Which classes should I retake?

<p>I can place out of some with AP credit, but I hear mixed things about placing out of certain introductory courses. To you upperclassmen, do you have any suggestions on which of these I should place out of and which I should retake?</p>

<p>BC Calc (whatever the equivalent is...I got a 5 my junior year but didn't take math my senior year, so I might be a little shaky, but I can probably relearn quickly)
The chem intro class
The bio intro class
The principles of economics class</p>

<p>Thanks a bunch</p>

<p>I've heard it's a bad idea in general to retake anything you've placed out of because the intro courses are often weeder classes. I don't know about Duke specifically but I know first-year calculus and biology should be skipped because their second-year courses aren't really that much harder than it would have been to retake the first year.</p>

<p>From experience, a 5 in BC Calc will not necessarily translate into an easy time and grade with Math 32. If I had to do it again I would have simply placed out of it.
Chem intro classes are fairly similar to the AP classes I believe, but you might not want that time commitment (lectures, labs, recitations) if you already know it well.</p>

<p>
[quote]
From experience, a 5 in BC Calc will not necessarily translate into an easy time and grade with Math 32. If I had to do it again I would have simply placed out of it.
Chem intro classes are fairly similar to the AP classes I believe, but you might not want that time commitment (lectures, labs, recitations) if you already know it well.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What if you feel like you don't know it that well? I really don't think I want to skip 32 and go right into 103, even if I got a 4/5 on BC.</p>

<p>I guess the choice is up to you. I didn't think I learned that much more from Math 32, but I didn't have that great of a professor. He was a post-doc who knew his stuff but didn't teach it too well. You might want to take advantage of the drop/add period if possible. Take Math 32 and if it doesn't seem right for you take 103 instead (if there's room) or just skip math for a semester and take something else that seems interesting. Do whatever you feel most comfortable with.</p>

<p>You might as well go straight into 103 because you don't really need to know BC that well as long as you can integrate. 32 isn't going to be any easier.</p>