<p>I'll be in Wharton next year and I am trying to decide what math class to take. I've taken ap stat in high school and multi variable calc at a community college (after 5 on BC). It seems like math 114 includes multi variable and diffy qs, so I can't skip it. Can anyone confirm this? Also, how difficult is this class compared to a stat class (it would be stat 102), and should I consider math 115 at all? Thanks</p>
<p>Do you want to take more math? If you do, then you might want to consider skipping over 114 since you already took multivariable. The diff eqs in 114 you went over in Calc BC I think. The next course in the sequence is Math 240. If you decide to go straight into 240, make sure you can handle multiple and line integrals very well, since you’ll need them for a third of 240 and the prof will not spend much time reviewing them. You can take a free placement exam at the start of the semester to get credit for 114 (no penalty if you fail). You can also just take 240 and get automatic credit for 114 when you pass, but I wouldn’t recommend doing that since you have no way of knowing if you’re ready for 240 and could end up with a C. If you don’t want to go further than multivariable calculus, then might as well just take 114 again.</p>
<p>A math class will definitely be more difficult than the intro stat classes. In Stat 101/102 you’re only curved with other wharton students, and honestly most are not the best at math. If you’d like a more rigorous treatment of intro statistics I’d recommend taking Stat 430/431 instead. You might end up with a slightly lower grade, but you’ll learn more.</p>
<p>Wharton students are not allowed to take Math 115.</p>
<p>Math 114 will cover vector calculus and multivariable calc mostly. The vector stuff frankly isn’t too bad at all, but if you want to go to Math 240 straight off, be sure you are comfortable with polar/spherical/cylindrical coordinate systems, line integrals, green’s theorem.</p>
<p>Thanks alot for the helpful replies. If i did pass the placement test and entered math 240, is it going to have a major workload? I’ll have mgmt 100, fin 103, a bfs seminar, and a writing seminar. I don’t mind putting in hours to study but I would like to have a decent social life. I think I have to maintain a 3.5 for JWS/BFS also.</p>
<p>It’s definitely doable, but it won’t be fun.</p>
<p>Math will probably take up a lot of your time because of homework sets. MGMT is a huge timesink, and while writing seminars are easy, they’re (again) timesinks. BFS seminars span a pretty wide range. It really depends on which one you take. There’s no homework in FNCE103, but Whitney’s microecon half of the course is pretty difficult. The quizzes and midterms in Finance are on different dates (even weeks) than Econ010, which I thought was a hassle because I was stressed/studying when my MGMT100 teammates weren’t, which factors into the whole peer evaluation thing.</p>
<p>I took the same courses you’re considering, except I took Math 114 instead of 240. I learned by the second midterm that I suck at math and bombed the course, but other than that one disaster I pulled through with decent grades. Of course, some people took the same load and did REALLY well, and some didn’t do so hot. </p>
<p>I’d say it really depends on how ready you are for college, which is hard to judge before you get there. Take what you want, read the syllabi and feel it out for a few weeks. Don’t hesitate to switch out before add/drop ends and make good use of Penn Course Review.</p>
<p>It’s a heavy workload but shouldn’t be an overwhelming one. You might not be able to go out 4 times a week first semester like some people, but that’s just a trade off. Actually, if you don’t join clubs that take up tons of time or don’t have a job, then you probably still could.</p>
<p>Like majorlazer said mgmt 100 wastes tons of time, but it’s not mentally taxing, so you can do that work while you’re tired from real work. To be honest, you can half-ass the writing seminar work because you can. I’m not bfs/jws so I don’t really know about those classes, but i saw some of the work and understanding basic multivar calc might put you at an advantage for fnce 103 in the beginning. If you’re prepared, math 240 and 114 will probably require about the same amount of work. I did better in 240 than 114, so it all depends on what topics turn out to be easier for you.</p>
<p>For math, another option is to take Honors calculus (116/260 instead of 114/240). If you want to learn in a more theoretical way with proofs, which will help out if you want to take math beyond 240, think about taking the honors courses, and I’m sure it will be sufficiently different than what you learned in the community college course that it won’t seem like you’re hearing the same thing over again.</p>
<p>Btw if you take Math 240 or 260 along with Stat 430 & 431 (i think stat 430 hits a jws requirement), you just need two more classes to get a math minor, one of which can be in a wharton department. just something to consider…</p>
<p>Math 116 looks like a very good course designed for students with the background that you
seem to have. As long as the professor is good it would probably be more enjoyable than
taking 240. It is also likely to have students who want to be in the class rather than
those that just have to finish off a requirement.</p>
<p>Thanks again for the help. I think I’ll try the non-honors and see how I do before jumping in to the harder difficulty. I will have to place in to math 240 even if I have a grade from the community college right? And I have definitely thinking of getting a math minor so 2 more courses seems worthwhile. Can anyone comment on how much time a BFS seminar takes up on average?</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you can take the course without taking the placement test.</p>
<p>It’s hard to say how much time BFS seminars take up. The only work I had for mine was reading a novel a week and a 5000 word final paper. A friend of mine took a seminar with Anne Hall (who everyone raves about) and said that the amount of reading was literally impossible, along with frequent papers. I’ve heard that Humans in the Microbial World is really, really easy. So yeah, there’s my completely anecdotal summary. I’d recommend making a list of seminars that sound interesting and then check them out on course review. At the same time, check the dates on the courses. If it’s not offered regularly, you might want to take it anyway because you might miss the opportunity.</p>
<p>Everyone’s been really helpful, and thank you all again. I have one more question on this thread for those who have taken math 114/240. I looked through the old 114 finals and they look the same as what I saw in my community college class, but I have forgotten a decent amount of it after almost a year. Do I need to walk in to math 240 ready to do anything they taught in math 114? Or is it basically new material and I could refresh with my old textbook along the way… This is basically the only reason I see to retake 114.</p>
<p>Actually… I just found out there is a placement exam, which means I’ll probably need to study… Does anyone know how well you need to do to pass?</p>
<p>You don’t necessarily need to take the placement test; as far as I know you could jump straight into 240, and as long as you get higher than a C in the class you can apply for retroactive credit for 114. I’m guessing the same applies if you take the placement test? (C or higher)</p>
<p>The line and vector integral stuff you learned in 114 will definitely be used in 240, and they pretty much expect you to remember that material; the prof will spend maybe one day reviewing it. I took 240 a full year after I finished 114 and I struggled with that section because my memory on the material was a bit hazy (to be honest though, I never did have a firm grasp on that section in 114, so that it made things all the more difficult) It’s do-able though.</p>