<p>I plan on majoring in Business Finance and possibly double majoring in Economics at Tech (It may take me a decade to graduate, but we'll see). For my math requirements, I have to take either MATH 1501 (Calc I), or MATH 1712 (Survey of Calc) along with either MATH 1711 (Finite Math) or MATH 1502 (Calc II). I thought this was pretty lite considering Tech's rep, but I'm not complaining.</p>
<p>I took AP Stat and AP Calc AB and BC in high school, and my grades were a weighted/unweighted A+/B+, A/B, and B/C respectively. I don't plan to cash in any AP credit. I was just curious as to how these classes compare to the AP's I've already taken. Is Calc I at Tech essentially the same as AP Calc AB, or is it more in-depth? I'm just trying to gauge my preparedness and determine which courses would be the best to take given my major.</p>
<p>Also, I've heard that Calc I is a 'weed-out class', aimed at thinning the heard of engineering students. Is this the case? Does the same ring true for other courses (not necessarily just math) at Tech that one should avoid if they're not essential to their major? Thanks for the input.</p>
<p>Dude, you should just cash in on the AP credit if you plan to take 1501 and 1502 (seriously, it “can” be nice to take some classes at the college level that you have credit for, but those are not necessarily among them. Perhaps take their b-schools version of stats. For example, the one at Emory is far better than AP or a regular stats. class in terms of showing you relevant situations in which statistical analysis is useful. I’m sure Tech should have a decision analytics course as well). The course can be very challenging depending on who you take it with. And when it comes to traditionally difficult instructors or courses at a college, it’s not often the material (though sometimes it is. Like at Tech, they may emphasize or cover theorems that are not typically covered in AP or IB) that makes it different from high school intensity so much as the types of exam problem types they give. For example, a difficult college math instructor may be more into writing proofs and deriving things based on the main theorems, whereas AP can be challenging but is more plug and chug/algorithmic type of situations where you get it if you just know the main point of the theory at work. They aren’t asking you where the theory comes from and to show it. Also, some may put some of the more challenging concepts in the context of an applied or word problem which may throw some people for a loop, especially if it isn’t the traditional related rate or optimization types. Also, calc. 2 there typically has a fairly intense linear algebra component as opposed to just sticking to integrals, series, and sequences (they move through that pretty quickly). </p>
<p>@Joel96 : Here is a website that will I guess give a feel for how they test at Tech, although I’m pretty sure most of these folks aren’t among the most difficult: <a href=“MATH 1501”>http://people.math.gatech.edu/~bonetto/teaching/1501-fall09/ma1501.html</a></p>
<p>One thing that I notice is that even the computation (integrate or differentiate) are a bit more complex than a normal AP exam prompts. Looks like you need a much better command of the trigonometric identities among many others. </p>
<p>If you get the AP credit for Calc I, take it and move on. DS took the AP credit and went on to Calc II. There are too many stories of kids taking Calc I thinking they will get an A just because they took AP Calc and then they get a get a C in the class. It’s not worth the risk. You will be fine in Calc II as long as you got a 4 or 5 on the AP exam.</p>
<p>What if I were to go the Math 1711 and 1712 route rather than Calc? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’d presume that ‘Survey of Calculus’ would be less comprehensive than Calc I. Are either of these set up as weed-out classes?</p>
<p>Yes, but why waste time with either if you have AP credit? You’re just wasting space in your schedule when something more relevant or better could be there. You can find an easy A in something that legit sounds enjoyable to you and to be blunt, since you are going to the business school, there will be plenty of opps. for A’s. You don’t have to retake a course for which you have AP credit to get one. Find something else for fall (take another econ. or immediately sign up for math 1712/1502 if offered and you don’t have credit). Do anything but retake calc. 1. Don’t waste space in your schedule. You’re there to make good grades and learn if you can. There are better ways to do so than that. </p>