Sophomore -Cosmo/Particle Phys aspiration - ODE/Multidimensional calc?

[theWapiti]

I'm currently planning my schedule for my sophomore year in physics at a major PNW university.

I had hoped to take Calculus III and differential calculus in the summer alongside of an intro QM course, however my score in Calculus II is not great. I feel as though I'll be able to make up the slack in CII with the light load this summer.

My inquiry is this:

Would it be wise to take a multidimensional calculus course and an ODE course in what will be the fall of my second year? Course descriptions are along these lines:

"Advanced" calculus: Taylor's theorem, implicit/inverse function theorems, surfaces, vector calculus theorems, multidimensional sequences/series, Fourier series, etc.

ODE: Picard-Lindelof/Peano theorems, series solutions, Frobenius methods, first order linear equations, complex eigenvalues, etc.

Considerations:

Also will be taking approximately 6 hours/week of physics lab sections, a lab electronics lecture, intro E&M, and a calculus-based survey course on astrophysics.

The alternative is taking only the multidimensional calculus course and ODE the next term. However, this makes my schedule in my junior and senior years very, very dense (think GR, advanced QM, Cosmology, mathematical physics, fluid mechanics IN ONE TERM) or stretching my degree out to 5 or even 6 years.

I have another question, but it isn't directly attached to this topic so I may make another thread later on.

Thanks in advance!

 

[R.Mesri]

It is a personal decision as to whether or not you take multiple courses in one term. It sounds like the courses you are looking at will be more math-intensive than the other courses in your schedule, so it may be advisable to take them separately to give yourself more time to focus on them. Ultimately, the decision will depend on how well you feel you can manage the workload with all of your other commitments. Good luck!