Jeffz26

would someone be able to comment on the difficulty of these courses? i'll be a freshman next year, and i'm trying to decide if i should hold off on taking multivariable calculus and if i'd be better off taking chem 103 versus chem 109. this is assuming my calc bc and chemistry ap credit will suffice to cover calc 221/222 and chem 103.

MadisonMom

My son took calc 234 last semester as a hs senior. He had a "5" on his AP BC exam that he took the summer after sophomore year. He passed the course respectfully, but it was a bit dicy at the end -perhaps because there was over a year that had passed since he had Calc 2 in HS. I recall his HS calc teacher saying that his class covered more than what the AP exam required because there was a gap between that and the Calc 222 class covered.

wis75

You will be better off continuing your math without letting time go by. For those Honors Program capable students with just one semester of AP calc and who want 3 or more semesters of math you may want to start over with the Honors calculus series- at the end of 3 semesters you will have 3 semesters of theory based calc plus the linear algebra class material, arriving at the same point course wise in the same amount of time. For those who need practical, problem solving calc, continue with 2nd semester calc. There are other ways of doing calculus, some may step into a higher level Honors calculus. Read the catalog, consider your goals and options and discuss with your advisor.

Chemistry- Even if you mean 104 chem 109 will be a better, more rigorous course, an AP course is most often not as rigorous as the UW college course it replaces. Both 104 and 109 will satisfy the prerequisite for analytical chemistry so you won't lose a semester. General rule- always go for the most rigorous course you can handle, you will learn more, it usually will have future course advantages and looks better on your record. I was an Honors Chemistry major who took 115-116. Consider this possibility, although I know it has limited space and may be difficult to get into (it covers the analytical chemistry also). With your strong math background 109 is the course of choice over 103 (read the chemistry section of the catalog- online and you will get your copy at SOAR). If you are aspiring to medical school the more rigorous courses will better prepare you for the pace in medical school, you will have learned more and it will look better on your record (I ended up choosing medical school over chemistry grad school). And never worry about losing AP credits because of overlap with your UW credits- my son kept his in math and physics (probably because they are different courses even though there is overlap), this counts for registration seniority purposes. Consider this- at an elite school you would not get AP credits and the more rigorous UW courses will be more similar to their courses than the regular ones. Also, if you find yourself overwhelmed by a class that you chose you can switch to the lesser class after the semester begins (remember, they want you to succeed, a professor can help you switch courses even after deadlines).