<p>I am more of a liberal arts person, I despise math, and i am really worried about taking math courses at harvard. I barely survived AP Calc AB during my senior year(managed a B). Im really scared that math courses will kill my college gpa.
How hard are the math courses??? What can I do to prepare with the little time I have left?? Can people who aren't math oriented and going to harvard respond? And please only respond with advice, i really don't need to hear about how i shouldn't be going to harvard if i can't even ace highschool calc. Thx.</p>
<p>I hear "Magic with Numbers" is a joke?? You should take that if you seriously despise Math.</p>
<p>well i don't want to take a class where i won't learn anything useful... How difficult are the math classes??? What can i do to prepare?</p>
<p>you could take Math X series...basically a rehash of AP Calc.</p>
<p>First of all, note that you have to take only ONE Quantitative Reasoning course. Your QR options are here:</p>
<p>HERS</a> Output</p>
<p>Many of these are fairly easy. Of course, if you want to learn something useful, you might want to go for something you're not too familiar with. I'll note that you should be slightly wary of core courses, and (if they're available) check their CUE ratings. Some are very well taught, but some aren't.</p>
<p>Don't forget to look at the list of departmental courses at the bottom of the page- if you're not interested in taking a core course, there are many, many options. If you're interested in government, try </p>
<p>Government 50. Introduction to Political Science Research Methods
[Government 1000. Quantitative Methods for Political Science I]
[Government 1015. Strategic Models of Political Economy]</p>
<p>(The second two, unless I'm mistaken, will not be given this particular year, but should be the year after). If you like Economics:</p>
<p>Economics 1123. Introduction to Econometrics
Economics 1126. Quantitative Methods in Economics</p>
<p>And I personally have two recommendations. I think that learning computer programming is wonderfully useful, though it can be very difficult for people that aren't interested in math (there is very little math involved, but math-oriented people often tend to do better). So there are some courses that deal with computers:</p>
<p>Quantitative Reasoning 20. Computers and Computing
Computer Science 1. Great Ideas in Computer Science
Computer Science 50. Introduction to Computer Science I</p>
<p>Please note that CS 50 is, to someone who hasn't done programming before, a challenging course (expect over ten hours of work a week). However, it's my favorite course that I've taken yet at Harvard- it can be extremely rewarding. The course is also very well managed and the administration is EXTREMELY helpful.</p>
<p>My second recommendation, since I'm a statistics major, is to take a Stat course. Statistical innumeracy is, in my opinion, a big problem among humanities students (and even science students!).</p>
<p>Quantitative Reasoning 32. Uncertainty and Statistical Reasoning
Quantitative Reasoning 50. Medical Detectives
Statistics 100. Introduction to Quantitative Methods for the Social Sciences and Humanities
Statistics 101. Introduction to Quantitative Methods for Psychology and the Behavioral Sciences
Statistics 102. Fundamentals of Biostatistics
Statistics 104. Introduction to Quantitative Methods for Economics
Statistics 105. Real-Life Statistics: Your Chance for Happiness (or Misery)
Statistics 110. Introduction to Probability</p>
<p>Of these, Statistics 100 is almost certainly the best fit for you. It is designed for humanities majors, but it has plenty of very useful information about statistics that would help you whatever field you enter.</p>
<p>I'd also like to add that I recommend against taking the Math Xa/b track. For one thing, it is two courses instead of one- if you're not interested in math, take something else with that second course! Also, you've already taken AB Calc, why would you basically take it again? Finally, if you don't enter math or science, it is very, very, very unlikely you will ever need calculus again. However, statistics, computer science, and the appropriate government or econ courses have great applications in the humanities (which I feel are underused). I strongly recommend you look at that set of courses.</p>
<p>I'm in a similar situation. Except the problem is that I plan to major in either Biochemical Sciences or Molecular and Cellular Biology (most likely a premed candidate, haven't decided on that yet) and I love the life sciences, I just despise all math, physical sciences, and everything/anything related to numbers. </p>
<p>Like the OP, I took Calc AB my senior year and managed to pull As both semester of the courses; however, I received a 4 on the exam. In my case, what should I do, since the courses that Admiral kindly listed are not a viable possibility for me.</p>
<p>Hi darciejune,</p>
<p>First, I'd like to note that you actually cannot major in the Biochemical Sciences concentration anymore. As you can see here:</p>
<p>FAS</a> Handbook for Students: Chapter 3: Fields of Concentration
[QUOTE]
THE BIOCHEMICAL SCIENCES CONCENTRATION IS NOT OPEN TO
STUDENTS WHO ENTERED THE COLLEGE IN SEPTEMBER 2006 OR LATER.
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>So that's a decision that was made for you :-). You might want to consider Organismic and Evolutionary Biology- it requires no math, though you are permitted count math courses towards the "related courses" requirement. (You can also take chemistry, computer science, or statistics). OEB also does not require physics.</p>
<p>FAS</a> Handbook for Students: Chapter 3: Fields of Concentration</p>
<p>If you decide to major in MCB, you need only take one math course: 19a or 21a. 19a is geared towards biological applications and is probably your best bet. You also are not required to take any prerequisites. If you want to consider this course, its fall course site is online (you'll need your HUID and PIN):</p>
<p>This gives you an exhaustive idea of what to expect from the course- the syllabus, past problem sets and tests... if you're eager to start preparing, you can even check out some of the lecture notes!</p>
<p>I will note that MCB requires two of the following physics courses:</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
Physical Sciences 2 and Physical Sciences 3, Physics 11a and 11b, or Physics15a (or 16) and 15b.
[/QUOTE]
</p>
<p>Of these, the easiest route is to take Physics 11a/b, which requires Math 21a, or to take PS2/3, which would require PS 1 or AP Chem and Math 1b (or BC Calc, which you haven't taken).</p>
<p>I hope this isn't too unclear. Note that while I'm a science major, I'm not an expert on the particulars of these prerequisites. Still, I strongly recommend you take 19a your first freshman semester- it will count towards both OEB and MCB.</p>
<p>Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with!</p>
<p>If you work your ass off, ask the professor for help at every single one of his/her office hours, and show that you're trying really hard, there are very few professors who will give you a bad grade even if you perform poorly.</p>
<p>thanks Admiral, for the super-thorough response!</p>
<p>what about economics? how quantitative is it?</p>
<p>Hi Rogue90,</p>
<p>I assume you're asking how many quantitative courses you'd have to take for the economics concentration- please correct me if I'm wrong.</p>
<p>The requirements for the Economics concentration can be found here:</p>
<p>FAS</a> Handbook for Students: Chapter 3: Fields of Concentration</p>
<p>This requires only one math course: Math 1a. You can place out of this with AP AB Calculus- otherwise, it's just one course that covers fairly basic calculus.</p>
<p>Economics also requires either Statistics 100, 104, or 110. 100/104 are basic introductions to statistics that certainly require math but aren't that mathematical intense (104 is more advanced than 100). 110 is an introduction to probability and is considerably harder- it uses calculus and recommends Math 21a as a prerequisite (but like I said, you absolutely do not need to take it- take 100 or 104 instead).</p>
<p>Now, you can, but are not required, to take Economics 1011a/b for your economics concentration. These are much more quantitative economics courses than most of the ones you'd take- if you happen not to be interested in more mathematically intense economics, including calculus, then you probably wouldn't take these.</p>
<p>Finally, please note that every concentration is exempt from a few Core requirements. These are listed on this page:</p>
<p>FAS</a> Handbook for Students: Chapter 2: Academic Information</p>
<p>Economics is excepted from the Quantitative Reasoning requirement (along with Historical Study A and Social Analysis). This means you won't need to take a QR course, which means Econ students actually take pretty much no more math courses than any humanities concentrator.</p>
<p>I recommend you read the page describing the concentration requirements I linked to above, and let me know if you have any questions. Generally, economics concentrators take very few quantitative courses.</p>
<p>thanks a lot for your help, Admiral</p>
<p>
[quote]
Generally, economics concentrators take very few quantitative courses.
[/quote]
Can that possibly be true?</p>
<p>I don't know any economics concentrators at Harvard. But the ones I know elsewhere take lots and lots of quantitative courses, especially the ones who aspire to be actual economists, not law students.</p>