Credits Transfer / Admissions Perspective

Colleges and Universities A-Z Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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<p>I'm currently a high school senior. I am taking an independent study in partial differential equations. The (local) state university offers credit by examination in which they award credit hours and placement for a sufficient score. The credit is marked as P/F. I am in a position where I could take the test in late November (more than likely pass - its only been a month and I am 3/4 way through the textbook the university uses). I am curious to see if MIT would accept credit this way? Also, would this make the independent study weight anymore in terms of MIT admissions?</p>

<p>Thank you for your time in answering my questions!</p>

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<p>MIT has a process of awarding credit by transfer, but it’s not granted automatically – you would have to submit the syllabus used by the university course for the transfer credit examiners to determine whether the course is substantially similar to the MIT version. There’s also an advanced standing exam for 18.03, Differential Equations, that you could take if your course wasn’t awarded transfer credit.</p>

<p>Having credit for the course is useful for admissions – it’s always useful, though not necessary, to have external validation of your independent study.</p>

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<p>Along these same lines, if a student attends a school where AP credit is awarded as course credit, then how would MIT handle those credits?</p>

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<p>MIT has a history of not accepting many math and science transfer credits. I imagine they’d want you to take the ASE for that course, and let you not take it again at MIT if you passed.</p>

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<p>I think it’s unlikely in your case that they will give you credit for the partial differential equations independent study as it is not an actual class and you don’t get a letter grade. It is also unlikely that the course is equivalent to MIT’s PDE classes. 18.152, the pure PDE class at MIT requires a semester of analysis as a prereq and is typically quite abstract and rigorous. The textbook this year is primarily intended for graduate students and working mathematicians [admittedly the textbook seems unreasonably difficult for the class…]. As molliebatmit said it’s not impossible to get credit for advanced math classes either by ASE or transfer credit [although they make you do a lot of homework to take the 18.03 ASE and getting credit for 18.701-2 is a pain. Getting credit for/skipping 18.100 is usually not too bad though.] Another thing to consider is that 18.152 isn’t a prereq for anything so it won’t really matter if you get credit or not.</p>

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Do you mean for a transfer application, or for a freshman application?</p>

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<p>I imagine you would get whatever credit MIT gives for the corresponding AP test.</p>

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<p>I don’t know about other subjects, but MIT had no problem accepting my transfer credit for 18.02, even though my class did not cover as much as 18.02.</p>

<p>Also, I would imagine that the OP would try to get credit for something like 18.303, rather than 18.152.</p>

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<p>OP,</p>

<p>If you feel that you are learning the subject well and don’t want to repeat it should you attend MIT (or any other college, for that matter), I would encourage you to get credit by examination. In that way, you will have official transcripts from the univ., and that will go a long way towards receiving credit at MIT.</p>

<p>My son’s story: He audited two semesters of upper division physics at a local univ. but did not receive official credit. He also <em>did</em> take 3 semesters of calc-based physics-mechanics; e&m; and wave, optics, and modern physics- through the local CC. However, he took both AP Physics C exams as a freshman and received a 5 for Mechanics and a 4 for E&M. MIT requires that you get a 5 on both parts of the C exam in order to receive credit for mechanics (8.01), so he didn’t get automatic credit. He could have taken the ASE exams for both mechanics and e&m but, um, he sort of overslept and missed them (jet lag, seriously…LOL).</p>

<p>End result is that he’s taking 8.012 (the most advanced mechanics), even though he’s had a boatload of college physics. On the upside, he’s perfectly fine with it. He says it will be like a physics olympiad level mechanics class and since it’s been 4 years since he’s taken it, he feels it will be fine.</p>

<p>OTOH, he did receive transfer credit for calc II, calc II, linear algebra, and dif. equations, so he’s starting with analysis. Honestly, though, MIT seems to pretty much let you start with whatever class you want, so his friends are taking abstract algebra even though they’ve never had linear algebra or dif. equations.</p>

<p>He also got transfer credit for two semesters of Arabic and is going to try to get credit for US History tomorrow.</p>

<p>So, in my son’s case, MIT was actually very generous with transfer credit.</p>

<p>I second the advice of saving your syllabus and copy of table of contents.</p>

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<p>Your son’s friends will still have to take linear algebra or differential equations (or both, if they’re math majors) before they graduate, even if it’s senior spring semester, even if it’s ridiculously easy. It’s a pain, but MIT will not let you get out of it just like that.</p>

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<p>mollie - I am referring to a transfer application.</p>

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<p>Thank you for all the quick responses!!</p>

<p>Yes I would be aiming to get credit for 18.152; the syllabus for the class follows MIT’s class to the letter - the same book is used by the course at the local university as at MIT (the same book I am using). The main reason for doing this for ME would be that it would allow me to meet the prereqs for higher level physics courses (according to my understanding of how MIT’s prereq system works). </p>

<p>I think I’m more worried about MIT seeing the class as a serious class vs an easy A: independent studies at my school are taken as “advanced studies” honors elective credit. I ran out of classes this year (really ran out by my junior year but thats another story) so I’m taking two “advanced studies” one in PDE’s and one in post-ap latin - with addition of taking physics at the local state university. I’m worried that MIT will look down at the “advanced studies” credit :(. mollie you said taking a test to validate the advanced studies would help, but if I don’t take the test will MIT not weight the course anywhere near the same level? How much would validation by credit through examination help the course be taken seriously by MIT?</p>

<p>Sorry for the chunks of text :/. Thank you for your time and responses!!</p>

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As I said, it’s useful, but not necessary. Plenty of applicants to MIT have self-studied courses in their applications every year, and there’s no question that MIT values the self-motivation and the taking charge of your own education that self-study represents. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t really worry about it – take the test or not according to what’s worthwhile for you. </p>

<p>crazymomster, for a transfer application, my guess would line up with UMTMYP Student’s, above – they would probably award credit for the MIT course corresponding with the AP test.</p>

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<p>It’s worth noting that it seems like MIT’s math department is much more flexible about stuff like prereqs and more generous with transfer credit than other departments.</p>

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<p>18.701 counts as linear algebra for math majors so they would only need to worry about 18.03 which can be commonly ASEd out of.</p>

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<p>It’s worth pointing out that 18.152 has a new professor and a new textbook [Partial Differential Equations I by Michael Taylor] this year so it’s unlikely/impossible that your course is following the new course very closely. Also, no physics classes at MIT require 18.152 as a prereq [no undergrad physics class requires anything past 18.03 and only a few graduate classes do]. 18.152 seems much more geared to pure math majors than physics majors as well.</p>