Mathematics
- The normal first course is Math 131, Calculus I. This course usually is taken by students having a solid mathematics background through pre-calculus or trigonometry and by students with one semester of calculus in high school.
- Students with strong grades in 2 semesters of calculus in high school typically begin in Math 133, Calculus II. Since Grinnell's Calculus II covers multi-variable calculus, most of the material in Math 133 will be new to students with calculus in high school.
- Students with particularly strong backgrounds start in Math 215, Linear Algebra.
- Students with weaker backgrounds start in Math 123, Functions and Differential Calculus.
Advanced Placement Policy
- Our research indicates that a score of 3 on the AP AB Calculus Examination is not a good predictor of success in calculus, and our placement considers the rest of a student's transcript. A student may receive 4 credits for this score upon placement in and successful completion of Math 133, Calculus II.
- Students scoring 4 or 5 on the AP AB Calculus Examination or scoring 3 or better on the AP BC Calculus Examination receive 4 credits for Math 131 and may begin in Math 133, Calculus II.
- Students scoring 4 or 5 on the AP BC Calculus Examination may be allowed to begin in Math 215, Linear Algebra. Such students receive 4 additional credits for their AP score upon placement in and successful completion of Math 215. (Such students successfully starting in Math 215 would receive 8 credits overall, 4 for Math 131 and 4 for Math 133.)
International Baccalaureate Policy
- Students scoring 4 or better on the IB Math Examination receive 4 credits for Math 131 and may begin in Math 133, Calculus II.
- Students scoring 6 or 7 on the IB Math Examination may contact the Chair of Mathematics ans Statistics to discuss the possibility of being awarded 4 additional credits, pending initial placement in, and successful completion of, Math 215, Linear Algebra.
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