<p>Ill be a freshman starting in September, and I think I want to be a math major. I took Calc AB in my senior year of high school. I found it quite easy so I decided to take the BC test; I got a 5 and a 5 AB sub score. However, I taught myself the BC part of the course the night before the AP test, so I dont fully know the material.</p>
<p>I want to take MAT 104 to completely learn single variable calculus and so that I have a good foundation for higher level math classes. But MAT 214 looks more interesting/fun. Im interested in MAT 215 too .Also, I sincerely dislike applied math and love pure math. </p>
<p>Do you have any insight on MAT 104, 214, or 215? Would it be possible/advisable to take both MAT 104 and 214 in the FIRST semester?</p>
<p>Most math majors take 215 first semester, while IMO students usually go for 217 first semester (this means 217 first semester is a bad bad idea...last year, the median on the midterm was a perfect score...). </p>
<p>I don't think taking 104 and 214 would be a good idea--there have got to be some other classes that you're interested in! The idea of two math classes first semester just makes me kind of uncomfortable, even if you're sure you want to be a math major. You can talk it over with your advisor if you want to, however, and you can probably decide then.</p>
<p>I'd suggest going with just 214 or 215 (215 preferable, unless you really want to take 214). While it's true that taking 104 would help you really learn single-variable calculus, I don't think that improvement would be worth the time that you'd put into it. Pretty much all classes 21X+ are theoretical anyway, and 104 would help that much less than 214 or 215. </p>
<p>I actually took 214 last year with Lieblich (first semester), so if you have any specific questions about the class, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>I took Math 104 without ever taking either AB or BC and found it boring and a waste of a semester...You'd probably do yourself better reading a few books and then taking 215
it is my understanding that most math majors take 215, and only those with a deep interest in number theory take 214, but im no expert here</p>
<p>I'd take a 200 level class - the 100s are mainly for kids not majoring math/ with not a lot of experience with calculus (you can always drop down to 104 anyway.)</p>
<p>215 doesn't require knowledge about calculus at all. They class just shows you the basics of proof writing... it's not easy though.
Math majors typically do the 215-217-218 sequence, which goes over all the calculus you need to know for higher level math anyways. And most 300 level courses like Galois Theory and number theory don't require knowledge of calculus at all. They're all based on proofs. 104 is mostly calculations and not useful to math majors... unless you're doing applied math, which means... you should now calc pretty well... majoring in math in mostly about proofs though</p>
<p>Even if it doesn't directly answer your question, it should give you enough information to get a sense of what you need to accomplish within four years, and how to plan your schedule accordingly.</p>
<p>To to the OP, if you "sincerely dislike applied math, and love pure math," as do I, then 215 is the way to go. It's supposed to be an intro into the math department, so it should give you a good idea if you want to continue, and if you do, Princeton's definitely a great place to.</p>