Hello, I’ll be attending Duke as a freshman in the fall, and I’ve encountered and read numerous past posts about the extreme difficulty of introductory math classes (calc 1, calc 2, calc 3). As someone who will not have the opportunity to use AP credit to place out of any of these math courses, I was wondering if this truly is an inevitable “GPA killer”.
I know many, if not the majority, of current Duke students recommend skipping as many math courses as you can and taking as few math courses as possible, but if you are just an average (maybe slightly above average) math student who has taken AP Calc AB in high school, would taking all of these multiple semesters of introductory math classes truly lower your GPA?
I’ve read in a past post that calc 2 (not sure of the exact course name) is the most failed introductory course, so I was a little worried.
With a good amount of studying and motivation, would you relatively easily (compared to such intimidating rumors) complete the courses with a decent grade (maybe in the B+ to A- range)?
Thanks for your input!
The rumors are FALSE for the most part with an important caveat. I started in calc 1 with an AB score of 4, SAT math of 710 and SAT MATH1 of 750 and got an A-. Generally you need to be top 3 or top 2 in a class of about 15-20 for an A, and top 5/6 for an A-. They curve it to a C+/B- which completely sucks but they prepare you well. Im pre med also and I actually like the way they teach math here. Its definitely doable as long as you do the work. You will be surprised at the amount of kids who just flow by in these intro classes so scoring at the top shouldnt be too difficult. Im currently in Calc 2 and the lab manual states that about 50-60% of students get a B or higher in the class.
@spuding102
Thank you so much for such descriptive insight!
That’s a great relief.
Math classes here suck, and as the above poster mentioned, most (if not all) intro classes are curved to a B-/C+. While I wouldn’t worry about failing, there are many people who underplace themselves in math classes and frankly many math wizs at Duke, which means consistantly beating the average by a significant margin is pretty hard. I would definitely take a lighter schedule when you take calc so you have ample time to thoroughly do the homework and study.