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SOAR Mathematics Program

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What is SOAR Mathematics?

The SOAR Mathematics Program is a free 1-unit online summer course for incoming Stanford first year students. It is aimed at helping students feel prepared to take math courses at Stanford -- in particular, Math 19 and 20 (the first two quarters of the single-variable calculus). These courses are prerequisites for many STEM courses in many different majors, so doing well on these will be of great help to make sure you progress toward whatever major you wish. 

See below for detailed eligibility and application information.

Course Description

This description only mentions Math 19 explicitly, but applies to students planning to take either Math 19 or 20. The course will include some assessment along the way to provide students feedback on progress through the course material. There will be exercises, but no exams.

Eligibility

Any entering Stanford first year student is welcome to apply. We will accept up to 150 students, so space is limited and anyone interested is encouraged to apply soon and not wait until the last moment.

Program Dates

Our 2023 program runs from Monday, July 31 through Friday, September 1.

Time Commitment/Attendance

The course will meet one hour per day three days per week. There is some work expected outside of the meeting times. 

It is a fully online course with an instructor and a group of up to 25 students in each section. 

It is synchronous, which means that to take it, you must commit to a particular time-slot and agree to attend. A commitment to participating in the sessions to the fullest extent possible is expected. These sessions will be recorded, so you may review the discussion afterward, or catch up if you do have to miss a session.

Each of the four sections will meet on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at a variety of times. Please see the application for the planned times. If none of the times listed will work for you, please indicate this on the application and we may be able to make adjustments to the times. Once you have started in one of these sections, you must stay with that section for the duration of the program.

Required Course Materials

All this course requires is a good Internet connection and access to a laptop or tablet.

We encourage all those interested to apply regardless of access to technology.

Application

Applications for the 2023 SOAR Math program are now closed.  We will open our 2024 application process in May. 

Pre-Calculus Skills Diagnostic

Please note that this Pre-Calculus Skills Diagnostic is not something to be "passed"; it is not a factor in your acceptance to the SOAR program. The SOAR Mathematics instructor uses the results from this diagnostic to help tailor the course concepts and materials to the students enrolled in the program.

Contact

Please email us at soarmathematics@stanford.edu with any questions.