I was looking at what’s required for business majors. They have to take these two classes among others. Would you say these two math classes are weed out classes? Are they very difficult and are the class sizes huge? D is currently taking regular Calculus and doing very well, but since Purdue is known for STEM I’m thinking the math classes go at a very fast pace. Any insight would be great. Thank you.
My son is a FYE who started in Calc 3. Calc 1 and Calc 2 are not designed as weed out classes, but they are definitely challenging. The good news is that they have pretty hefty curves. They are large lectures with smaller break out recitations.
It looks like they are require somewhat different courses. I think the school of Business requires MA 16010 and 20 which is applied calculus 1 and 2. Most of the stem students are required to take MA 16500 and 16600 which is calculus for the sciences. What the difference might be I’m not sure but it doesn’t look like they’ll be competing with the engineering students for grades.
Yes, you are right: Applied Calculus 1 and 2. @lvvcsf Can I assume those are geared more towards the non-STEM type?
@NJEngDad That’s so good to know.Thank you
Calc is different for engineers.
The math department has old exams archived so you can gauge what is covered: https://www.math.purdue.edu/academic/courses/oldexams.php
My daughter (FYE) also didn’t find calc to be “weed out” but definitely challenging. My daughter’s class had 300 or so students in the lecture but 20 in the recitation.
@momofsenior1 Thank you. She didn’t take applied calc, right? Also, how often do the recitation classes meet each week?
I believe it’s geared towards the social sciences (psychology, sociology etc.) and business. What I don’t know is how it differs from Calculus for hard sciences and engineers. I would expect them to be large classes but as others have mentioned they will have smaller recitations. Another course that will be like this is Statistics. Many majors require it but each discipline will have it’s own version. I know Purdue wouldn’t accept my D’s AP Statistics score.
My daughter is taking 26100 (Calc III) this semester. I believe she took 16600 first semester (not applied).
In terms of number of recitations, it depends. Students can opt to do 1 or 2 recitations per week. My daughter did 2 recitations last semester for Calc II because she was a bit worried about skipping Calc I (not necessary in hindsight). The extra recitation is not an option for her Calc III class
Math is rigorous at Purdue…DS got a 5 on AP Cal exam but took calc 1 just in case, and only got a B+, I think. Calc 2, which is reputed to be the hardest math (DS says people who say this must have failed and never got to calc 3 or linear algebra) is a weedout. Purdue lets you retake a class and will swap out the grade. The reddit for Purdue math is pretty informative, from kids on the front lines.
Just an FYI - While Purdue does let you swap out the grade for GPA purposes, the original grade will still appear on the official transcript. Important to note for grad school.
Thanks it sounds pretty scary, especially since if you were accepted to Krannert you have to do well in these classes to move on to upper division.
I’m not so sure that it’s much different at other schools. DD has friends at a number of other colleges and they all have to meet minimum gpa requirements to declare or stay in their major.
GPA requirements may vary a little by major, from what I understand. I heard a C-, or even a D,.is okay for requirements in some majors (not sure which) but it needs to be a C in all requirements for CS, hence retaking classes. DS was less concerned about a C- on his transcript than we were about keeping that overall 3.0 necessary for presidential scholarship. Cs may get degrees, as the saying goes, but they don’t work for scholarships!