You might, for example, be thinking of majoring in Business or Economics-BA, which require at least the Calculus course MATH 120, and perhaps MATH 121. (MATH 120-121 is a "terminal" sequence--you learn concepts of calculus, but you are not trained at a technical level, so these courses would not prepare you to follow up with a course such as Differential Equations (MATH 246), Linear Algebra (MATH 240 or 461) or a calculus-based probability and statistics (STAT 400).

For MATH 120, the math placement test becomes more ... interesting. A preprequisite course to MATH 120 is the course MATH 113 (College Algbebra with Applications), or a suitable score on the Math Placement Exam. The material of MATH 113 can be covered in high school, but MATH 113 does carry University credit; you can see how you fare on this material by looking at the course syllabus for MATH 113, and perhaps checking out some past MATH 113 exams on TESTBANK, our online archive of past exams.

The advice here would be the same as above, with some additions. First, if you can get a good preparation in the precalculus material in high school--do it!--so long as you still get a solid algebra preparation. Every course opportunity in college is precious (not to mention expensive), and it is better to do in high school what you can.

Second, be careful about your choice of calculus sequence. MATH 120 is the right choice for most business or econ majors, but it imposes limits. For example, it is unwise (perhaps suicidal) to attempt graduate school in Economics after advancing in math only through the level of first year calculus. (Former Math/Econ double majors tell us that the math classes most useful to them in Economics grad school were their junior level theory-and-proof courses, Math 410 and 411.)

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  • The Feynman-Lagerstrom criterion for boundary layers

    Speaker: Trinh Nguyen (Wisconsin)

    When: Thu, September 19, 2024 - 3:30pm
    Where: PHY 1201
  • Periodic homogenization of geometric equations without perturbed correctors

    Speaker: Jiwoong Jang (UMD)

    When: Thu, September 26, 2024 - 3:30pm
    Where: PHY 1201
  • Instantaneous continuous loss of regularity for the SQG equation

    Speaker: Wojciech Ozanski (FSU) 

    When: Thu, October 3, 2024 - 3:30pm
    Where: PHY 1201
  • Low regularity well-posedness of 2D capillary water waves

    Speaker: Lizhe Wan (University of Wisconsin-Madison) 

    When: Thu, October 17, 2024 - 3:30pm
    Where: PHY 1201
  • Rate of convergence in quasi-periodic homogenization of Hamilton-Jacobi equation

    Speaker: Son Tu (Michigan State)

    When: Thu, October 24, 2024 - 2:30pm
    Where: MATH 0401
  • Front propagation through a perforated wall

    Speaker: Hiroshi Matano (Meiji University)

    When: Thu, November 7, 2024 - 3:30pm
    Where: PHY 1201
  • Stochastic and deterministic moving boundary problems

    Speaker: Krutika Tawri (Berkeley) 

    When: Thu, November 14, 2024 - 3:30pm
    Where: PHY 1201
  • Global solutions to the obstacle problem

    Speaker: Alessio Figalli

    When: Thu, November 21, 2024 - 10:10am
    Where: MTH3206
  • Stability estimates in Sobolev type inequalities

    Speaker: Jean Dolbeault

    When: Thu, November 21, 2024 - 3:30pm
    Where: PHY 1201
  • Fully nonlinear equations in thin domains: a test function approach

    Speaker: Isabeau Birindelli (University of Rome I)

    When: Thu, December 5, 2024 - 3:30pm
    Where: PHY 1201
  • A new approach to regularity, well-posedness, and blow-up in the Boltzmann equation

    Speaker: Christopher Henderson (University of Arizona) - https://sites.google.com/view/ckhenderson

    When: Thu, January 30, 2025 - 3:30pm
    Where: Kirwan Hall 1313
  • Suppression of chemotactic singularity by some buoyancy-driven flows

    Speaker: Kevin Hu (Duke)

    When: Thu, March 27, 2025 - 3:30pm
    Where: MTH3206
  • Scalar balance laws with nonlocal singular sources

    Speaker: Khai Nguyen (NC State)

    When: Thu, April 3, 2025 - 3:30pm
    Where: MTH0307
  • The Euclidean Isoperimetric problem and its gradient flow: a phase transitions approach

    Speaker: Daniel Restrepo (John Hopkins)

    When: Thu, April 10, 2025 - 3:30pm
    Where: MTH3206
  • (Numerical Analysis Seminar) 𝐻² conforming virtual element discretization of nondivergence form elliptic equations

    Speaker: Guillaume Bonnet (Paris Dauphine)

    When: Thu, April 17, 2025 - 3:30pm
    Where: MTH3206
  • One-phase contact point dynamics in Hele-Shaw cells

    Speaker: Francisco Gancedo (IAS)

    When: Thu, April 24, 2025 - 3:30pm
    Where: MTH3206
  • Non-uniqueness for the Navier-Stokes equations from critical data

    Speaker: Stan Palasek (Princeton)

    When: Thu, May 1, 2025 - 3:30pm
    Where: MTH3206