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snappythecrab · 12-04-2006, 02:29 AM

in reply to weirdo...

I disagree. the applicant in question doesn't even have what amounts to what is more and more becoming a US high school level education in mathematics. while schools are sometimes willing to overlook a rigorous background mathematics, I would be willing to bet that the number of students admitted to top programs that have never seen a derivative, is very, very, small. even schools such as George Mason require that students have at least two semesters of calc and one of linear algebra.

user_name · 12-04-2006, 02:51 AM

I generally concur with Snappythecrab's conclusion: the OP's chances of getting in any programs are infinitesimal.

It's hard to believe that any college graduate of any country in the world has less math than an American high school graduate though. It's just a little funny to think that American kids are well-trained in math and sciences.

weirdo · 12-04-2006, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappythecrab

in reply to weirdo...

I disagree. the applicant in question doesn't even have what amounts to what is more and more becoming a US high school level education in mathematics. while schools are sometimes willing to overlook a rigorous background mathematics, I would be willing to bet that the number of students admitted to top programs that have never seen a derivative, is very, very, small. even schools such as George Mason require that students have at least two semesters of calc and one of linear algebra.

well, i dont believe this guys has never seen a derivative if he as a masters and is teaching economics.. not taking a class called "calculus" is one thing, not knowing calculus is another..
but i agree that his chances are minimal, but i dont think i can say that its close to zero.

tkkoh · 12-04-2006, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snappythecrab

in reply to weirdo...

I disagree. the applicant in question doesn't even have what amounts to what is more and more becoming a US high school level education in mathematics. while schools are sometimes willing to overlook a rigorous background mathematics, I would be willing to bet that the number of students admitted to top programs that have never seen a derivative, is very, very, small. even schools such as George Mason require that students have at least two semesters of calc and one of linear algebra.

I'm not from US and I always see Calculus as a requirement for most PhD programs (non-econs). I'm curious - what are the topics that are covered in the "standard" 2-semester of Calculus? Thanks in advance for the enlightenment.

Antichron · 12-04-2006, 07:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tkkoh

I'm not from US and I always see Calculus as a requirement for most PhD programs (non-econs). I'm curious - what are the topics that are covered in the "standard" 2-semester of Calculus? Thanks in advance for the enlightenment.

Essentially differentation is covered in the first semester and integration in the second. I took calculus at the community college, though, so it may be the case that more topics are covered in a university level course.

Jhai · 12-04-2006, 07:40 AM

At the community college where I took calc, differentiation was covered the first quarter, integration the second, series & sequences, along with 3-d vectors, were covered in the third quarter, and multi-variable calc was covered in the fourth quarter. If you started Calc A in the summer you could be done with all of it by the next spring.

At my university (and I feel this is very common, at least if one is using Stewart), they cover differentiation and the basics of integration the first semester, more difficult concepts of integration and series & sequences the second semester, and everything 3-d+ related (as well as some basic differential equations) the final semester.

Most economics programs want their students to have all there semesters' worth of calc, altho, looking at Varian, I imagine all of the multi-variable stuff that econ uses could be picked up fairly quickly.

To the OP: have you considered looking at some of the programs in the UK? They have a similar system to that of India, so they might be more sympathetic. And I know that a lot of Indians go to - or apply - to the London School of Economics. Not sure of their backgrounds, of course... (My Indian mother-in-law-to-be was pushing for me to apply to LSE, despite that fact that neither her son nor myself actually want to live in England.)

butler blue · 12-04-2006, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jhai

At my university (and I feel this is very common, at least if one is using Stewart), they cover differentiation and the basics of integration the first semester, more difficult concepts of integration and series & sequences the second semester, and everything 3-d+ related (as well as some basic differential equations) the final semester.

This is exactly how my series of calc courses played out.

12-04-2006, 02:29 AM	#11 (permalink)
snappythecrab TestMagic Guru-in-Training Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 689	in reply to weirdo... I disagree. the applicant in question doesn't even have what amounts to what is more and more becoming a US high school level education in mathematics. while schools are sometimes willing to overlook a rigorous background mathematics, I would be willing to bet that the number of students admitted to top programs that have never seen a derivative, is very, very, small. even schools such as George Mason require that students have at least two semesters of calc and one of linear algebra. _ _ _ _ SIG _ _ _ _ University of Wisconsin - Madison: Took my Masters and ran.

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12-04-2006, 02:51 AM	#12 (permalink)
user_name Within my grasp! Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 455	I generally concur with Snappythecrab's conclusion: the OP's chances of getting in any programs are infinitesimal. It's hard to believe that any college graduate of any country in the world has less math than an American high school graduate though. It's just a little funny to think that American kids are well-trained in math and sciences.

12-04-2006, 07:40 AM	#16 (permalink)
Jhai Within my grasp! Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Greencastle, IN Posts: 312	At the community college where I took calc, differentiation was covered the first quarter, integration the second, series & sequences, along with 3-d vectors, were covered in the third quarter, and multi-variable calc was covered in the fourth quarter. If you started Calc A in the summer you could be done with all of it by the next spring. At my university (and I feel this is very common, at least if one is using Stewart), they cover differentiation and the basics of integration the first semester, more difficult concepts of integration and series & sequences the second semester, and everything 3-d+ related (as well as some basic differential equations) the final semester. Most economics programs want their students to have all there semesters' worth of calc, altho, looking at Varian, I imagine all of the multi-variable stuff that econ uses could be picked up fairly quickly. To the OP: have you considered looking at some of the programs in the UK? They have a similar system to that of India, so they might be more sympathetic. And I know that a lot of Indians go to - or apply - to the London School of Economics. Not sure of their backgrounds, of course... (My Indian mother-in-law-to-be was pushing for me to apply to LSE, despite that fact that neither her son nor myself actually want to live in England.)

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