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Penn Math Undergrad
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Calculus Help at Penn
Here we describe the Math/Maple Centers, the Sunday Night Reviews, and Online Help that are available to help you with your calculus course.
If you have more serious difficulties see the bottom half of this web page.The Math/Maple Centers
These are places that you can go to ask questions about the course, including homework and Maple problems/projects. The sessions are held four nights each week (Monday-Thursday), with a rotating schedule throughout different campus residences. There is at least one Mathematics graduate student available at each location to answer questions.
We emphasize that the centers are open to ALL calculus students no matter where they live (but remember to bring your Penn ID to be admitted to the residence hall).
Schedule for Math/Maple Centers If you have your own laptop with Maple installed, you can bring it with you.
Sunday Night Reviews
These are held every Sunday evening from 7:00-9:00pm in David Rittenhouse Laboratories, and are organized by course. Each review is run by a Teaching Assistant. Review sessions are a good place to go to ask specific questions about the problems and concepts that are being studied in class.
See also the Schedule for Sunday Night Reviews.
Online Help
In addition we also have Online Help available. This semester we you can seek help online using the computer program Blackboard for your course. Just login using your usual PennNet userid and password. On the right side of the screen you'll see the list of your courses that have set-up Blackboard sites. Among them should be your calculus course.
In the "Discussion" section for that course you can send your own questions and reply to questions of others. It is like a chat-session just for your calculus course. Someone from the Math. Dept. will be monitoring this to help answer questions on Monday-Thursday evenings, 9pm-1am. Of course you can use this to help each other at any hour of the day (or night).
More Serious Difficulties?
The methods which have been outlined so far are intended for students whose difficulties are more or less manageable. However, if your difficulties are more serious, what should you do? The most important thing is to Get Advice. There are a number of options. It is very important that you are directed to the most appropriate one for your situation.Getting Advice:
You can always see the Undergraduate Chair of the Math Department, email: <UGradChair@ math.upenn.edu>.Getting Your Act Together:
Successful students do a number of things which greatly increase the effectiveness of the time they spend studying. They tend to use study groups and take advantage of the various means of help, particularly the Math/Maple Centers and Sunday Night Reviews described above on this page.
Unsuccessful students are often unable to organize their work satisfactorily and misjudge their situation until it is almost too late. If you find yourself getting into these difficulties, you will need to do some reorganizing. A good way to start is by finding out about the math help available in your residence or in other places on campus.
Another source of help for general academic difficulties is the Weingarten Learning Resource Center, located in Stouffer Commons (3702 Spruce Street), Suite 300.
Getting a Tutor:
There are two options for getting a tutor:
- If you feel that your problem is not just math and that more general counseling is in order, you should go for an interview at the Tutoring Center. If you qualify you may receive financial assistance in getting a tutor.
- The Mathematics Department maintains a list of recommended private tutors. For students with special needs, we also have a small amount of money to help in making these tutors available. See the Undergraduate Secretary or the Math Web for the list of tutors, and see the Undergraduate Chair if you have a special need.
Changing Calculus Courses. After the add period you may find you are taking a Calculus Course (Math. 104, 114, 115, 240, 241) that is too advanced. To give added flexibility, until the end of the drop period the Math Department also permits students in this situation to drop their current Calculus Course and add the previous course in the sequence, for example, dropping from Math 114 to Math 104. This enables you to continue with the calculus sequence without losing a semester.
If you change calculus courses after the official add period ends, you need to request the new instructor for permission to get into the class. After that, you should go to the math office to get a permit, then go to your own school to be enrolled into the new class. You should also notify both your old and new T.A.'s to transfer your homework and make sure that your name is on the right class list.
NOTE: Occasionally we also permit dropping to the previous course in the same sequence until the end of the eighth week of the semester. This requires written permission of the two instructors involved.Taking Math 101 or Math 103:
Math 103 is the for-credit Calculus course for students who have had NO or little Calculus in high school. Some students take Math 103 before attempting Math 104. It is offered every semester, both during the day and in the evening. Math 101 is a non-credit calculus preparatory course for students who need additional work on their algebra and trigonometry skills before being able to take calculus successfully. It is only offered in the evening. The goal is to have you ready to take Math 103.Dropping Mathematics This Term:
This is the last resort. Before the end of the drop period, any student may drop any course for any reason, and no indication appears on the transcript. For five weeks after this drop date, a student may withdraw, provided that permission is obtained from an Assistant Dean. A grade of W will appear on the transcript. Thereafter, withdrawal must be applied for via petition and is granted only for special reasons. Part of the petition must be filled out by your professor. You can get a petition from your school office.
Guidelines for Retaking (Repeating) a Course
Questions? If you have any questions about the Math Help program, please send email to UGradChair@ math.upenn.edu