<p>So I’m primarily interested in economics and computer science (maybe applied maths as well). As a freshman, which courses would you recommend that would provide solid groundwork for me to concentrate either in economics or comp science or applied maths or any combination of the two? It seems that these possible double majors are explained in depth here [Economics</a> at Brown University | Undergraduate Program](<a href=“http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Economics/undergraduate.php]Economics”>http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Economics/undergraduate.php), but I’m guessing the courses being listed are for junior/senior year? Obviously for freshman year it would be vital to take Econ 0110 and Math 0060, but other than that would you recommend any other courses? Obviously I want to take a First Year Seminar as well, and maybe a CS course in my first year. Perhaps a language as well, but I’m worried that the course load would then be too heavy. Any suggestions appreciated.</p>
<p>I’d recommend against 5 courses freshman fall unless you’re absolutely positive you can handle it.</p>
<p>CS0150 or CS0170 are generally the places to start for CS if you’re considering concentrating; if you have little or no programming background, especially in Java, 0150 is likely the right level.</p>
<p>The right math course depends on your high school background. Especially if you don’t end up taking an FYS you’re interested in, or you take one in the spring, a language class would be a good idea, as they’d be much smaller and intimate than your other classes, which are likely to be medium to large lecture courses. Be aware that low level language classes meet a bit and give a good amount of work, and intro CS classes are a large time commitment as well. Once you get a username and password, you’ll be able to access the Critical Review to get a sense of the amount of time each course takes; this should help somewhat.</p>
<p>MA0060 is definitely not the right place to start unless you have really poor math prep.</p>
<p>Math 0090 is probably a better starting point for calculus, unlike, as modestmelody said, you have exceedingly poor preparation. (Actually, 0060 is a spring term course anyways…). If you’re worried about which course to take, there’s a placement exam (whose results are not binding) that would likely tell you which course is right.</p>
<p>^When and how do we take the Placement Exam?</p>
<p>Did you take AP Calc harvard17 or any calc? Generally the placement is only if you really don’t have a clue where your background is, in my experience. Math 9 is really not challenging for most Brown students and I get the sense that only students who come from really bad schools/poor preparation or transfer from other schools and have to squeeze in a calc class for Econ after years of no math experience take Math 6. Even then they could probably take and pass math 9 which is mandatory SNC because the department doesn’t want to give out As for the course.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, the Placement Exam (which is only necessary if you don’t have AP credit) takes place during Orientation Week.</p>
<p>This FAQ describes the process and math placement at Brown better than I could. [Brown</a> University Mathematics Department](<a href=“http://www.math.brown.edu/~banchoff/CalcPlacement.htm]Brown”>http://www.math.brown.edu/~banchoff/CalcPlacement.htm)</p>
<p>@modestmelody: Since I am an international student, I could not take any APs and so was interested in the Placement Exams. I do wish to take Mathematics Courses that are of my intellectual level. Meaning, there is no point in taking a course that is too simple or too difficult. I would rather take a course that is best for me so that I would come out of it more knowledgeable and satisfied!</p>
<p>In high school, I did Relations and Functions, Inverse Trigonometric Functions, Matrices, Determinants, Integration and Differentiation (Plus its applications), Differential Equations, Vector Algebra, 3D Geometry, Linear Programming and Probability. Which course, according to you, would be best for me?</p>
<p>Sounds like you did something similar to IB Higher Level Mathematics. You honestly could probably jump right into Math 35, especially if you’ve done Taylor Series. Or if you’d rather not take the honors course, you could do either Math 20 or 18, all three of which are multivariable calculus. Alternatively, depending on your actual concentration, there may not be a real reason to take multivariable, and so you could just take Math 54, Math 52 or CS 53, all of which are linear algebra. If you did IB, then your linear algebra and proof capabilities are at a higher level than most Americans (if it weren’t for IB I would never have written a proof). You probably should take the placement test, if you plan to continue in calculus, or get yourself a AP BC calculus study book and take the practice tests/study the material until you can “get a 5.” You’d probably feel like you’re re-learning a lot of material if you took Math 17 or 19.</p>
<p>Alternatively, you could disregard the math department for a semester or two, and just take APMA 35/34.</p>
<p>@chsowlflax17: As of now, I wish to concentrate in either Computer Science or Astronomy or both (Would be mind-boggling, I know). Do you think not taking Math would affect the course of my study?</p>
<p>Also, are there any introductory astronomy classes available at Brown? I would love to take them in the first semester itself, if available!</p>
<p>There are intro astronomy courses for first semester–<a href=“mochacourses.com - This website is for sale! - mochacourses Resources and Information.”>Loading...;
<p>I agree with chswolflax-- if you’ve done Taylor Series and some differential equations but not vector calculus you probably should be in math 18/20/35.</p>
<p>@modestmelody: I have not done Taylor Series or Vector Calculus but done some differential equation. Which course would then be right for me?</p>
<p>Also, have you taken the Introductory Astronomy Course? If yes, how was it - up and running or down and out? Is it too strenuous along with CS 15/CS 17 or is it manageable?</p>
<p>I love both Computer Science and Astronomy and do not wish to drop either of them from my first semester courses!</p>
<p>For astronomy, calculus will be pretty important. For computer science, calculus isn’t very important. Algebra and statistics are more helpful.</p>
<p>I took Physics 70 (our advanced mechanics class… the same basic class as MIT’s honors mechanics class) along with Math 20 and CS 17 last semester. It wasn’t too much work, even though I had never programmed before, and didn’t have as strong a physics background as most my classmates. This meant I didn’t do well in Math 20, even though I didn’t struggle much with understanding the concepts, whereas I did much better in Physics 70 and CS17, mainly because I had to put in so much effort in order to be able to understand what was happening. I know some people who did Math 35, Physics 70 and CS 19 (the hardest of the intro courses) last semester. It’s doable, but difficult.</p>
<p>So if my interests lie in Computer Science and Astronomy and I am not sure which one to concentrate in (or both), what would be an ideal first semester schedule?</p>
<p>There really is no “ideal” first semester schedule, but…</p>
<p>Taylor Series can be important in certain higher math courses, such as differential equations, and would be worth learning. With that said, I really couldn’t blame you if you wouldn’t want to take math 17, about half of which would be review of integrals, if not more. The calculus placement exam only determines where you should be in the calculus sequence, and it appears you’ve covered most of it. Multivariable calculus would probably be important for you to have, and you’d want to decide on the appropriate level; my understanding is that 20 is for engineers and physicists, 35 is incredibly time consuming, regardless of your facility with proofs, and 18 depends a lot on your background. 18 is the course I’ve heard the most complaints about, but part of this may be students not ready to think in higher dimensions. On the other hand, linear algebra would be useful for computer science; while the matrix and determinant portion would be a review, most of the material, especially in MATH54, would be new. You’d probably want to take both at some point.</p>
<p>Physics 5 is a good course and the teacher’s very good. Physics 3 is not calculus based and tedious, so probably not worth your time. Physics 7 is a lot of work; I’d probably avoid physics 7, cs19, and math35/math54 all together freshman fall, especially now that the professor for CS19 is in his second year teaching it, meaning he has a better sense of what level work to give. Regardless of your background, unless you’re looking for only 1 term of physics (and it appears you’re not), I wouldn’t try a course at a higher level than 7, as 7 is challenging to almost everyone (admittedly not all) who takes it.</p>
<p>CS17 is doable with no or little programming experience, as chsowlflax17 mentioned, though CS15 might give you a stronger Java background, which is assumed in most of the higher level courses. If you have some programming experience, 17 would likely be right, though 15 would not really put you at a disadvantage going on; there are numerous successful CS majors who took 15 and 16. If you’ve done significant programming of medium to large projects (several thousand lines of code per program), preferably in Java, 19 would be a good intro course. You don’t want to get in over your head (courses may be the right level, but 4 of them together may be too much), but you also don’t want to be bored (to be fair, having an easy freshman fall is not the end of the world, as it gives you more time to meet people and, if you haven’t already, adjust to living away from home).</p>
<p>If you end up doing those 3 areas, or even 2 of them (APMA35 and APMA36 are an interesting alternative to the math courses, but 36 at least assumes a knowledge of linear algebra that may be greater than what you have, for instance), I’d recommend a smaller discussion class with reading to give yourself a break from the weekly problem set/assignment mentality. Language classes are one way to do this, but the lower level courses meet up to twice as often as other courses do, meaning this might not be ideal. An FYS may be interesting, though I’d recommend just looking around for a course of that sort. My friend took a language, psychology, and two of those three classes above, and she seemed fairly happy about her workload and experience.</p>
<p>@Uroogla: Thank you so much for the above post!</p>
<p>During my years in high school in my country, I did programming but only by using C++. We compiled programs of medium length, neither too long nor too short. The only thousand line program that I did was the final year project - Lottery Management System. Through the optional classes, I also had a walk through the path of SQL/PLSQL (Oracle Course). Although the teachers were not that good, the course was nevertheless interesting!</p>
<p>Since I do not have any prior knowledge of JAVA, would CS 15 be a much better course for me than CS 17? You mentioned in the above post that a deep understanding of this programming language is essential to one’s success in CS at Brown. Would CS 15 provide better polishing in JAVA than CS 17?</p>
<p>As modestmelody mentioned in the link above, I would also want to include the PHYS0270: Introduction to Astronomy class in my first year schedule. I have never been able to study Astronomy in a classroom-ish atmosphere and with people who are equally driven to know more about the universe as I am. At Brown, I am getting this wonderful opportunity and I don’t want it to go waste!</p>
<p>Assuming that I enroll myself for CS 15 or CS 17 and PHYS0270, would MATH0170 be a good supplemental to these two scientific courses? Although there would be many things in integration that I would have to study again but at the same point in time I would also get to study Taylor Series which is very important, as Uroogla points out.</p>
<p>For the fourth course, I would want to go for a writing seminar. Writing is art and like it needs time to flourish. It is not something that goes waste or forgotten with time. This will also help me with my academic assignments at Brown.</p>
<p>So, is this schedule good enough because it combines my two interests - CS and Astronomy - with two essentials - Math and Writing?</p>
<p>You’d probably be successful in CS17 and might find CS15 to be a tad dull (even though the projects would still take a decent amount of time and you’d be learning the language as you go). I think either is a valid choice. CS19, though, would definitely be a mistake if you don’t know Java, as it doesn’t use or teach Java. The teacher for 17 next term is quite good, and that may swing your decision.</p>
<p>Math 17 is recommended by the department for students with substantial calculus but without infinite (particularly Taylor) series. My freshman year, it was very intense, spending 2/3 of the term on series and the final third on differential equations (I’m not sure what techniques you’ve studied, just that this went beyond the techniques covered in a standard high school AP calculus course). This past year, it was significantly easier, spending roughly equal time on integration techniques (integration by partial fractions was one technique covered that gave my friend some trouble; it’s not covered in all AP classes) and series. You could possible take a higher course if you choose to teach yourself series, but I really wouldn’t recommend a lower course.</p>
<p>If you’re happy with that schedule, feel it lets you explore your interests while not locking yourself in prematurely, then it’s a good schedule to go discuss with your advisor (who may or may not have other ideas on it; though ultimately, it is your decision). Depending on your comfort with writing, the writing course doesn’t necessarily have to be a writing seminar (though it’s a possibility). You could also improve your writing with a course that involves several essays - starting this year, courses that involve a major writing component are marked as such, and one such course may pique your interest more while still improving your writing. This would be something to discuss with your advisor during orientation if you find such a course.</p>
<p>@Uroogla: Thanks a lot senior!</p>
<p>I was browsing the Brown Course Catalog and came across this somewhat interesting course by the name of ‘ASTRONOMY BEFORE THE TELESCOPE AWAS 1600’. Has anybody on this forum taken this course? In terms of knowledge dissemination, is it any better than ‘PHYS0270: Introduction to Astronomy’? Which course has better professors and a smaller student body?</p>
<p>Uroogla, thanks to you my course wish list looks like following:</p>
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<p>Physics 27 is an actual intro to astronomy course that is a requirement, if I recall, in both the new AB in astronomy and the Sc.B. in astrophysics. The AWAS course (Ancient Western Asian Studies, basically the Egyptology department + faculty into the Near East) is basically a history/ancient cultures/antiquities course that won’t have anything to do with your actual astronomy course work but may be a great topical course to take with a lot of writing that you’re interested in.</p>
<p>IMO, go with CS15/17, PH27, MA17, and AWAS1600, plus another course to shop if one of the others falls through.</p>
<p>Skimming over the course description and the Critical Review, a few things jump out: the professor was very well liked when he taught similar courses in the Egyptology department. That course would be significantly smaller, as well (probably 40% of the size). It appears to be a new course. It seems from the description, however, that this wouldn’t teach you much, if anything, about the facts and methods of Astronomy, but rather a survey of its history. It may be a course you find interesting, and if so, I urge you to consider it, but it’d be no replacement for PHYS0270, which is a mathematics based course with a lab component.</p>
<p>I like the look of that schedule, with the caveat that you should be sure to keep an open mind, as things may change. Consider shopping something well outside of those areas and see if it excites you. Talk to other people (your advisor when you get one, department placement advisors, other students, etc.) to get other perspectives. I’m signing up for classes in about 8 hours, but even now, having spoken to one of my concentration advisors, I’m not locking myself into them and I’m already second-guessing my schedule. If you have a reason for the courses you take and enjoy them, you’ll get a lot out of your college experience, even if you don’t get to take everything you want.</p>