<p>I am trying to send in my freshman course request form this week. However, I am having a little trouble deciding what math level I should start out at. Here is some basic information about me:</p>
<p>I attended Westlake High School in Austin, TX (in case anyone knows this school personally and how the math department would match up with Vandy math). I had a very knowledgable calculus BC teacher so I feel very comfortable with the material. I believe I got a 5 on the BC Calc AP test my senior year. I have had 100s in my math classes and feel it is my best subject area. I am also almost positive that I will be a math major (I just love it too much not to pursue it). So the question is... should I take MATH 155A/B or go to MATH 175?</p>
<p>I was thinking MATH 175 but I just got off the phone with my Summer Advisor and he thought I should do MATH 155 to start out with.</p>
<p>Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. THANK YOU!</p>
<p>I think that having a 5 on AP Calc BC gets you out of at least 155A, maybe 155 B- I’m not sure. Re-taking calc could be a good refresher (it’s what I’m going to do- I took AB) but if you’re really strong in calc already it could be mind numbing. I’d recommend 175 if you’re quite sure that you got a 5 on the AP.</p>
<p>But I’m just an incoming freshman too, I know nothing, take this with a grain of salt and call your advisor back if you still have concerns :)</p>
<p>PM GCN2, a microbio major…he knows a lot of students in science/math tracks.<br>
Also, are you premed? It might be a good reason to shoot an email to the Premed advisor…perhaps med schools like to see actual college calculus rather than placing out of them…or perhaps he has an opinion since you are an unusually strong math student re 175. If you think you can ace the 155 sequence, perhaps this is a good plan as well for GPA if you are premed. Dunno! would not let an advisor with limited math major exposure make this call for you even if they mean well.</p>
<p>I think the only real choice is between 175 and 205, lol. If you got a 5 on BC calc and are that strong of a math student, you should definitely take at least 175 - multivariable calc. The other option available (lol… i am completely disregarding your question, I guess, but I really really don’t think you should take the 155 courses) is 105 - multivariable and linear algebra. It depends on how far you want to go with math in the first place, stuff like that.
I’m confident that I got a 5 on the BC exam as well and math has always been my strongest subject, and I’m probably going to go with 175, as I haven’t heard that any other freshman will be doing 205…</p>
<p>If you plan on majoring in Math I would suggest MATH 175. It’s a great class, and the material will overlap with what you learned in Calc BC (though don’t get complacent it’s still hard). Math 205 is an option. Though I am a fan of separating DiffyQ/linear (I forget which it is) and mutlivariable. They are all great subjects and interesting enough to deserve there own classes. I would NOT worry about the difficulty of the class. If you have taken Calc BC and done as well as you indicated (even a 4 or 5), you will be well prepared to take Math 155 or math 175. Might as well get a jump on things and take math 175.</p>
<p>The only caveat I can think of is if you are pre med. In this case schools like to see 2 semesters of calculus. Any admissions officer should allow upper level math to fulfill this req though. Plus, there is an advanced calc course you can take if they really want "calculus’ in the title.</p>