<p>I have a related question. My son will be a freshman this fall and he planning to major in math and poly sci and then go to law school (that’s the plan for now anyway…). He likes math a lot, but obviously isn’t planning on doing post grad work in a math or science field. I guess I have two questions:</p>
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<li><p>Is there a math prof you would recommend he talk to to help him figure out which math class to start with - the 161-162, 161Q-161Q, or 171Q-174Q? We’ve read everything we can find about the differences, but I think he would benefit from someone in the math department he could actually talk to (maybe at orientation week) that could help him figure out which one he’s really prepared for and would enjoy (and succeed in). I’m looking for a recommendation on who would be really helpful for an incoming freshman to get some guidance from.</p></li>
<li><p>He took the AP Calc AB test, so he’ll get those scores sometime soon. Assuming he gets a 4 or 5, and gets credit for Calc I, does that make it harder to jump into either 162Q or 172Q, since the approach in those classes sounds different than the method he learned in high school AP Calc AB?</p></li>
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<p>161Q/162Q are not really quest courses in the same sense as the 170s… it’s basically the same as the regular 160s but you do a few extra challenging problems from the “problems plus” section of Stewart.</p>
<p>As far as who to talk to… Prof. Rogers is now the Director of Undergraduate Studies, or you could talk to someone teaching one of the courses being considered; i.e., Ravenel for 162 or Gonek for 171.</p>
@lurkermom and @WayOutWestMom, do you know the average size for the 170 sequence? How many students are there in each class (aprox.)?
This should help. No numbers for specific classes, but I would think that the Calc 1 & 2 classes would be the bigger ones in the chart.
http://www.rochester.edu/provost/assets/ir/Factbook%2013-14/SEC_UG_FALL13.pdf
If you want a good GPA, take the 160 series. The 170 series is extremely difficult, and as an econ major, it’s not going to matter to grad schools what series you took. You’re better off taking the 160 series and getting a GPA boost as opposed to putting all of your time into the 170’s. I have many friends who dropped out of the 170’s to 160’s because of the difficulty, and because all of their time was going towards Math and not the classes that mattered to their major.