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Washington and Lee University

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Information for New Students

Attention: You need NOT purchase a new calculator for Math 101 or 102

Class of 2015:

Here are some recommendations from the W&L Mathematics Department concerning your fall-term placement in mathematics. After examining these recommendations, you should discuss your particular situation with your academic adviser. Note well that the advanced-standing opportunities described below are available only in the fall term and open only to first-year students.

  • If you did NOT take a calculus course in high school and wish to take calculus at W&L, you should enroll in Math 101B (B is for a beginner in calculus) and do so this fall term, as 101B is offered only in the fall. If you are not particularly interested in taking calculus, then you should consider enrolling in Discrete Mathematics, Math 121, or perhaps take Computer Science 101, 111, or 121.
  • If you took an AP-calculus exam (AB or BC) or took the IB HL exam AND had your exam score sent to W&L, then find your recommendation in the following list:

 

AP Calculus AB:

 

Score 5: Receive 3 hours credit for Math 101.

Fall Registration Recommendation: Either

  1. Enroll in Math 102 or
  2. Enroll in Math 221A as an advanced-standing student. If you complete Math 221A with a grade of C or better, credit will be awarded for Math 102, as well. If you are uncomfortable with the pace of Math 221A, you will have the option of switching to Math 102 through the first full week of class.

Score 3, 4: Advanced Standing in Math 102.

Fall Registration Recommendation: Enroll in Math 102. If you complete Math 102 with a grade of C or better, credit will be awarded for Math 101, as well. If you are uncomfortable with the pace of Math 102, you will have the option of switching to Math 101 (101A, 101D, 101E, or 101H) through the first full week of class.

Score<3: 0 credit.

Fall Registration Recommendation: Math 101A, 101D,101E, 101H, or Math 121

AP Calculus BC:

 

Score 5: 6 hours credit for Math 101 and 102.

Fall Registration Recommendation: Math 221A

Score 4: Advanced Standing in Math 221A or Math 102

Fall Registration Recommendation: Either

  1. Enroll in Math 221A. If you complete Math 221A with a grade of C or better, credit will be awarded for Math 101 and 102, as well. If you are uncomfortable with the pace of Math 221A, you will have the option of switching to Math 102 through the first full week of class. Or
  2. Enroll in Math 102. If you complete Math 102 with a grade of C or better, credit will be awarded for Math 101, as well. If you are uncomfortable with the pace of Math 102, you will have the option of switching to Math 101 (101A, 101D, 101E, or 101H) through the first full week of class.

Score 3: Advanced Standing in Math 102.

Fall Registration Recommendation: Enroll in Math 102. If you complete Math 102 with a grade of C or better, credit will be awarded for Math 101, as well. If you are uncomfortable with the pace of Math 102, you will have the option of switching to Math 101 (101A, 101D, 101E, or 101H) through the first full week of class.

Score<3: 0 credit.

Fall Registration Recommendation: Math 101A, 101D, 101E, 101H, or Math 121


IB HL Exam

--Score 5,6, or 7: 6 hours credit for Math 101 and 102.  Fall Registration Recommendation: Math 221A
--Score < 5: discuss your placement with the head of the Mathematics Department

 

  • The remaining possibility is that you took a calculus course in high school, but took neither the AP nor the IB HL examination. If you wish to take Calculus I at W&L, then you should enroll in Math 101A, 101D, 101E, or 101H (NOT 101B, a course for calculus beginners). If you feel quite confident of your calculus background, having a firm understanding of derivatives and their applications as well as integration, including fluency in the method of substitution, then you are invited and encouraged to TAKE THE MATH PLACEMENT EXAM, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, at 3 p.m. in Room 6 of Robinson Hall. If you do well on that exam, then you will be given the option of enrolling in Math 102 or Math 221A in the fall term. If you are placed in Math 102 or Math 221A and successfully complete the course with a grade of C or better, full credit will be awarded for any calculus course(s) skipped; this option is available only in Fall term. If you are uncomfortable with the pace of the course into which you place, you will have the option of switching to a lower-level calculus course through the first full week of class.
  • Students who have completed a multivariable-calculus course may qualify for advanced standing in Math 332. Such students should contact the head of the Mathematics Department for details.
  • If you have questions about how any of this applies to you, discuss it with your adviser, or e-mail the Head of the Mathematics Department, Professor Bourdon, at bourdonp@wlu.edu.