I am currently finishing junior year in high school and have just finished Calculus III (Multivariable) at my local community college and expect to get an “A”. I enjoyed this class, learned a lot and think I will take another math course this fall but I am wondering which would be the best for college preparation or look the best on applications. City college also offers Differential Equations, Linear Algebra and Discrete Structures (in the CS department) each of which, i’ve been told, are less work than Calc III was.
Next year I will take a handful of AP classes including Physics C E and M, Computer Science (both), Stats and Spanish. But my load this year is still more. My GPA is 4.0, the work is not that bad…
So my question is what math course would be the best in the fall?
Also are community college math courses easier than those at a UC, Stanford ect?
Does this help on college applications?
How do I go about using these credits (at school, and to get in) and does it work out in the end?
Flip a coin; it doesn’t matter, If you plan on majoring in math, you’ll probably need them all at some point.
In general, yes.
In the sense that it shows the college that you are looking to challenge yourself, it does. The courses themselves? No…
If you are getting HS credit, the college may not grant you credit, but this is dependent upon the college in question. If you don’t get credit, some colleges may have a challenge exam to place out of the course, but again, this discussion needs to wait until you get acceptances.
@skieurope Thanks! I am getting community college transcript and credits, they are said to be transferable to UC. Will i be able to go on to other math courses when i get to a university?
Are the linear algebra and differential equations at your city college 200-level or 300-level (if applicable)? Some universities will only consider them for high school coursework if they are 200-level, regardless of their overall dual credit policies.
Personally I found differential equations significantly less work and more interesting than Calc III (i.e. I learned cool numerical methods in diff eqs). My linear algebra class for math majors was much harder than Calc III. I had Calc III at the local community college and the other two at the university. I haven’t taken Discrete Structures, so I can’t speak to it.
@CharlotteLetter they are 400 level actually, but I don’t know if this is anyway consistent with other schools numbering though. DE has less class hours than Calc III and i can take it during the day which will be a nice change. My hs is barely involved with my math classes and my math credits wont be on that transcript. I probably wont take Discrete structures because none of my friends are taking that they are going into Linear or DE.
My main goal is to have the classes credited so I can have more freedom in college to explore other things study out of the US and go more quickly into upper division math courses.
Transferring credits to in-state publics where your college has an articulation agreement will probably be easier than transferring them to privates and out-of-state publics.
Can’t say anything on numbering then. My sister’s freshman introductory differential equations class was numbered as a 500 level… mine was 300-level, and the university wouldn’t accept the one from the community college.
How are the instructors for DE and linear algebra, if you know?
@CharlotteLetter One may be slightly easier but I haven’t seen any big differences. Is there away then to test out of the courses. I dont really want to take Calc II, Calc III, DE again
Calc II - AP Calc BC exam might get you credit (it’s at least standardized and well-known).
The others depend entirely on your university. I have the same problem though, I’m a freshman in high school who’s taken though Calc III plus stats, DE, and linear algebra Like skieurope said, your college may have challenge exams, may accept college credits from high school, or both, or neither.
I read when of your posts @CharlotteLetter major props. My local CC doesnt let you start till you are 16. How well have your studies prepared you for upper div math courses?
These are the only ones I’ve taken… preparedness? I need to learn mathematical proofs and more programming languages, but besides that, pretty well. Past what I listed I haven’t taken higher-level math, probably will be taking real analysis in fall though - shall likely have to wait a year past that for topology due to rarity of offering. I’m currently mostly interested in numerical methods (an interest sparked in DE). My CC doesn’t let students start until 15 or 9th grade, but it has an appeal process - for the university, it’s for juniors and up but also has an appeal process.
Regarding DE vs linear algebra: would you prefer to learn methods of solving ordinary differential equations (depends on your class what exactly you’ll cover of course… mine was highly applied yet quite theoretical) or learn introductory matrix algebra, maybe with proofs (induction, contradiction, etc.)
Like skieurope said, your college may have challenge exams, may accept college credits from high school, or both, or neither.