drunner2007

someone just told me if i take 18.701 i won't have to worry about getting credit for linear algebra (like doing the whole pset thing). can anyone confirm?

molliebatmit

Well, it depends on what you want to major in. Math majors don't need to take 18.06 -- if they take the applied math option, they can choose between taking 18.06 or taking 18.700 (degree chart).

Management majors are required to take 18.06 to graduate (degree chart), although as far as I know, that's the only major that requires 18.06.

dbc9todd

mollie, does that mean that if you take 18.700 in lieu of 18.06, you can't get a management degree?

Olo

@dbc9todd: I have a friend who doubled in 18/15 and took 18.700 to satisfy both reqs, so I'm sure it can be done. I have no clue if it required any special paperwork though.

molliebatmit

As a general rule, you can do anything you want, it just depends on how many people you're willing to harass and how much paperwork you're willing to fill out to get it done.

thekidhere

dbc9todd, you can substitute similar things in the management degree (ie 18.700 instead of 18.06/1.00, 6.001, or some combo of the new 6.0x courses/6.041 or 18.440/ect), so no worries if your dreaming of a math-buisness combo or something (not too much paperwork either)

to the OP: if I can go out on a limb- I think 18.06 is a little easier than 18.03, so I'd say take 18.03 in the fall and watch matuck on OCW. I know some people who did that pretty successfully, and kinda wish I had.

to anyone planning to take an 18.02 in the fall, look into 18.023- it was possibly the most entertaining course i've taken at MIT.

OutlierLove

If you're really going to be an intense math major, I recommend starting off with 18.100B, 18.701, and 18.901 in the Fall. 18.901 is a lot better in the Fall with Munkres teaching it. Once you get those three out of the way, you'd just need 18.702 and 18.101/18.103 to complete the requirements for the theoretical math option.

Olo

If you love yourself, you will not take 18.03 in the fall.

OutlierLove

If you really love yourself, you'd be doing whatever it takes to pass the 18.03 ASE so you won't ever have to worry about taking 18.03 at MIT ;-). That's the cool way to go.

Olo

I would like to point out that Outlier's opinion and mine are not mutually exclusive.

alreadyhome

is it feasible to start with 18.01 if you wanna major in math? i don't feel like i have a very solid grounding with calc, so i think it might be my advantage to start over :/.

OutlierLove

It depends on how solid you want your calculus background to be. If you were able to get 4/5 on the AP Calc BC exam and you want to move on, then it's probably better to go on to 18.02. But if you really want a great background in calc as a math major, I'd recommend taking 18.014 + 18.024. This is probably equivalent to the Ma1 series at Caltech. They do use the Apostol series which is similar to Spivak's Calculus. Personally, I wish I had used Spivak/Apostol when I was learning calculus. But I've heard from my high school math teachers that most AP Calc BC students wouldn't be able to handle Spivak...

PTynan

Outlier, isn't it kinda hard (due to credit limit) to take all 3 of those coruses the first term?

I'm personally planning on just 18.701 first term (also taking 8.05, 5.13 and HASS-D, so I only have room for one math course), and then 18.702 and 18.100B second term.

Then, fall of soph year, I'll do 18.101 and 18.901.

Things to note: 18.101 seems to only be offered in the fall, so 18.100B in the spring seems like a good idea.

18.100B is a prereq to 18.901, so I guess I should take 18.901 at the same time as 18.101, namely fall of sophomore year. Also, fall seems good, since Munkres teaches it then (I've been told this by a current MIT student).

Yes, I realize that 18.701 also has 18.100B as a "prereq," but I've already taken algebra at a local state college, so starting with it seems to make sense (I'm not trying to get transfer credit for 18.701, although it's maybe possible).

Aliera

Considering that 18.701 and 18.100B are completely different subjects, the prereq doesn't mean much. Basically, the prereq for 18.701 is familiarity and comfortableness with proofs.