<p>New development regarding the class: As I was handing in my final exam, professor began to tell me I have done very well in the class. I hope this signals my dream’s unwillingness to fade.</p>
<p>I haven’t read the entire thread… You are just starting out…You have a lonnng way to go…plenty of time to bring grades up! Do not take on more than you can handle! Do NOT compare yourself to others, it does you no good! Keep your head high, and keep going forward :)</p>
<p>Final Grade: B-
Any thoughts on this, if I should stay with the math major, etc?</p>
<p>I would not. Math should be fun if you are math major. Is it fun for you?</p>
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<p>OP, both of my parents are professional mathematicians with advanced degrees (they were sad when they found out I did not plan to study math 
) My mom received only one B while studying math as an undergrad. (that’s right, it was Calc II) If you want to study math, just work a little harder. :)</p>
<p>Fun is not the right word, but it’s more tolerable and engaging to me than bio or chem after my high school experience.</p>
<p>My mindset is to take Calc III/Diff Equations, fully immersed in the college lifestyle, and see if I want to continue. </p>
<p>Or should I take stats first?</p>
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<p>OP, the first REAL math course you will take is Linear Algebra (unless your college has an Analysis and/or Foundations course that you would take before LA) Calc, DE, Stats are skill courses and do not teach any meaningful theory. You should take a real math course before you decide if you want to major in math.</p>
<p>Stats were very useful to understand Medical Research procedures according to my D. Stats were also very easy A. If you want some break, take stats.</p>
<p>Doesn’t one take Calc 3/DE before LA? The way I see it, if I can’t handle the aforementioned 2 classes, how would I fare with a higher level?</p>
<p>You take either Calc 3 or DE before LA. You don’t need both since there’s considerable overlap between the 2 courses.</p>
<p>From Wikipedia: The slash is most commonly used as the word substitute for “or” which indicates a choice is present. Example: Male/Female, Y/N, He/She</p>
<p>Aren’t both essentially the same course at most schools?</p>
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<p>No, absolutely not. ODE and PDE are an entirely different skill set than what is taught in Calc III. Calc III often includes a taste of ODE(at the end), just as GenChem offers a taste of Orgo.</p>
<p>Hmm…There is often a version of GenChem at many schools designed for those students who come in with AP Chem. I heard it offers more a taste of P-Chem than Orgo. A chem major once posted on CC that how the student fares in this class has more to do with a student’s Physics and (applied) Math background, than his/her high school-ish chem background.</p>
<p>Back in my own college years, the best engineering students would take math like analysis, which were optional for those who were more into a vocational (rather than academic/research) track. The latter are still required to take Cal I/II/III, LA, DE and some complex variables. Actually, except for LA, which is a standalone class, many post Cal II topics are bundled into a very unpleasant two-semester version of “engineering math.” It is unpleasant because you are expected to learn many tricks and work on tons of problems efficiently (so that you can later on solve an engineering problem that requires 2 pages of calculations in a split second – well…I exaggerate it.) but you are not expect to really understand any real math. (e.g., most theories are not proven, or just proved in a hand-waving way.) That is the reason why many aspiring graduate students will invest some of their own time to lay down more solid math foundation so that they will not need to go back and learn the math again more carefully in graduate school.</p>
<p>" just as GenChem offers a taste of Orgo. "</p>
<p>-maybe at some schools? D. mentioned that Orgo has nothing to do with GenChem whatsoever. GenChem is very conceptul and math based, while Orgo is cruel straight-forward memorization and much much harder subject than GenChem.
In regard to AP, D. had never had AP Chem and ended up being hand picked by prof for SI position (paid). It was her job for 3 years and she was recognized at graduation for quality of her instructions. She mentioned that many underestimate usage of math in GenChem and her job most of the time was to point out to that. D. had only Calc I and Stats, but math was always her easiest (but not favorite) subject.
As myself coming from engineering, math is bread and butter of engineering, one got to be exceptionally strong and very comfortable with math. I actually started in engineering because of my love for math…but this was a mistake, by far not enough to love engineering, but math was never a problem.</p>