When I was a student (in the 1970s) I was taught linear algebra as an "adjunct" to "engineering mathematics" such as differential equations. That was during my sophomore year, which seems a bit late, but those were the days when "calculus" was all the rage.
Nowadays, the application emphasis is on information technology, which stores information in matrices, strings, and vectors. Given this emphasis should linear algebra be taught earlier, concurrently with computer science? Would that mean making it "simultaneous" with first year calculus or even pre-calculus?