Calculus III grade
Calculus III grade
(OP)
I was talking with my advisor for Civil Engineering, and we were talking about grades on transcripts affecting grad school entrance. When I took Calc III I got a C (took in sophomore year), which since I've learned well and been doing well with classes requiring it as a prereq - but I was wondering, how much does a C hold against me when I apply for grad schools? Is it a deal breaker, or can it be mitigated? I'm really worried about this.
- Dan in Philadelphia
- Dan in Philadelphia





RE: Calculus III grade
David Simpson, PE
MuleShoe Engineering
"Belief" is the acceptance of an hypotheses in the absence of data.
"Prejudice" is having an opinion not supported by the preponderance of the data.
"Knowledge" is only found through the accumulation and analysis of data.
The plural of anecdote is not "data"
RE: Calculus III grade
Of course, I could be wrong. It might make a difference at a school with a large applicant-to-admitted-grad-student ratio. I think those places focus more on your essay and extracirricular stuff, though, as long as your GRE and GPA meet their minimums.
I'd start with the six-degrees-of-separation scenario if I were really worried about it. I'm sure I have a friend of a friend of a friend of a family member who either works in college recruiting or administration. That's who I would ask. You might be able to do the same.
Those are my opinions. They are not facts. Just so you have one, here's a fact: My opinions carry very little weight with my spouse, may children, and my banker.
Best to you,
Goober Dave
Haven't see the forum policies? Do so now: Forum Policies
RE: Calculus III grade
Hell, I got a full fledged F in undergrad in a free elective. Curse you James Joyce.
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com
RE: Calculus III grade
RE: Calculus III grade
Snorgy, thanks for the laugh.
RE: Calculus III grade
RE: Calculus III grade
RE: Calculus III grade
I was the first one to drop it. I realized it at the time, but halfway through when the more than 50% of the class had dropped it, being the first earned me the title of "smartest kid in the class." Then I took it during summer when I could focus more on memorizing useless forms of equation.
So now, I know enough to point out when Diff-EQ would be an appropriate way to solve a problem, and then I usually just come up with an approximate solution using math that doesn't come from an alternate universe. I'm sure I could work my way through it if needed, but that is very different from staring at an equation and half a page of blank space, with nothing but a pencil and my underwear (still have nightmares.)
RE: Calculus III grade
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
RE: Calculus III grade
RE: Calculus III grade
But then, another engineering friend had a miserable Linear Algebra teacher that didn't believe that practical applications of math should be taught in a classroom... so go figure
I don't see how a C in one class can deep-six grad school. If they are looking that close at Calc III and not at your ability to handle the engineering work and the research type work, then piss on them.
RE: Calculus III grade
Hydrology, Drainage Analysis, Flood Studies, and Complex Stormwater Litigation for Atlanta and the South East - http://www.campbellcivil.com
RE: Calculus III grade
"For this equation form, solve it like this. For that equation form, solve it like that. Now try not to get too excited, but for THESE equation forms you might be able to solve like this, but if it doesn't work then you have to solve it like that."
How did I do?
RE: Calculus III grade
Ans.: An outwardly spiraling course with radial velocity = V guarantees intercept
Beyond that I got very little out of the class.
RE: Calculus III grade
Here's a sillybus for calc III, I use a surprisingly large proportion of that in my work
http://www.math.columbia.edu/~ikofman/calculusIII....
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Calculus III grade
- Steve
RE: Calculus III grade
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Calculus III grade
I think you are misunderstanding where Calc III falls in "American" math sequences. If it is at a semester (fall/spring) college, it is in the fall of your sophmore year. At a quarter (fall/winter/spring/summer) college, it would be in the spring of your freshman year. While Diff EQ is typically at end of sophmore/beginning of junior year since you will need it (at least in ChemE) by the time you take Systems, and you DEFINITLY need it when Controls rolls around. BTDTGTTS and enjoyed it, but Diff EQ was taught by a MechE who specialized in controls. Also, some of my classmates considered me a sadist ;->
Matt
Quality, quantity, cost. Pick two.
RE: Calculus III grade
DiffEQ's are pretty fundamental to FEA analysis (boundary conditions of whatever you want to measure, or plot, or control at the edges and boundaries of your FEA structure.
So, yes, you need to understand them IF if you are going to be doing something that requires them later on. But, really, unless graduate school is your real goal in life, or unless you are going to be using them later on a constant basis that you cannot pick up from your FEA training and practice (if you use FEA at all), you've passed. Don't bother taking the class again, unless you really, really want that grad school for a PhD or for your self-image of success. You certainly can't erase a C.
Get better grades in something important.
Get hired.
Start paying taxes. 8<)
RE: Calculus III grade
Flunked one quarter of quantum mechanics (Phys 2) and one quarter of Chem 2; graduated with 3.16 (because that rounds up to 3.2). Doesn't seem to have mattered much on graduation, even though every company requested transcripts. But, that was an easier time overall...
AMA95 (intro to complex variables) was the tough one. Supposedly, there was a guy who was a super-senior when I was a freshman and who graduated the same year I did, all because he couldn't pass AMA95.
TTFN

FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
Need help writing a question or understanding a reply? forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers