Hello all, I will be entering BC next year as a freshman and am very unsure about which math course I should take.
I would like to take a calculus course, and I took AP Calculus AB this year with a pretty good understanding of the material. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
what is your intended major? What college are you in?
A 4 on the AP test will fulfill the math requirement for the Core.
If you are an English major, you probably don’t need any more math. But if premed or a STEM major, then more Calc will probably be in your future.
Spend a few minutes reading this page from BC Math - http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/math/courses/calc.html
@bluebayou I am in MCAS, hoping to major in French and Music but that is up in the air right now as I also like other subjects.
To be honest, I can’t even guess how I scored on the AP test, I feel like I may need to or even want to take another math class so in the case of that, what would be the best course for me to take?
@Notknot77098 Hi, yes, I actually came here and posted this after reading that page from BC Math. It helped me some, but I was still feeling fairly confused about stuff which is why I came here for suggestions.
Ok so since you’re majoring in something that is not STEM related, a qualifying AP exam score will fulfill the core, as @bluebayou mentioned earlier. You won’t need to take any more math (as for your concern of needing to take a math class.)
If you get a 3, or just want to take a math class, I’d first suggest starting with Calculus I (non Math/Science) with Prof. Robert Reed (stay away from Marie Clote!!).
Sign up for any of his sections (I believe he’s 8 AM, 9 AM and 12 PM) to get a spot with him, then choose to go to any of the other times if you want. i.e. if you registered for the 8 AM time slot, you aren’t restricted to only attending the 8 AM lecture, but can choose to go to any of the others. His 8:00 is open at the time of posting this. This goes for any other class btw.
He’s a great person and professor (albeit, a bit boring but who cares.) He knows that pretty much 95% of the class consists of first-semester freshmen much like yourself, so he’ll help you out a ton–predictable tests based on HW, very fair quizzes and fair expectations overall. But beware, no calculators are allowed on any exams (this applies to Calc II as well.) Also, the weird problems you see in AP (Sandy Beach, weird Riemann Sums or what have you) aren’t on his exams or covered in Calculus classes here in general.
If you want to continue, I suggest Calculus II in the spring with Reed again, or, if he’s not open, go with Jamison Wolf (although his exams are quite tough, so you really need to dedicate time to practicing.)
If you get a 4 or 5, you don’t need to do anymore math at BC. But again, if you wish to take math, Calculus with the above profs is the way to go!
Let me know if you have any more questions.
@mg29409 thank you so much! This was incredibly helpful, especially with the names of specific professors.