<p>I see you took 21a, what math did you take as a senior in high school? I'm wondering if it would be worth it to teach myself a little more calculus this summer so I could possibly place into 21a instead of 1b.</p>
<p>Yes, I think that you declare your major halfway through sophomore year. Even so, it doesn't matter, you could always change your major. What matters is that you get enough classes in under your concentration requirements to earn a degree in your four years.</p>
<p>As for placing into math 21, again, that all depends on what you want from college. If you want to study for a placement exam, that is fine, so long as you are prepared to face a fairly grueling year at a higher level along with hundreds of very smart college students who have taken a full year of calculus. If you feel the need to skip Math 1b (for concentration requirements, or because you need a higher level math for anything), go ahead and do it. However, the transition will not be as smooth for you as it would be for you to skip a prereq for a high school class.</p>
<p>Math 21 is multivariable calc, right? Did you just take AP Calc in HS? How much homework did you generally get for 21, and how much did you study in addition to that? Also, who was your instructor?</p>
<p>Well if you take 21 you'll be seeing me. As sad as it sounds to say I'm re-taking a class I took 2 years ago, I agree with char6_0 in that it's better to not burn out freshman year.</p>
<p>I think I'll be taking 21 as well. I've already taken calc 3 at a college, but I really don't think any of it sank in, even though I did well.</p>
<p>Hey guys,</p>
<p>Yes, I took AP Calc BC in high school and received a 5 in both subscores. I also got either a 780 or 790 on the Sat II Math II (I don't remember the exact score, but it's not important), I was also pretty securely placed into Math 21 by the Harvard placement exam.</p>
<p>That being said, Harvard math is not quite like your high school math. You should not just be good at math. You should be able to negotiate math quite comfortably as well as have a solid grasp of how to study for math. Math 21 gives out one homework assignment per class (5 easy - moderately hard math problems due every other day). How long the homework takes depends on whether or not you get stuck on anything. My assignments took anywhere from 20 minutes to four hours. (I really suggest that you study in a group for ANY math class, at least on problem sets). That being said, the tests are fairly to very difficult for the majority of the class that is placed into Math 21. I know plenty of people whose grades dropped significantly at test time. Additionally, even if you do well on the first couple of tests, do not slack off for later tests. I had the misfortune of doing so, and I dropped an entire grade at finals time.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>And, yes, 21a is Multivariable calc. 21b is Linear Algebra.</p>
<p>@char6_0: that's also because most of the people who take 21 only took ap calculus in high school, nothing higher.</p>
<p>Char6_0: I took Spanish Language AP during my sophomore year in high school and I haven't taken Spanish since. I want to take Chinese at Harvard (I have not taken any Chinese before). Do I still need to take Spanish placement test? I want to start taking Chinese in my sophomore year at Harvard.</p>
<p>If you've already taken Differential Equations, should you still be in math 21?</p>
<p>I have a question regarding AP scores. By what I read on the Harvard website, I presume that achieving a 5 on 3 exams would not qualify for advances standing. Just wondering if these tests will count towards anything...though I took the classes mostly for the course experience itself, will the scores allow me to pass into a higher level class...the subjects in question are Bio, Lit, and UShistory.</p>
<p>Charlene, thanks so much for being so willing to help :)
I have a question about math as well - I only took Calculus AB in high school (and got a 4 on the AP test)...what math should I take next year? I don't particularly like math (and I'm not that great at it, either), but I'm considering being a pre-med so I'm sure there is a math requirement...</p>
<p>20 minutes to 4 fours, seriously? Is that including additional study time, or just the homework?</p>
<p>Hey,</p>
<p>So basically, I cannot tell you for sure which math class you should be in. The Harvard placement exam does a pretty good job. The only problem is that when you get into the highest level that the placement exam can put you into, you have the option to take anything from basic higher level math (Math 21) to VERY difficult stuff (Math 55 - not recommended for the MAJORITY of people). As to which class you should take, if you have had experience beyond AP BC Calc, I suggest that you look into Math 23 (unless you are an actual math person, in which case you should look into Math 25).</p>
<p>If however you have not taken AP BC Calc, I do not suggest that you start the 21 series. If you took AP AB Calc and got a 5 on the exam, you will probably want to check out Math 1b. If you choose to skip Math 1b, that is up to your discretion. That depends on individual circumstances.</p>
<p>Lastly, you can receive one more credit for advanced standing by taking a language placement test and achieving a certain level of proficiency. (I recommend that you take the placement test - i.e. the Spanish test, even if you aren't taking the language. The test is relatively painless, and will save you time, in case you decide to pick up the language again). If you do so, that counts as a credit towards advanced standing. However, in general, it is not recommended that you take advanced standing. First of all, college is fun. It would suck to leave early. Second of all, college is a critical time in your life. What you learn here by living in a diverse community of talented and unique individuals is priceless. Finally, a lot of grad schools frown upon taking a year off, unless you did something impressive with that year/semester.</p>
<p>As for Olgita's question, yes math/classes can take up a lot of time. However, extracurriculars (at least for me) takes up more time. Which brings me to another point. You guys should not focus entirely upon academics. A lot of the Harvard experience lies in extracurriculars. As for me, I do not know what I would do without working for Harvard Student Agencies and my other jobs/ballet. Furthermore, your social life, you will find, can also be very important. You should be able to balance everything while you are on campus. I have a pretty decent GPA, but I also have a life outside of school. That's what makes me love Harvard so much. I know too many people who absolutely hate Harvard because they get too caught up in grades. Sometimes, you just have a chill out, do something else for a while, and focus upon academics when you are mentally strong enough to both deal with and love working on school.</p>
<p>Oops, for clarification, Math 21 is your run-of-the-mill, I'm not a math person but I get by, I did well in AP BC Calc math class.</p>
<p>Finally, for math levels that aren't in the 21 and above series (i.e. anyone who has not taken up to the level of at least AP BC Calc), the placement exam will tell you where you should be. I wouldn't worry about it too much (but, again, DO NOT study for the exam)</p>
<p>^ I am trying to sort this all out. So math at Harvard goes in order of difficulty:
1a, 1b, 21, 23, 25, 55?</p>
<p>isn't there an Xa and Xb, or were the X's just markers for 1, 21, 23, 25, 55...</p>
<p>also I believe there's a 19a and 19b, either for DE or stat</p>
<p>It goes (I believe):</p>
<p>Math Xa and Xb
1a and 1b
19a and 19b (for people interested in bio, about the level of 21, but with a different focus)
21a and 21b
23a and 23b
25a and 25b
55</p>
<p>Thanks char6_0.</p>