Math 150 or 155

<p>Someone responded to a different thread i started saying that for the sake of sanity take 155, and that you don't need to know anything more for either course (150 or 155). </p>

<p>In high school, i took:</p>

<p>geometry
algebra II
Pre calc
statistics</p>

<p>155 is the course i am leaning towards, and in those classes above i always got high A's. Am i prepared for 155?</p>

<p>Also, if i sign up for 155 and in the first couple of weeks i find it too hard, would i be able to drop into 150?</p>

<p>That is not a lot of math background, you might want to start with 140. However, you cannot drop after the first couple of weeks and switch, you can drop period, but you will get a W which is not a good thing. 155 is definitely going to be challenging for you, especially since you have a very limited math background, most of my friends in it, went through second semester calc in high school and still found 155 to be difficult.</p>

<p>i am premed and i really didnt want to take 140. i heard it looks the best to take 155, but would 150 be better considering my background? how much harder is 155 than 150? what type of topics am i supposed to be familiar with for 150?</p>

<p>I am going to suggest that the OP Pm’s GCN2…who is a microbio major and an upperclassman at Vandy who is doing research as an undergrad…not sure if he is premed… He has several posts on courses for premeds/science majors in math and science departments, and you can read his old posts. He is very helpful in weighing in on issues like course selection. </p>

<p>One thing to realize is that Vandy’s freshman class, while not all “on the same page” in math preparation…is the most prepared class in Vandy history just on stats. We learned this sort of thing the hard way at Duke…as my son arrived at Duke from a HS with over a 50% drop out rate and with very few students making passing AP Scores.</p>

<p>Come as prepped as you can in math if you are a science major person. That means prepare over the summer with looking over relevant review books if your instruction was sketchy. Our district was very weak in APs and awarded As to people who made low AP scores. Many Vandy students received good instruction in high school…</p>

<p>who is GCN2 and how would i find him/get a hold of him to PM?</p>

<p>put his Identity in Search, and left click on his name when you get to his posts…you can easily read his recent posts…and probably drop him an email…he has not been posting since school let out…so he may be tied up.</p>

<p>What looks best on medical school applications are A’s. If you haven’t already taken an AP Calculus course, I would recommend 140 so you can get acclimated to the rigor of math courses at Vanderbilt.</p>

<p>DO NOT, i repeat DO NOT, take 150A/B. it is extremely difficult. the exams are standardized and wayyyyyyyyyy harder than necessary. the worst part is that your teacher doesn’t even make it so he/she can’t tell you what to study for the tests. save yourself a lot of sweat and tears and sign up for 155A/B. trust me, when you hear your future friends crying about failing 150, you’ll thank me.</p>

<p>I agree with the above poster. Son tried to take 150 and dropped out. The average grade on the first test was about a 50. TA’s teach the 150 classes- many are difficult to understand and they do not write the test- it is a department test so they often do not cover what is on the test. One of his friends made a C- first semester and then re-took it during the summer at Vandy and made an A+. She said the difference in difficulty between taking it during the regular school year versus summer school was ridiculous. It is such a weed out course. Everyone says take 155. </p>

<p>That being said, you might want to take 140 first. Most of our friends are doctors and all say that the best thing you can do in undergraduate school is get A’s- just like a previous poster said!</p>

<p>The best advice you’ve ever gotten on a computer is what starrynight just said. The only real difference between 155 and 150 is that the exams are standardized in 150 and everyone fails. So, if you will be taking either (you might want a lower level), take 155.</p>

<p>speaking of math classes, do any of you have any suggestions at what calculus class to take?? there are so many…</p>

<p>unless you’re an engineer or pre-med, don’t take calc at all! save yourself a lot of pain and take stat. if you must take calc, i’d suggest 155a/b or 140 (if math isn’t your strong suit).</p>

<p>I still lurk around ;)</p>

<p>Adding one more voice against the 150 calculus course. My kid took AP Calc BC and I forget if she got a 4 or 5 on the test, but got As. She failed the 150 midterm and ended up with a C in the course, but only after studying for the final almost to the exclusion of all else. She thought she understood calculus before taking the class, and now says she doesn’t. She says it did NOT prepared her for the calculus she has encountered in econ classes. The class soured her on math for life. Don’t take it if you don’t have to.</p>

<p>does anyone have some insight to 140 for a premed major? i think i would be ok in 155, i took ap calc in high school. but i also don’t want to overload myself and jump into a math that im not ready for or isnt necessary
would it look better to a med school to have an A in 140?</p>

<p>If you took AP Calc in hs, I would suggest taking 150a or 155a since you theoretically received college-level math instruction in AP. Don’t try and skip to 170a or 175 (I wouldn’t recommend even skipping to 170b or 155b). I don’t know enough to recommend whether you should take 150 or 155.</p>

<p>so after reading this i’m not sure whether or not to take a calc class at all. I know I don’t want to take 150. I would take 155B because I took AP Calc AB this year and I’m pretty sure I got a 5, so I would get credit for 155a, and I don’t want to forfeit my ap credit. Would I be unprepared going from Ap calc ab to 155b? And I’m prelaw, so does anyone know if law shools would care whether or not I took calc in college, or at all since if I don’t take it in college they won’t know that I did in high school? I like calculus, but I don’t want to take a class I’m doomed for and I’d prefer not to take a class that I already get ap credit for.</p>

<p>Im transferring in as a sophomore, and I am pre-dental/bio major (so basically pre-med). I had calculus my senior year of high school (not AP, because my high school was/is completely out of the loop- but it was very advanced), and I found it to be somewhat difficult. Should I take calc 140? or 155… I basically know nothing about either one. Any input would be great- thank you!!</p>

<p>This thread is very helpful. I was planning on taking 150b, but I signed up for 155b today. Thanks for the suggestion! I didn’t want to worry about failing Calculus II…</p>

<p>If you take Math 140 as a freshman, what is the order of classes you would take after it? 140 then 155 then 170? How much math is needed?</p>