Which calculator for college?

[Larvae]

unless they tell you specifically that you need a certain calculator for a class you dont even need one. i never used my graphing calculators for anything that a $1 pocket caculator wouldnt do. spend your money getting matlab or mathematica for your computer instead

 

[FordLorider]

Please take note. A lot of times the CALC or whatever MTH class that you are taking will specify the calculator that they would like you to use. Example: My Calc class recommended that you use a HP 38G(I think that was the name), you didn't have to get that calculator but all the examples were done using that calculator and trying to do the problems with a brand new calculator that you just bought/learning to use would have been impossible. Just wait it out and see if they specify the calculator that you should use.

 

[OS]

between the two, get an 89. The 86 is basically a spit polished 85, which are like ten years old. I've used both the 89 and the 86 and the 89 is simply in a different league than the 86.

 

[FaultCode]

I have yet to take a class (outside of HS) that didn't let me use a calculator.

 

[j00]

in my calculus classes the 89 and 92 blew away the other calculators. you WILL appreciate the features of the 89 in the future, you can check derivatives right on the calculator, you dont have to graph the equation to find inverses, max/mins, and reflection points like you do on the like on the 85/86. there are so many useful functions on the 89 for calculus that i would pay anything to have one. calculus I, II, and III are required for computer science majors here, it is to say the least a little math intensive =) i had an 85 for cal I and i could have done my work 100x faster with an 89, there is just no comparison when the 89 makes life so much easier.

 

[vital]

i bought the hp49g for ~140 and it rocks!

 

[jmcoreymv]

89 all the way.

 

[FordLorider]

Again, I know that there are some great calculators out there but the final logic is that you want to make your classes easier. You don't want to be messing around with learning a new calculator in your math class. Just wait it out and see if the class specifies a calculator to use. It's a lot better than trying to use a TI XX with the professor is using a HP on the class display!

 

[Rankor]

TI-89...'nuf said.

And please, don't buy (it) on the day of the exam and try to learn how it works.

I had a colleague who did that and she wondered why she failed her first Calculus midterm. :Q

PS: Damn this is an old thread. Who dug this up? The guy probably got a calculator already

 

[AaronP]

The TI 89 is great. I almost spazzed when I learned that my teacher didn't have a problem with me using it. Integrals and Derivatives were ULTRA easy on the good ol TI-89.

Look at it this way, I had 5 tests in my calc class. roughly, here are my grades

71
68
98
92
95

guess when I bought the calc.

 

[AaronP]

BTW, I'm a Finance major and if you are going to take some business classes YOU MUST get the TI BAII Plus. It rocks.

 

[Zenmervolt]

From friends of mine in engineering, if you're really hard-core get an HP graphing calc. They are supposed to be the best but their syntax is um... interesting. (2+2 is entered as: 2 [Enter] 2 [+]). I'd say go with the 89 considering your field, if you weren't going into engineering I'd say you'd never need more than the TI-85 which has served me just fine for the last 4 years.

 

[The Wildcard]

Yeah it really depends on your professors and your college. At my college, most teachers used the TI-86 so if you had one in class ,you could follow along with the teacher. Now, you could get the TI-89, which does symbolic calculations and has much better graphing abilities, BUT, most professors will not allow you to use this calculator in class, so that's sorta useless, lol.

You should also consider the HP series, some of my friends have some and they truly kick some ass.