<p>I'll be attending Cal in the Fall, and I'm unsure which math class to take.</p>
<p>I'm fairly sure that I'm going to receive a 5 on the AP Calculus BC exam, and I have a 800 on the Math SAT II, so I believe I meet the pre-Berkeley prereqs.</p>
<p>Some people have told me 1A and 1B, 1B especially, are extremely difficult, as compared to 53, but I'm not sure if I'll be missing a lot of content to be used in future math classes, or classes related to my EECS major.</p>
<p>Both of my roommates were in your situation this year–5’s on the Calc BC exam–and one of them got an A in Math 1B while the other got <B. So it’s up to you. A lot of people come in thinking that they have a sturdy math foundation but then find out otherwise after the first midterm, like me I honestly think you should go with 1A first, then slowly work your way up. Even if it is easy, you’ll have time to transition for your other classes and it’ll work as sort of a grade buffer. Buffers are always nice :)</p>
<p>If you feel confident enough, you might as well skip to 53. 53 won’t require you to solve any nasty integrals/derivatives, it’s more conceptual than calculation based.</p>
<p>Go with 53 – it’ll at least be interesting to you if you’re already done with calculus, and frankly I don’t think taking a competitive version of a class you already did in high school is a great idea. Being interested in what you’re doing helps a lot in preparing + staying focused.</p>
<p>I’d go with 53. Math 1A and 1B are pretty difficult, so if you already know the material I wouldn’t bother. I know plenty of people who got C’s even though they’d already covered the stuff in high school. Avoid it if you can.</p>
<p>^ i have the similar issue with the original poster.
i finished calculus in junior year so i have 8 transferable credits for math (calc) but i wasn’t sure if i should just go to math 53 or retake math 1a/1b?</p>
<p>my main concern is: will i be lost if i take math 53?
although it’s been a year since i touched calculus, i plan on reviewing it over the summer anyway – would that be enough to do well in math 53? or even math 54 (linear algebra) ?</p>
<p>Math 54 (linear algebra) is somewhat independent of the rest of calculus. The linear algebra is its own beast, and some like it, others hate it – you just have to work at getting used to it. However, some familiarity with differential equations can help a lot for that part of the course. Usually some differential equations (much more than in BC calculus at least) are convered in the end of Math 1B. </p>
<p>A bit of review of calculus will do fine for Math 53. As long as you had a good, solid calculus course, you won’t have a problem recalling calculus.</p>
I honestly think you should go with 1A first, then slowly work your way up. Even if it is easy, you’ll have time to transition for your other classes and it’ll work as sort of a grade buffer. Buffers are always nice :)</p>