Summer College Courses + Internship

<p>Hi,
This summer I was thinking about doing some research at a university lab in addition to taking some courses (math) at the same university. I'm just wondering if this is a feasible load. </p>

<p>Just a few points of consideration:</p>

<p>A) A little bit of my mathematical background...
- I am currently a junior enrolled in Calculus BC, I've maintained A's in the class, all 3 quarters and expect to do so this quarter. It's not really a challenging class, so I guess that doesn't really say much.
- 770M SAT
- Didn't qualify for the AIME (Missed by 1 question, didn't take last year).
So I'm probably near the middle of the spectrum; not a wonderkid, but not dimwitted either.</p>

<p>B) I'm hoping to take multivariable calculus and linear algebra at the said university.</p>

<p>C) It is sometimes recommended that you take linear algebra after a calculus review class/Calculus III (multivariable). </p>

<p>I'm kind of wondering if I could get away with just taking the 2 math classes at the same time and the internship. It doesn't sound so bad, I think... However, I don't want get completely crushed :( - I still need time to study for my SATs there, haha. I'd like to be challenged a lot, but not crushed. </p>

<p>Do you guys have any sort of advice or personal experiences to guide me? Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>i know how you feel about missing the aime... i was one amc question away from usamo my junior year (thankfully i made it the next). quite painful indeed.</p>

<p>first, how many hours per week is your internship?</p>

<p>second, you might want to ask around about the math classes at that school. usually one of the three calculus courses is intentionally much more difficult than the other two in an attempt to 'weed out' a lot of hard science and engineering majors. if the school isnt known for easing its summer curriculum and calc 3 is that course you could be in for a world of pain.</p>

<p>third, as for taking linear algebra after calc 3... i dont see why this would be necessary.</p>

<p>okay, im getting sick of the style ive adopted in this post and am not going to go with 'fourth'...</p>

<p>how long are these summer sessions? if theyre relatively short, can you teach yourself advanced math from a book? if not, id advise against taking both classes at the same time, especially if theyre your first college courses.</p>

<p>Heh, I'm not so sure about the internship yet actually... I should probably ask about that ;). I figure it's probably not going to take up more than 5 hours a day right? I probably won't be having much of a social life this summer, but heck... I guess that can wait.</p>

<p>I'll have to check up on that weed out course. I don't feel up to doing that much haha.</p>

<p>The summer course is around 5 weeks, I think. I don't think I'd be motivated enough to self-study from a book heh. I've taken numerous APs before, though no actual "college courses."</p>

<p>Also, I saw that graph theory was offered as well (with no real pre-reqs). Would it be better to drop Calc for graph theory? Thanks.</p>

<p>I don't see why you would have to wait to take linear after cal c/III/multivariable (whatever your school calls it). I know at my school the pre-req for both is Cal B and I have several friends who plan to take both this fall. Depending on how many hours a week the internship is you might be able to do it. I'm probably not the best person to ask for advice though considering I've been told I shouldn't plan on seeing daylight much this summer. I'm taking 13 regular semester hours in a 10 week term (linear, DE, statics, and Physics 2). However, this fall I don't plan to take ANY classes while I adjust to my first semester of coop.</p>

<p>Hm, does anyone have any experience with graph theory? I'm seriously considering going with graph theory now, but I don't know how rigorous it is.</p>