<p>For transfer students, Caltech requires an entrance exam. But very little is known of the exam.</p>
<p>Can someone please tell me something about the exam? Such as the format...is it multiple choice? the difficulty...is it more like the SAT or like the AMC? is calculator allowed? How much weight is given to the exam performance?</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I doubt if its multiple choice, my guess is that it would be something like the placement exams that are given to incoming freshmen but at a higher level. The math exams were 4 or 5 questions each and were proof style(check out some of the problem sets that are given to Caltech students that you can find on the Caltech website, I think that would give you a better idea what the frosh placement exams are like & maybe a hint at what the transfer entrance exam is like). So I guess the answer is that they're not like the SAT or the AMC. Of course, this is sort of second hand info. My son just showed me the frosh placement exams after he was done and had put his answers in the mail.</p>
<p>wow, proof style. so that means they are like the USAMO? Please tell me they are a lot easier.</p>
<p>Look through the problems sets and solutions at this address. (The solutions' pdfs are the most helpful -- they have both the problems, so it's probably not necessary to download the problem set pdfs.) Most likely, they're proofs like those kinds of problems... nothing to the extent of USAMO. They just want to test if you know the stuff that most Techers have learned already... which includes working with proofs a lot.</p>
<p>(How many times have I posted that link? :))</p>
<p>well that's a single variable calc class so of course it won't get to USAMO level.</p>
<p>a lot of the people entering caltech will have much more math experience, and will be taking higher level classes that are much more difficult.</p>
<p>Not exactly...</p>
<p>You know, Caltech doesn't give AP credit and very few entering students start out past the advanced version of single-variable calculus.</p>
<p>
[quote]
check out some of the problem sets that are given to Caltech students that you can find on the Caltech website, I think that would give you a better idea what the frosh placement exams are like
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Hmm. My opinion was that the frosh placement exams are quite different from the problem sets. A friend took classes that were equivalent to Math 1a and Math 1b (and the math department agreed that they were equivalent), but she still failed the placement tests because they were so different. I'd say more, but I'm not sure if it's allowed.</p>
<p>
[quote]
well that's a single variable calc class so of course it won't get to USAMO level.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I'm not sure what you mean by that. Are you implying that the "USAMO level" is past single variable calculus?</p>
<p>
[quote]
very few entering students start out past the advanced version of single-variable calculus.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>If I recall correctly, about 15-20 place out of Math 1a each year.</p>
<p>well that's a single variable calc class so of course it won't get to USAMO level. </p>
<h2>I'm not sure what you mean by that. Are you implying that the "USAMO level" is past single variable calculus?</h2>
<p>what i mean is that strong math students entering elite schools have typically already covered ap calc. and calc. 2, so they don't bother taking single variable calc. at caltech. therefore, only the students that are not too strong are retaking single variable calc. that means that the difficulty of the single variable calc. class will not be comparable to some of the upper level undergraduate courses, and certainly will not be usamo level.</p>
<p>I would wait until you've see what actually happens here, drunner2007. Usually to test out of math 1a you have to test out of 1b (linear algebra) as well, and not as many people know linear algebra well enough. There are many strong math students in 1a- it's not just students who "are not too strong" at math. Math 1a is also taught more or less assuming you know the calculus already- it focuses more on the how and why, and also helps teach you how to write proofs correctly, etc.</p>
<p>USAMO and the like usually involve theorems and other "contest math" that few people other than math majors or people studying specifically for math contests will ever see. The math core at Caltech doesn't cover most of these- most of this stuff doesn't have much use outside of contests or math majors. Instead, it is (generally) focused on things that might be applicable or useful in other areas, such as linear equations, statistics, differential equations, etc.</p>
<p>This year they started letting people out of Math 1a independently of Math 1b. Which means that for this year, my estimate of 15-20 people might be a bit low.</p>
<p>drunner -- Math 1a is not easy if you've had Calc BC. A typical question is: prove (rigorously) that for a function f: R -> R, differentiability implies continuity. Maybe you can do this, but most good AP students don't feel comfortable with this kind of thing upon finishing their AP class. "Rigorously" is not a word in the AP vocabulary.</p>
<p>The vast majority of people in Math 1a have had a good course in single variable calc, and the course is taught with that in mind.</p>
<p>Is it better for incoming students to place out of Math 1a/b (assuming they can given prior preparation) and risk needing to work very hard in the upper level classes to keep up, or to opt not to place out (assuming they have that option) and risk spending a few trimesters reviewing material they know?</p>
<p>I trust that Caltech makes the placement tests challenging enough that If a student has the ability to pass out of Ma ab, taking them would be a huge waste of time.</p>
<p>Although they wouldn't necessarily be a waste of time, I would suggest testing out of classes if possible. You don't necessarily have to fill the spot with another class. You could always take your frosh year easy. And besides, whatever class you would take instead, you would probably have to take eventually anyway. I ended up just taking a couple extra hums my frosh year and having some extra time soph year.</p>
<p>The placement exams are comparable to the finals for the respective courses-with the problems modified to fit a closed book/notes eam for obvious reasons. So if you can do the problems at <a href="http://math.caltech.edu/classes/ma1a/index1.html%5B/url%5D">http://math.caltech.edu/classes/ma1a/index1.html</a></p>
<p>and</p>
<p><a href="http://math.caltech.edu/classes/ma1b-An/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://math.caltech.edu/classes/ma1b-An/index.html</a>
you're well prepared to test out.</p>