<p>I agree that one shouldn’t always do everything that their advisors say to do. Advisors advise many different students and especially first semester of freshman year, don’t know all about your academic and intellectual strengths. Ask others for their input, consider all the options, and choose what seems to be the best option. That doesn’t mean it’s really the best option, but c’est la vie. </p>
<p>Assuming that fire code capacity has not been reached, UA is generally willing to grant overrides to qualified students. 100 and 200-level courses are common for first year students, but 300 and sometimes 400-level courses are sometimes possible depending on prerequisites. After Bama Bound, I do suggest finding a college advisior that you work well with (some college deans also fit this category) along with your major/departmental advisor; it will pay dividends in the long run.</p>
<p>Why thank you for the compliment my dearest pretzeldude I hope your interview went well. I wish I had gone straight into Calc III, as Calc II was the bane of my existence first semester and required more work than I ever had exerted for BC to get my 4. To start over with Calc I would have bored me to tears. I took the regular class and was surprised when I was told that it was much harder than the honors version. It really depends on the prof. I looked at pickaprof (now Myedu) and ratemyprofessor. Unfortunately, neither are useful when you don’t know who will be teaching the class. My advice: Pray you get someone you can understand and who believes in teaching what you need to know for engineering (aka, the area under the curve as I have learned in soooo many of my classes). Get a feel for their testing style during the first week, ask around and then decide whether to stay or switch. </p>
<p>It’s incredibly important (at any college) to find an advisor who actually cares about the students they are supposed to be helping. I know my major advisor does. The general ones…well, they don’t know you, nor do they have the time to get to know you in the registration step initially. They don’t know your strengths, they haven’t looked at the transcript. And most likely, like at any large university, they are going to tell you what most students do. But it may not be the path for you. </p>
<p>You know your strengths. If math is your strong point, then jump into Calc where you feel comfortable. You can always switch classes in the first week. Talk to some upperclassmen as well, they have been there before and may have advice to give. I would avoid Calc II if I could. It is the most beastly of maths and Calc III is much more fun anyways. :)</p>
<p>If Calc II is such a bear, and you don’t have a good Calc base, maybe it would be worth repeating Calc I. We’re fearful of doing an Honors Calc I, but if it’s a smaller class and a more understandable teacher, it might be worth the risk.</p>
<p>This Calc question keeps going around and around and we’re getting more and more conflicted!
Ok then - for those who have been there - is it true Calc. 2 doesn’t build on Calc.1? So performance or mastery of Calc. 1 may not have any effect on Calc. 2?</p>
<p>Am I correct in gleaning from the above posts that you just get a “pass” or whatever when you use your AP credit, so the grade, AP score etc. has no bearing on your college GPA?</p>
<p>Honors Calc. 2 - anyone who has been there - NOT more difficult than regular Calc. 2?</p>
<p>Sounds like the whole Bama Bound course registration is to get a solid idea of what you should take, but still totally flexible until school starts. Like (for example) on the outside chance DS gets pulled off the CBHP reserve list, everything would need to be worked out to accommodate that. Like to go in with a plan, but it almost sounds like too much planing might be wasted until you get the chance to be in front of your advisor.</p>
<p>In my experience, a lot of the material in Cal 2 I remember from Cal 1, but after 6+ months without being in a math class(I got a 5 on the AB Exam), I feel I’ll get an okay grade. I didn’t do so hot on a couple of the exams, but my prof lets us use our final grade as our course grade, so I’m optimistic for that.</p>
<p>Mesquite, what is your opinion on taking the engineer-focused sections versus the normal sections? I know you can take either, but what is the difference between the two.</p>
<p>Yes, I had Bruce Trace. Apparently he’s one of the best profs for Cal 2, but his tests are not easy. It helps that he doesn’t use the online homework program, which saves students money.</p>
<p>I had Wei Zu for my prof in Calc II - bad teacher, atrociously hard tests.
SEA_Tide, I feel as if the engineering centered math classes focus more on the applications of the theories than the theories themselves, which is good for some people and bad for others. I personally don’t see the difference, as long as the prof can communicate clearly and does lots of examples (which unfortunately, a good number do not/cannot). But I love my current Calc III prof. He is simply awesome!!!</p>
