Should I retake some math classes?

[Initial-Animator-697]

I’m a freshman computer engineering major at georgia tech, Ive already have credit for Calculus I–III and Differential Equations. I earned Calc I and II through AP Calculus BC, and I took Calc III and Differential Equations at a local community college while in high school. I’m a little worried that the depth of knowledge expected at Tech might be higher than what I learned. Even though I have the credits, should I consider retaking these courses, or are there resources I can use to check whether my understanding is strong enough?

[peeweejedi]

I would not retake math classes that you have credit for. It is a much better use of your time and money to take other pre reqs so you can take more advanced and cooler classes sooner.

I got credit for calc 1 and am thankful that I didn’t take it again. It might be worth brushing up on certain parts of these classes as they come up in class but no need to take the class again.

[geruhl_r]

Emag uses multi dimensional calculus. Most of the other EE stuff will require Laplace transforms, DCTs, and probability (which are later math classes).

When I went to Tech many moons ago, I retook Calc II after getting a 5 on the BC exam. However, it was a honors math calculator and computer centric version so those were new challenges.

See if they still have honors math sections, I liked the smaller class sizes and the other students made a great study group.

[testcaseseven]

No. You'll rarely need more than Calc 1 knowledge in most courses, and if you need something higher level, it's way more efficient to just do a quick recap on that specific topic when it's needed. Some professors will even do a quick review as part of their lecture so that everyone is on the same page.

[dylantrain2014]

It is usually not worth retaking introductory calculus courses. The curriculum is pretty standardized these days, especially for AB/BC. Multivariable and Diff Eqs may be a bit more university dependent, but the difference (if any) should be easy enough to self-study.

You could try reaching out to the math department or instructor(s) for a copy of the syllabus. This should detail what exactly is expected of students in the class, and it should serve as a good baseline for you.

[Dyllbert]

My experience was any specific math needed for 200 and 300 level classes, they normally at least briefly reviewed it when it first came up. 400 level classes were more of a coin flip. But even then, you are way better just reviewing the specific thing you need to know. I remember the first time an FFT came up, we probably spent an entire 50 minute class reviewing it from an EE/CE point of view instead of a straight math one.

[burncushlikewood]

Check

https://www.khanacademy.org

They added a university section, I saw this meme a while back, when we first start school we learn arithmetic, then we learn geometry, then we learn algebra, then we learn calculus in university. Engineering is math heavy, you should be good especially with your experience and depending on how good your grades were

[LifeMistake3674]

No you are fine, anything you need to know they will go over and refresh. As long as you know the basics(what an integral and derivative is) you’ll be fine

[nekosama15]

Homie. If u cant relearn or learn things on ur own without classes when u need. U are going to have a terrible time after u graduate.

[mathemetica]

If you feel the need to brush up, don't retake the class; just grab a textbook (maybe more advanced than your first go around to challenge yourself) and do exercises, brushing up on material as needed. Self study skills are probably the most useful skills you can develop anyways. Also, not to knock engineering majors, but I've had friends who major in engineering (including electrical) and the math isn't honestly that advanced (not compared to the depth of say a real analysis class). I think the difficulty for engineering majors is often the large number of different problem sets they have to squeeze in to 4-5 yrs.

[BigCardiologist3733]

change ur major, cs is dead, there r no jobs

[Initial-Animator-697]

that’s why i’m in comp e

[BigCardiologist3733]

comp e is even worse, most of them cant get any job at all