<p>I’ll be a freshman this year at Amherst, and to my dismay, I discovered that I apparently have to take two math, or two physics classes if I want to be a bio major?</p>
<p>I had a VERY hard time with math in high school. I can safely say, that to this day, I really don’t understand it. I tended to be more of an English and Sciences type of girl, and at my school, math tended to be its own area. Thus, I never had to take calculus.</p>
<p>So, I’m a little concerned. I have to take Math 11, and then a higher class, I’m guessing. Any current Amherst students that are roaming, do you know how difficult these are, and what type of math it is? Basic math? Calculus? etc. </p>
<p>Thanks again</p>
<p>The material in Math 11 overlaps with AB Calculus. Math 12 overlaps with BC. There are a number of support options available if you find you’re having difficulty with the material (the Q center, peer tutors, your professor, your friends/roommates). It’s definitely something to talk to your advisor about once you get on campus, but I wouldn’t panic just yet. It’s not uncommon for someone to believe that they are “not a math person” (or science person, or english person) until the right professor comes along and the lightbulb goes off.</p>
<p>So how does it play in with the Open Course curriculum? Is it that you need to take the classes you must take for the major but don’t HAVE to take any that aren’t associated with it?</p>
<p>You have total freedom over which classes you take, but you can’t decide to major in something and not take the requisite courses for that major. (Would it make sense to graduate as a biology major without having taken any biology classes?) Majors have requirements, but otherwise, you aren’t required to take anything.</p>