<p>S completed AP Calc BC last year. This year he is studying Diff Eq/Lin Alg. We are in a situation now to decide what to do for him next semester. I am wondering how he will be placed into a math course. Would he be able to place out of Diff Eq/Lin Alg hypothetically? Would he realistically probably not want to place out of it and instead use his knowledge in order to be more successful in class, also knowing that new material will be covered?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>The primary question is not necessarily which courses has he taken but rather how comfortable is he with proof based maths. Next, in order to place out of DifEQs you need to place out of ma1a (proof based calculus, semi-rigorous) and either ma1c(multivariate calculus) or ma1b (linear algebra). Also, to be fair, in our freshman class, there are maybe 3-5 people who have placed out of ma2a (diffyqs), while substansially more (on the order of 50+) have taken most of core math in some regards. </p>
<p>Once again, the key is to figure out how comfortable he is with proof-based mathematics and how comfortable he is with the material. If he can place out of ma1a, he should do it. Linear Algebra is far less one-sided as it is much more useful in pretty much every subject so if his grasp is less certain, he should retake it.</p>