could someone tell me more about these courses? I heard 155 is the most advanced of the two, but the course is actually easier than 150 because of teaching by real professors. I also heard 150 is rather tedious and assistants are less forgiving with grading and other stuff. I am a freshmen planning on pre-med or econ-major so which course would best serve my purpose?
take 155. its faster paced and go through more stuff but you get actual teachers so the tests are teacher specific instead of department wide. 150 you get ta's who if you do something right but not the way they would have done it they count it wrong.
I would say it depends on your major. If you're an engineer, your best bet would be to take 155a, because you'll be taking a lot more calculus afterwards. If you're pre-med or something else, and just have to take it for a math requirement, then I would take 150b.
The Vandy bookstore says that we need the Calculus Online Package by Stewart, 5th edition? What is included in the package? I already have the textbook from my sister, and I'm looking for a way not to pay the 180 something dollars!
I've heard such conflicting opinions on the 150/155 topic. I've heard on this board that 155 is more forgiving in terms of grading and that the professor makes your final exam as opposed to a common exam which you would receive for 150.
BUT then i went to saop and my advisor said i shouldn't go into 155 unless i'm premed/engineering/or really psyched about math. i'm none of those (i'm doing econ) but if it's easier to acheive a better grade, i'd be more than willing to take 155.
From what I've heard, the curve in 155 is way nicer than in 150. On the other hand, if you've done well in calc in high school, 150 should be easier since it has the people who either didn't take calc in high school or didn't do as well. The TAs really aren't bad (sometimes a little unforgiving, but generally nice), so don't let that scare you off. If you're engineering (or a math major), I would suggest taking 155. If you're premed, I don't think med schools will really care which one you take, as long as you're taking calculus.
Isn't it true that all the first year calculus courses (150a-b and 155a-b) use the same textbook? And the online bookstore isn't very helpful in describing the books in detail; is the textbook Single Variable Calculus (5e) by Stewart or Early Transcendentals Single Variable Calculus (5e) by Stewart? They both look really similar to me and I can't tell which one is used. The bookstore describes it as "Calculus Online Package" so is the CD required or something? I already have two used editions of these books but they don't have the CD.
I think the textbook is "Single Variable Calculus", 5th edition. This textbook is a two-part book (Single Variable and Multivariable, which is MATH 170 and 175), but if you buy from the Vanderbilt bookstore I think they only sell the combined edition and the multivariable edition, but not the single variable edition by itself. The ISBN for the combined 5th edition is 0-534-39339-X
so does anyone think that not taking 155 if i am premed is a bad thing? i'm starting with 150B because i have ap credit for 150A (not 155A), and i'm wondering if med schools will really look into this. i definitely want to apply to the more competitive med schools (including some ivies). i'm still in the high school mode of thinking in that colleges would rather see more advanced classes and a lower GPA than vice versa, but in terms of med school, i generally hear that a killer GPA and MCAT score are what really get your foot in the door. any knowledge on this subject would be great.
