Calculus

I have a B.S. and an MBA. I was recently conditionally accepted to an M.S. program. The condition is that I complete Calculus I and Calculus II (at least 3 semester hours each) at any accredited institution by the end of the year.

I work full time and will start classes with the MS program in the summer. I want to meet this calculus requirement but not looking for the most intense path to meet it and as I'm already accepted to my chosen program, it need not be the most prestigious, just accredited and with a letter grade given on the accredited institution's transcript at the end. This is not a math intensive master's program. I have spent many, many hours researching the 100 different ways to meet this requirement. I had narrowed it down to University of Illinois' NetMath program but their Calculus I is 5 credit hours alone and I believe that's semester hours as their Calculus II is 3 credit hours. A 5 semester hour Calc I course sounds like it could take me to the end of the year alone to tackle between work and MS coursework.

Anyone been in a similar boat and needed to knock out Calc I & II in short order? I've looked around quite a bit online and I've seen people recommend Rio Salado and Park University but no one seems to have actually completed these classes themselves and I'm a little leary of tackling calculus online (last time I did grad level stats was in my MBA program 7 years ago) but I don't have the time to sit in a real class room. I've seen LSU discussed but also attached to several bad reviews of how frustrating the instructors are and how difficult the method of teaching is. Ohio Univesity offers both online but only through self taught correspondence learning, no online option. University of North Dakota also offers both but the internet is pretty much void of information on their program. I know about CalCampus and StraighterLine but I can't seem to find proof that you can get a transcript from an accredited school after with a letter grade for these specific courses (Straighter doesn't offer Calc II officially yet). Cost (within reason) is not so much of an issue as it will be covered by my employer.

Thanks for your help!

 

You can take those courses at Louisiana State University through their independent study office. The rates are cheap and you can accelerate the pace if you'd like.

 

Kizmet's suggestion is probably the best for your needs. UIS has lots of online math courses, but not Calculus I.

 

Straighterline does NOT offer a letter grade, and Calc 2 isn't even listed as "in progress" so I'd skip that.
Maybe an overly obvious suggestion, but does your local community college offer calc 1 and 2 online? If they did, you'd have the added benefits of in-state tuition, and free tutors!

 

BYU Independent Study - Online Courses

 

Kismet's suggestion of LSU is very good. The only alternative to what has already been mentioned is Athabasca.

 

I know someone doing LSU's intermediary math courses and has said some great things about them. Can imagine the calculus level courses would be the same.

 

University of Arkansas has some options:

University of Arkansas Independent Study Courses

MATH2554 Calculus I -- (WEB or Print Based) Lessons:24 / Exams:3 / Credits:4

Prerequisite: MATH 1203 and 1213 or 1285. Students are required to have access to special equipment to take the online version of this course.
Tuition:$399.96 ($421.00 for Arkansas Non-Resident); Outline:$7.00; Processing:$10.00; Other:$0.00
TOTAL COST: $416.96 ($438.00 for Arkansas Non-Resident.) - Additional fee for non-U.S. mailings.
Text(s) below are not included in Total Cost. Purchase from UA Bookstore by calling 800-237-6643.
Text: CALCULUS EARLY TRANSCENDENTAL FUNCTIONS,4TH EDITION(SPECIAL TEXT INSTRUCTIONS) / LARSON, HOSTETLER, EDWARDS / 2007 / 0-618-60624-6

MATH2564 Calculus II -- (WEB or Print Based) Lessons:24 / Exams:3 / Credits:4

Prerequisite: MATH 2554.
Tuition:$399.96 ($421.00 for Arkansas Non-Resident); Outline:$7.00; Processing:$10.00; Other:$0.00
TOTAL COST: $416.96 ($438.00 for Arkansas Non-Resident.) - Additional fee for non-U.S. mailings.
Text(s) below are not included in Total Cost. Purchase from UA Bookstore by calling 800-237-6643.
Text: CALCULUS EARLY TRANSCENDENTAL FUNCTIONS 4TH EDITION / LARSON, HOSTETLER, & EDWARDS / 2006 / 9780618606245

 

UC Berkeley Extension has, by far, the most ridiculously easy Calculus 1 & 2 courses I've ever seen. Take the courses with Merlin Miller. There is one proctored final at the end of each class but they are so easy you can score 100% without much trouble (plus he basically tells you what to study, which turn out to be exact problems that are on the test). They're 4 units each & you can finish both classes in 6 months or so. The drawback is that they're around $800 each.

 

Additional drawback: You never really learn Calculus (this might actually bother some people).

uttahere:

 

Are you talking about LSU courses or in general. I certainly learned calculus and used it frequently for the half of my career (structural engineering and aerospace parachutes).

 

True, the knowledge level is a little bit low. It's good for people who need the prerequisites for something like an MBA program (basically anything that's not science or engineering). I ended up taking the sequence again at a local community college and the difference in material was mindblowing. I learned a lot more in the community college but I was glad to have a basic understanding of the concepts beforehand.

 

If you are going to go the independent study route - I HIGHLY recommend investing in Thinkwell Calculus

Calculus | Online Lessons

My daughter used this exclusively to prep for the Calc I CLEP - she passed it with a 60. The CLEP only covers through Calc I, but Thinkwell covers through Calc II. This would be a great resource with an Independent Study

Shawn

 

I think he was referring to my post regarding UC Berkeley Extension because of how easy I said the courses were

 

You are correct

 

If you really want to "learn" calculus (and it sounds like you do if you are going into an MS program that requires it), I've heard great things about Distance Calculus @ Shorter University. Used to be offered through Suffolk University, but now through Shorter University.

If you want to do the LSU way, and get some extra help, many people have also recommend the book, "Calculus Made Easy." There is a reason why this book has still been in print for 100 years.

And then there is my favorite - Learn Calculus the Fun Way With Bikini Calculus DVD .

 

I read the "Calculus Made Easy" book. I thought it was pretty good but it made more sense after I had already taken the class. The best Calculus book I've ever seen in my life is just a textbook called "Calculus" written by Larson, Hostetler and Edwards. They are all the way up to 9th edition now but I have the 7th and 8th & they're nearly identical. The way the book is written is just fantastic...they don't assume you know anything & most importantly, they don't try to show off like most authors of math books in order to impress their colleagues and show students how "intelligent" they are because they wrote an incomprehensible book filled with cryptic proofs, missing steps and confusing notation. The way this Larson book is written is just like one of the best teachers you can imagine showing you the steps and explaining exactly why things are happening in plain English. I would recommend it to everyone, even if you just have it around to refresh some concepts over time.

The most hilarious Calc guide I read was "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Calculus". It was legitimately funny and not just in a corny way. Very enjoyable.

 

UC Berkeley easy?

I know people will cringe when reading this, but I really am not all that concerned with learning the finer points of calculus. I'm concerned with meeting the condition of acceptance. I know people currently in this Masters program I'm about to start who tell me there is zero calculus involved unless you pick a certain concentration which I have no intention of selecting. In my line of work, I don't use any math more difficult than basic algebra and don't intend to enter a hard engineering field.

I appreciate everyone's kudos for LSU but I've read enough bad experiences with that specific program on different message boards that I'm not interested in going down that road.


UC Berkeley is easy? I just read one review of Merlin Miller on ratemyprofessor that says, "the online calculus courses require a tremendous amount of determination and vigor" and "Make sure you know Algebra & Trig BEFORE enrolling!" I don't mind working hard, but I don't have a trig background. $800 isn't a concern. My employer already pre-approved my taking the University of Illinois NetMath that was twice that amount for Calc 1 alone.

Thanks again for all the great responses. I appreciate each and every one of them.

 

Taken from: CALCampus Postsecondary Division - College Courses

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I had the honor of failing calculus with Bruce Edwards (one of the authors of the book you mentioned) when I was at UF. He was a fantastic instructor. Too bad I was a freshman and he only taught the 7:25am class. :alcoholic::sleeping: