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Question:Am I setting myself up for disaster? Here is my current Fall 09 schedule: Calculus III (Honors) differential equations (Honors) E&M (Would do honors if they offered the section this Fall) Linear Algebra (Honors) Mind you, this is at a community college (so think of honors as somewhat decent university course) I was wondering if anyone ever did this or know of anyone who has ever tried to take 4 very technical courses in one term. This totals to 17 semester hours. I manage my time pretty well (and I don't have a job) and I also have a deep passion for math (I'm a physics/math major). Besides that, even if I am capable of handling the load -- maybe I'm making a crucial mistake taking too many fundamental courses at once? Maybe I should cut one and substitute it for a humanities/lighter course/elective? Calculus III is your standard freshmen/sophomore course in calculus of several variables (including vector calculus). The differential course is a lower division first course in ODE's, and the E&M course (is a an introductory calculus based Electricity and Magnetism course) Has anyone done this before? Share your experiences... Thanks, a thoughtful insights/responses would be very appreciative.

Answers:I did this in my second year of Engineering at university. It wasn't so bad, taking all the math courses at once sort of got me tuned up to doing math all the time and I think it actually helped my grades. I would find connections in the math between my classes and it helped my overall understanding. I don't think I would have made these connections if I had been taking the courses separately. Everyone is different though. You might find that doing so much of one thing will either tire you out or make you bored. Only you can decide really.

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Question:So here's the deal. I'm an engineer major at UC Berkeley, and I've come across a bit of a pickle with my basic two-year plan before I start my upper division course work. I want to finish ALL the math requirements by the end of my sophomore year and I've found out that I will need to take Discrete Structures and Multivariable Calculus in one semester and Linear Algebra and Differential Equations together the next semester. I was wondering if taking both of those two math courses together will present any problems? All four classes have a prerequisite of Calculus II, which I will have already covered at the end of my freshman year. I should also mention that in the semesters that I will be taking those two math classes at the same time, I will also be taking a very difficult Physics for Scientists and Engineers cours for both semesters, but that's pretty much it (aside from a fairly easy CS class). Opinions?? Would be good to hear from people who have actually taken these math classes.

Answers:I took 3 out of those four in one semester, and a course on advanced statistics plus an upper level English course. Yes, it's a lot of work, but I found being immersed in math classes made the load seem easier to handle. It really depends on how much work you're willing to put into these classes. Generally, I'm used to having 3 hours of homework a night, so I didn't have an issue with my course load. I also had breaks between my classes so I could do homework right after class. Plus, I have friends in the math department so doing homework was a nerdy social event.

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Question:Okay, I figure I'll ask this question here because people on the mathematics section who are asking for homework questions can't follow directions and ask them on the Homework Help section. Anyway I'm currently planning out my schedule and have ran into a bit of a pickle. It seems like I'll have to fit both discrete structure and multivariable calculus into one semester, while taking linear algebra and differential equations together the next semester. I could spread them out a bit, but this would mean I'd have to take multivariable calculus over the summer which I don't want to do. Is this doable or am I just going to weed myself out? Calculus 2 is the only prerequisite for all four of those classes, so I figure I would know enough to succeed in any of those classes individually. I'm an engineer major. I should also mention that I'm taking Physics for Scientists and Engineers in BOTH semesters.

Answers:Why are you taking this many math classes? If they're needed for your major and you're a math kind of major, expect more of that type of jam packed semester. It will be just fine. Just make sure the other classes you have in there are fun or easy to balance out these classes if the concept is stressing you out.

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