<p>I'm thinking of taking Calc II soon, but wondering whether I would be at an advantage to take Calc II immediately prior to taking Econ 401 in the future. Does Econ 401 involve a lot of Calc (so do you think I would do better in it having just taken Calc?)?</p>
<p>Also, how hard is Econ 102 compared to 101?</p>
<p>How hard do you think Calc II would be for me, having gotten a 5 on the AP Calc AB test in high school.</p>
<p>My recollection is that it helps to have some knowledge of calculus for Econ 401 but it isn’t required. Some of the problems are easier to solve with calculus. I think that Math 115 calculus is all you need and the AP Calc AB test would cover this.</p>
<p>If you got a 5 on the AP test I wouldn’t think Calc II will be too hard unless you take honors Calc II which I hear is quite challenging. I don’t think you need to delay the Calc II for Econ 401.</p>
<p>For Econ 401, you should know about partial derivatives, the chain rule for multiple variables, the fundamental theorem of calculus, summation of infinite series, concavity, and maybe some other things that aren’t coming to mind right now. Those were the things used most often, though.</p>
<p>If Calc II is the integration one, you don’t really need it.</p>
<p>While I can’t speak directly from experience because I haven’t taken 401 yet, I’ve seen some of the released exams and I can say that calc is used in the tests … i believe i even saw partials in there, but I don’t remember exactly, so don’t quote me on that. Partials are taught in CALC III so you should plan accordingly before you go into 401.</p>
<p>Econ 101 is a weeder class. The bell curve is tough, but if you work and study hard, you should be rewarded. It helps to have done AP, but the tests are in general slightly harder than the AP … they’re more in depth. BUT don’t think the bell cure is all that evil … there are people in the class who can’t even read linear graphs … and if you can’t do graphs, you can’t do econ. (There’s a shirt on display at the Econ Department that says “Economists do it with models.” :D) Anyways, go to lecture, listen vaguely, do the homework, take ALL of the homework quizzes, study, do the practice tests, and get some good SLEEP before any test, and you should do fine. Last semester, which is considered competitive with all the B-school people, you needed an 85% cumulative average to get an A. That should give you a rough idea of the bell curve. Oh yea … your grade is based on 3 midterms (80% total, equally weighted) and 4 homework quizzes (5% each). You get to drop one homework quiz grade, which may come in handy.</p>
<p>Econ 102 is something I’m taking right now. They have a new guy teaching it and he teaches both of the sections (there are only 2 sections of 102, whereas there are X sections of 101) … Stevenson … fresh out of U of I. His first semester people said that the tests are hard, and the class is NOT graded on a bell curve. Averages on tests are in the B- range. Tests are worth 88% of your grade (36% final and 26% for 2 midterms each) and the rest comes from 3 news article summaries equally weighted. He also gives a ton of homework, but they’re ungraded, and the stuff that isn’t from the book (that he wrote) are pretty challenging. PM me later on in the semester and I’ll let you know what I think about the class.</p>
<p>About Calc II. It’s a hard class. Try to convince them to place you into honors because in honors you do get more individual attention and they tend not be as harsh with grading (though most people in honors work hard anyways, as opposed to the regular people who do the bare minimum). Personally, I didn’t take the class, but what I’m saying is from what I’ve heard from other people. I placed into Honors Calc III so I didn’t have life it the fast lane … actually I loved the class alot. (TATIANA HOWARD IS THE BEST PROF EVER … too bad she’s leaving 
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