though (IIRC).</p>

27

<p>Uh, well. It depends. Credit and placement are not the same. Take the placement, see where you're placed, and talk to someone in charge if you have questions.</p>

28

<p>Is a graphing calculator allowed on the exam? a TI-89?</p>

29

<p>No calculators are used in calculus classes, I believe.</p>

30

<p>no calculators are used at all in college math, including the exam.</p>

31

<p>Does that mean that the numbers on the exam are reasonable and the focus is on the knowledge, or that I'll be spending most of my time as a human calculator? I assume the former, but just checking. I'm aware that I probably won't see many numbers in math at all past the placement exam.</p>

32

<p>I'm sure the numbers were fine. I don't remember having any trouble with them. It's pretty basic concepts, I think. They don't try to take a simple concept and make it impossible or anything like that.</p>

33

<p>Is linear algebra along with the calculus sequence adequate preparation for a freshman?</p>

34

<p>There's no adequate preparation. When you take the placement test, you will be placed into whatever math class is appropriate for your current level of knowledge, whether that be Pre-Calclus or Honors Analysis.</p>

35

<p>Read the official word:</p>

<p><a href="https://classof2010.uchicago.edu/mailings/3-Math%20Information.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;https://classof2010.uchicago.edu/mailings/3-Math%20Information.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The notes have an interesting observation: Each year about 30 students get placement credit for an entire year, but don't place into honors analysis. Limbo for them.</p>

36

<p>Why don't they just make 2 sections of Honors Analysis? Seriously...</p>

37

<p>The 30 kids in limbo is disconcerting...so what happens to kids who have had MV, DiffEq and Lin Alg with some proofs, but don't make Honors Analysis (and would prefer it to 20300)? Seems like 19900, then the Hon Analysis sequence would be a good way to go, but I understand there is only one sectiion of each class and the sequence starts in the fall. If there are 30 kids in limbo, seems like that's enough for a second Hon Analysis class sequence that begins winter quarter.</p>

38

<p>199 feeds into Analysis, not Honors Analysis. </p>

<p>The problem seems to be that the students aren't qualified for Honors Analysis upon taking the placement. Thus, they can take 199 and regular Analysis or take Honors Calc (which they placed out of, officially) and hope to ace it to get into Honors Analysis the next year. The problem is not that Honors Analysis fills up. These students simply aren't ready for Honors Analysis but have placed out of Calculus.</p>

39

<p>When I sat in on the Honors Analysis class last weekend, I saw one kid with a Promys '06 shirt and talked to him after class. He was indeed one of the freshmen in the class, about which there were 10 he said. I asked what preparation he had in high school and to my surprise he said standard high school calc (so probably through AP BC Cal), and that he went to Promys the past two summers, which really helped. He said, yeah, the class is tough but it's definitely doable, of course with a lot of work. For the sake of a complete story, the teacher <em>did</em> say during class that he barely got a chance to look at the midterms, but what he saw was pretty bad, so he rescheduled another midterm. It was kinda funny how in class (they were doing something with Fourier Analysis) he said at one point, "Okay, I'm going to say this slowly because I saw your midterms." But that's my story about the class.</p>

40

<p>Quantum leap,
My D also attended one of the summer math programs and that's where he learned a lot about proofs. Who was teaching Hon Analysis this quarter? When DS sat in, Fefferman was teaching, and he really liked the class.</p>