prime235

which calc 2 teachers are better and should i take it in the fall or spring?

Star*

Auroux is basically a god. I'd recommend taking it in the fall with him (he is teaching this fall, right?).

PiperXP

Fall/spring doesn't seem to make a big difference in 18.02, but if you're passing out of 18.01, I'd take 18.02 in the fall to get it done sooner. (Check out 18.023 - I kinda wish I could've taken that in the fall ^.^)

bluebird

I was wondering about 18.023, is this the one that only has 5 psets and no final?
Any pros and cons of why take this class over 18.02 in the fall?
Is it more challenging or just different?

kryptonsa36

The first suggests that the second cannot be so.

Star*

That's not true. The amount of psets / final does not dictate the difficulty of a course. Some classes may have fewer psets / no final and be WAY harder than a class that has psets every week, 3 midterms, and a final. That being said, I don't know anything about 18.023, sorry.

PiperXP

Agree.

In any case, you could look up the pset stuff on OpenCourseWare. I hear it's a little easier than 18.02, the main difference being that it's more applications based.

frutiaspice

Definitely go for Auroux if you can. He's one of the BEST professors I've ever had. Everybody loves him. There's at least two Auroux fan clubs on facebook and two hacks made in his class.

Tapper7

I know that 8.01/8.01L/8.012 all show up on the external transcript as Physics I. Is this also true for math classes like 18.02/18.02A/18.022/18.023/18.024?

kryptonsa36

I assume that, since the names of 18.023 and 18.024 are "Calculus II with Applications" and "Calculus II with Theory," respectively, those will appear on your transcript accordingly.

k4r3n2

Professor Auroux was fantastic and I really enjoyed 18.02 - the psets were challenging but manageable, and the tests were interesting but doable. My friends in 18.022 commented that it was really, REALLY difficult. My friends in 18.023 commented that it was really, REALLY easy. Do what you want with this information.

bluebird

I could not find Professor Auroux listed as teaching (I may be looking at the schedule wrong)

I see the choices being Poonen for 18.02 or Benney for 18.023

Are either of these professors highly recommended?

The comment about 18.023 being easy, do you know if it prepares you well for 18.03? I liked the idea of no final and less psets but I still want to learn, I love math.

prime235

yea, he's not teaching it this year.

does anyone know what teacher to get for first semester 18.02?

Tapper7

Even if the class material of 18.023 still prepares you equally well for 18.03, make sure fewer psets and no final is a good choice for you. I took Multivar at my high school this past year. It had tests every two to three weeks, no final, and no required homework. I did great in the class and had a great winter and spring term senior year because I never did the homework and it freed up time to do other things. However, I was storing all the info from the class in short term memory. It was enough to ace the tests, but I remember next to nothing now. It's coming back now that I'm reviewing for the ASE, but usually coming out of math classes, I'd remember everything.

Vivi

@bluebird: Any variant of 18.02 will prepare you well for 18.03 (unless you end up skipping all of the lectures or failing it, of course).

I wouldn't stress too much about which 18.02x to take. You are always welcome to register for plain 18.02, sit in any of the classes for the various flavours, and make a final decision by Add Date. The first few weeks are usually similar enough that you won't miss out on too much if you switch over.

Pity Auroux isn't teaching 18.02! Regardless, I would still suggest his complete video lectures on OpenCourseWare since he teaches so well. I had Staffilani as my professor last semester, and had it not been for Auroux's lectures I would not have passed as well as I did.