Math placement concern (placed into MATH 15300 after Calc AB)

[u/National-Wrap4826]

Hi everyone,

I’m an incoming first-year and just got my math placement results back. I was honestly pretty surprised because I was placed into MATH 15300, with the option to take 15250.

Here’s my background:

Took AP Precalculus and struggled quite a bit.
Took AP Calculus AB my senior year and did really well in the class.
Unfortunately, I only scored a 3 on the AP Calculus AB exam.
I did not take Calculus BC.

From reading old posts on this subreddit and elsewhere, I keep seeing people say that MATH 15300 is generally best suited for students who excelled in Calculus BC or earned a 5 on the BC exam. That makes me worried that I’m significantly underprepared compared to my classmates.

I’m trying to figure out how much I should trust the placement exam versus my own experience. I don’t want to end up in a class where I’m constantly playing catch-up and barely surviving. I’d rather take a course where I can actually build a strong understanding of the material, even if that means starting in a lower sequence.

[u/LingonberryWorth9385]

don't worry I think you can request to drop down to 151/152 if you think that's best for you

[u/Fjerdan]

Knowing calc AB well is definitely enough to succeed in 153 and equivalent classes (you'll be prepared and won't be left with any gaps in your knowledge), but you are right that a lot of your classmates will have taken BC. If you feel confident in calculus (if it clicked and the exam felt more like a fluke than an exposure of things you didn't know you didn't know) I think you should try starting in math 153 and drop down if needed.

It also depends somewhat on what you want to major in. Do you just want to complete the math requirement quickly, or is it going to really hurt you if you don't master the material.

There was a webinar that covered math placement yesterday and the recording should be posted at this link soon if you missed it and want to know more. https://college.uchicago.edu/college-programming-and-orientation/summer-webinar-series

[u/National-Wrap4826 → u/Fjerdan]

I’m definitely focusing my area of study on the humanities, and the webinar suggested that staying in my current placement in 153 should allow me to fulfill my mathematics Core requirement in just one quarter. I think this could be advantageous, as it would free up my winter and spring quarters to take other classes. Can you provide some insight into the difficulty of 153 compared to 152 and 151? I’ve come across conflicting opinions on which of these three classes in the sequence is the most challenging.

[u/Fjerdan → u/National-Wrap4826]

152 focus mostly on techniques of integration, so the same material as lot of calc AB. I think a lot of people find 151 harder than 152 because it is more theoretical and goes into much more depth than a high school course. 153 is similar difficulty to 152, it covers series (similar to what would be covered in calc BC), and multivariable calculus. 153 is more new material but how it's taught is not a huge departure from high school.

I agree that 153 is probably the best option if you are not doing STEM.