I’m about to finish Calculus 1 (through dual enrollment at UF) with a solid A, and I was wondering about the pros and cons of taking Linear or Abstract Algebra while I take Calculus 2. I’m a freshman right now, and I’m VERY interested in the PRIMES-USA program. By junior year, if I only take one class per semester, I will have taken Calc 1, Calc 2, Calc 3, and Linear or Abstract Algebra. If I take two classes each semester starting next semester, I will have taken Calc 1, Calc 2, Linear Algebra, Calc 3, Abstract Algebra, Real Analysis, and Differential Equations (not necessarily in that order.). Should I take on the workload? Or does it not matter that much?
Bump
Please people i need advice the spring semester registration deadline is today
The progression at my D’s university for math is:
Calc I
Calc II
Calc III
Diffy Q
Linear Alg
For some majors they switch the sequence of linear and diffy q because of the probabilities and modeling classes they need, but personal I would get through your calc sequence first.
As a side note, colleges expect students to take all their core courses regardless of intended major. 4 years of english, 4 years of science, 4 years of math, 3-4 years of history, 3-4 years of foreign language, and a year of fine arts.
Do not sacrifice a core course to take extra math. Not even MIT or Caltech is expecting it’s incoming freshmen to have completed all that math and you might end up making yourself not competitive if you are missing other classes.
Life is not just math.
Well, this would be in addition to:
AP english lang
AP chem
AP psych
Debate 2 H
Rocketry 1 H
French 3 H
Portfolio Art H
I honestly feel like i don’t have nearly enough work tho
Where is you history class?
This seems like a lot of courses!
The requirement at my school is a social science freshman year and a history course sophomore junior and senior years. AP psych is a social science, I’m taking it instead of ap human geo bc im bad at geography lol
Has your daughter taken linear algebra yet? If so, what does she think?
Don’t look at your school’s requirements. Often there is a disconnect between graduation requirements and what top colleges expect to see on transcripts. You need to go beyond the minimums.
They are going to expect to see courses like European history, US history, US government and some want to see an econ course.
Hi, There is no need to complete that type of math sequence in high school. I suggest you consider focusing on extracurricular math instead, or in parallel. See below competitions and resources, all focussed on math prior to calculus. Excelling in those will put you in position for primes, etc. AMC, AIME, USAMO, USAMTS, USACO, etc
https://www.maa.org/math-competitions
https://www.usamts.org/
http://www.usaco.org/
https://artofproblemsolving.com/
https://www.awesomemath.org/
Our son is a college freshman math major who finished lin alg, multivariable, and Diff. equat. in high school. He has decided to take honors versions of these courses in college instead of placing out. He wants to fully master the material, not jump ahead too fast (he plans for math Ph.D.) He participated in above extracurricular math and found it fun and highly challenging. There are also many great programs besides primes. See this url: http://www.ams.org/programs/students/emp-mathcamps
Good luck!
Thanks for taking the time to respond, I really appreciate it:)
Technically you can take Linear Algebra anytime after Algebra II but it seems like everyone puts it after Calc 2 or 3. My son took it 2nd semester HS Jr. year after doing MV Calc (all dual enrolled). He took DiffEQ Sr. year but is repeating it as a freshman at GT since they would not transfer the credits (4 credit class at GT vs 3 credit dual enrolled).
Not sure you need to double up to get that far ahead, but ultimately it is up to what you think you can handle. Make sure you are saving some time for other ECs in HS like art, music, theater, or sports.
No. You might have to take these classes again in college. Even if not, if you get to a top school, they will be on a higher level than UF, so it’s better to wait. As others said, fill your time with competition math, tutoring others, learning to code, other meaningful projects.
Seems like I always agree with @momofsenior1 
I believe her kid’s school is Purdue. My kid attends UMich. Maybe it’s a B1G thing.
There are two different types of Linear Algebra classes offered. One is “applied” for engineers and math minors (no or few proofs). And the other one is for math majors/minors and it’s ALL proofs. It’s really the “gold standard” for higher level theoretical math. Both are very difficult classes, but Linear Algebra with all proofs involves hours upon hours upon hours every week of proofs. And for emphasis, even more hours of proofs. 
I would agree that doubling up on math at the cost of more varied coursework would be a negative to college admissions unless you’re absolutely positive you want to be a pure math major. A varied course load and AMC/AIME/AMO… outside of school is a good suggestion.
Linear is typically sequenced after MVC but usually doesn’t actually have a hard requirement for those courses. I’d stick with the Calc 1,2,3, Linear sequence just to have the same background as others in the class.
Fwiw, my D is also in engineering at Purdue and her sequence is Linear/ODE/PDE (I think ChemE even has multiple Math Selective sequences that have different sequencing).
S19 is a freshman at Bowdoin and took BC Calc (so first two semesters of calc) and MV calc in high school. Bowdoin placed him in Linear Algebra. It’s all proofs and problem sets are brutal. One problem takes up to 90 minutes. He’s considering being a math major and his next class would be some Mathematical Reasoning class.
I know it’s impossible to know where you will end up for college but you should finish up MV and then take LA. I don’t see the point of doubling up. You may find that, especially at some private universities, they might not allow your credit to transfer much past MV . They’ll want a large majority of the math major requirements to be done at their school.
And I agree with everyone else that you need four years of all major subjects - English, History, Math, Science, Foreign Lang. You’re plenty advanced in math to show your strength.
I also think you should do some competitive math if you’re interested in challenging yourself in math. These competitions test you on the depth of your math skills, not the breadth (you don’t even need calculus). As an alternative, you could also take abstract algebra, which is very different from all the other math you’ve learned. It will be a good test to see if you have what it takes to be a math major, if that’s your goal.
After integration (Calc 2) you can go either Calc 3 or Linear Algebra/Diff Equations. There’s no dependency on Calc 3. For CS majors, Linear Algebra is much more important.