<p>Hey so i’ve been accepted to Brown and I am having quite a difficult time choosing the right courses for me to take in my first semester. Many people have told me no to stress myself out by taking as many as 5 courses and sticking with them, but have not been able to help me with what courses i should take exactly! </p>
<p>As of now, my interests lie in Economics (primary), Pure Math, Applied Math, Intl. Relations and possibly Computer Science. It would be an immense help if any current student in these fields, or if not too, could advise me on what my first semester should look like coursewise? what did you guys do? (in terms of experience with the subjects, I do the full IB diploma)</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>[First-Year</a> Seminars](<a href=“Complete Your Degree | The College | Brown University”>Complete Your Degree | The College | Brown University)<br>
This is the link for First Year Seminars, which are not posted yet. These are great opportunities for freshmen to begin their studies. You should definitely think about taking one of these courses. Read what is written on this page and then look at the links on the left side of the page. </p>
<p>Also you can explore this site:<br>
[Welcome</a> - Mocha](<a href=“Loading...”>Loading...) </p>
<p>This is a great resource for course descriptions, etc. but it is a bit difficult to read the whole thing. I don’t think Brown is publishing a paper Course Bulletin any more.</p>
<p>Here is the official Brown Course Catalog online:
<a href=“https://selfservice.brown.edu/ss/bwckctlg.p_disp_cat_term_date[/url]”>https://selfservice.brown.edu/ss/bwckctlg.p_disp_cat_term_date</a></p>
<p>Also hard to read because it’s online. </p>
<p>My recommendation would be to push your boundaries! Don’t only take things in one field of interest, as you are suggesting in your post. The purpose of going to college is to really learn new things and to find out stuff you never knew existed or never thought you’d be interested in. I’m a mom of a graduating senior who ended up doing very different things than she started out doing. Have a great time! It’s a great school.</p>
<p>As franglish said, I’d really recommend taking at least one first-year seminar. They’re a great way to have one-on-one contact with a professor and take a small class while you’re adjusting to college.</p>
<p>A lot of your course decisions honestly shouldn’t be made until you get to Brown. That’s what the shopping period is all about. I would suggest having a “short-list” of 8-10 courses that seem like good options, and making your decisions only after you talk to your advisor and shop the classes.</p>
<p>As for your interests, looks like various math classes will definitely be fitting in there. What have you taken so far in high school? That’s the one place that you probably won’t have much of a decision to make - you’ll just start in the appropriate place in the track.</p>
<p>You might study the course catalog and see what are the bottleneck prerequisite classes that need to be taken first. For math, that would be Calc 3 and Linear Algebra. You should also consider that some classes are 2-semester classes which begin in the fall; the intro CS classes are like that.</p>
<p>I don’t think it is quite accurate to characterize CS15/16 and CS17/18 as two-semester courses. The first in each sequence is a pre-req for the second, but it is perfectly alright to do just the first and not the second (perhaps more so for 15 than for 17). Ditto for something like orgo.</p>
<p>The only true two-semester courses I can think of off the top of my head are the intro language courses.</p>
<p>thanks a lot for the responses guys! sorry this reply is kinda late, i just finished my exams yesterday and so I havent really gotten the time! </p>
<p>@bruno - i do the full IB, with Math, Econ, Comp Sci. and Physics HL and English n French SL.</p>
<p>I shall definitely look into the first year seminars! But I was wondering whether you guys could tell me how to choose my calculus course. Like Ive been thinking of taking credit for Math HL, which would be for Math 0090 and Math 0100, and so I would be taking Math 0170, but the only issue with that is that in Math 0100, there are a few topics such as Taylor’s formula, power and infinite series that we don’t cover (unless we do the series and diff eqn option, which we didn’t). </p>
<p>So basically should i simply teach myself these various topics this summer and stick with 0170? or should i just take 0100?</p>
<p>Oh, and exactly how much calculus would one need for econ? Again, i’ll be placing out of Econ 0110, and I guess the next would be Intermediate Micro, Econ 1110. The prerequisites go uptill Math 0350! Does that mean I cant take econ till im done with the required math courses? </p>
<p>Sorry I’m swamping you guys with my ignorance!</p>
<p>So, (Taylor) series are important for advanced econ (or so I hear), so that may be detrimental if that’s the path you decide to take (not necessary for multi though). But math 17 is not multi…it’s still calc 2. Just “advanced placement.” Honestly, as another person who took math HL in high school, I’m not completely convinced you learned everything necessary (polar/parametric calculus, some integration techniques, series. this is about 1/2 the class already). I think the only thing tricky in this class is series.</p>
<p>I’m pretty sure you’re reading the prereqs wrong for econ 1110. You need at least math 10, which you have. </p>
<p>However, you’re an IB student (as was I). The credits for IB are NOT automatically put down on your transcript like AP exams (since you can only get credit for 3 classes). You will NOT be able to register for econ 1110 or math 18 right away. You’ll need to e-mail the professors and just tell them your IB exam grades (assuming you get at least a 5 on math and a 6 on econ).</p>
<p>Wait until your scores come out before picking your classes. IB moderated our scores hardcore last year…</p>
<p>We have lots of calc courses. Math 100 is a sollid intro, from which you will be prepared to take 180 or 200 (200 is the same as 180, but meant for physics/engineering students). Or, if you feel like pushing yourself and learning proofs amongst our top math students, you can take math 350, which is essentially intermediate calc for potential math concentrators. Basically, here’s how things look:</p>
<p>Intro calc: Math 90 (you’ve almost certainly covered these topics)</p>
<p>Intro calc II: Math 100, Math 170, Math 190 (you’ll take ONE of these courses, and have satisfied two semesters of calc in the university’s eyes. 190 is for physics/engineering students). Any of these courses is a valid prereq for any of the next courses</p>
<p>Intermediate calc (calc III, multivariable calc): Math 180, Math 200, Math 350 (again, take ONE and satisfy the requirement for ANY of them).</p>
<p>Linear Algebra: Math 520, Math 540 (540 is honors, and more proofy. You are not required to take any calculus before linear algebra, though it may be a little helpful [there is absolutely NO need to have taken multivariable calc in order to do well in this class, especially as, for math 520, you will have learned the first 1/3 of the course in your HL course if you did anything with matrices and vectors like I did).</p>
<p>If you did really well in HL and enjoyed taking the test, and also enjoy doing proofs and knowing how math actually works, I recommend trying out the honors math courses. Whatever you choose, you should shop all the courses at the level you’re thinking of taking, and choose the one with the professor whose lecturing style you enjoy the most.</p>