<p>These classes are required for the Math major at Duke (Abstract Algebra & Advanced Calculus I), my question is how difficult are these classes relative to the other 100-level Math classes? Would a good background in 103 and 104 be sufficient to do well in 121 & 139 or are there other classes I should take beforehand? </p>
<p>So far, I have 103, 104, and 135.</p>
<p>I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Math is not useful for pre-med or other pre-professional stuff, so it's something people here wouldn't know about... :p</p>
<p>I know where else to ask and everything, I just like to get a lot of sources and opinions about things.</p>
<p>Yo brah, I did a little research. Those classes are Abstract Algebra and Advanced Calculus. I guess it depends on how intelligent you are and you seem like a pretty smart guy- you should do fine even if everyone else is sinking in those classes...</p>
<p>^wait, aren't you a person who wants to go to duke in the class of 2013. How do you know how hard those classes are? You have never been in them. For all you know they could be insanely difficult.</p>
<p>My S attends and most math courses at the higher levels are very difficult and grades can be fairly low...a lot of th ekids that are math majors and have very strong math backgrounds- Math camp instead of summer camp for example- are t prepared to take the best grades leaving even fairly strong students to try to get b,c,and d's due to the curve.</p>
<p>I heard that in terms of the higher-level math courses, it matters by your ability to truly understand mathematical concepts and your ability to deal with the abstract.
The most conscientious student who doesn't have the brains for abstract concepts and has relied on brute studying instead of logic to get through his or her exams will likely not do well in higher-level math courses, no matter how hard that person works. Some people get it and others don't and it's usually pretty easy to figure out who the people who will get things are. </p>
<p>Correct, I haven't taken any of those classes yet. I am basing this off what I heard from friends who have taken these classes at similar colleges.</p>