What classes are you taking for Fall 2009?

[srvs]

Aerodynamics
Differential equations
Materials science
Aircraft performance

+- 25 hrs

And then some forced project that takes up about 20 hours a week as well, yet offers little to no extra concrete knowledge. Just thinking about it makes me angry. :(

 

[Landau]

Wow, I didn't know people can get offended so quickly. I didn't mean to, anyway. Let's leave it at that.

PS: In spite of my nickname, I am not from Russia but from Holland. I guess I have to get used to physicsforums being dominated by Americans.

 

[cristo]

No one does that much work in the states! That's why we're so successful! We multitask!

What does this mean? What are you multitasking with? If you mean that you study subjects other than your major alongside, then the reason this isn't done outside the US, is that such subjects are taught to the equivalent level to general education classes in high school.

I will concede to you, that I don't have the attention span to be in school from 9 to 5 studying only one rigorous subject. I can do the 2h15min, but I feel that it's very straining for me and I wanted to express it, so PLEASE be reasonable and stop arguing over it! It's pointless!

That post above by Landau was reasonable-- he was posting his opinion to a complaint about a 2 hour morning class. I have to say that I agree!

Still, perhaps this can serve a lesson to all that there are people here who are from different places, even outside the US, who will have different opinions. Just because they are used to a different educational system does not make then less able to express their opinion, or make it immediately invalid.

 

[Choppy]

Well the thing is that I got the full Pell Grant, which will only fully cover schools in Arizona since that's where I live. And to address your response of "well you're not supposed to worry about how much the college costs", my parents aren't as supportive of college as yours must be, so I wouldn't be able to get their help on the loans (since stafford loans aren't going to cover all expenses at the good colleges). All the programs in Arizona require language classes. And it actually ISN'T my fault that I have to be in badly scheduled classes because my college liaison from my high school didn't turn in my schedule when I had the well scheduled classes (math three times per week, 1h30min each). And for the record all I said was that the scheduling is bad because almost 2h15min of math taught at 8 in the morning isn't very smart, math is like a language where you have to get a lesson in it 3-5 times per week or else you won't learn it as well as you could.

and one more thing, when you're on a forum, it's pointless to try and dig into people for what they say. How would you know I wasn't a middle-aged man trying to hold down a job while raising a family, don't EVER assume unless you actually know what you're talking about.

Well I apologise if my post came across as condescending. You asked questions. I gave out reasonable answers - or so I thought. Perhaps this particular post isn't aimed at me? I don't recall saying anything about not worrying about college costs. Cost is often a huge factor in influencing education decisions and people who don't take it seriously can end up in a lot of unnecessary trouble.

I would add that when you post an opinion in a public forum, people are going to disagree with you - not because they are attacking you personally, but because they disagree with the idea you've presented.

You argue that 2 hours and change of math at 08:00 in the morning isn't very smart. Maybe not for you, but my point was that perhaps that was the only option available for running the course. Every year administrators go through the nightmare of booking time, and correlating professors' schedules in order to offer the all the courses they are responsible for. Some classes fill up past capacity, but the school still has an obligation to enroll everyone within a certain major who registered. Some professors don't know their schedules until the last minute. Some classes require access to certain technology such as video conferencing equiment, overhead projectors etc. that are not available in all classrooms. My point is that there's another side of the coin and this likely isn't a case of administrators conspiring against you.

I can't help but wonder if your initial comments were just a way of venting some steam. That's fair enough. Everyone gets stuck with a less than optimal schedule from time to time and you are allowed to state that in such cases it is in fact, "stupid."

 

[mgiddy911]

Fall 2009:
Abstract Algebra
Introduction to Fiction: Writing Intensive
Introduction to Scientific Writing: Writing Intensive
History of Computing
Astrophysics
Research

all classes are 3 credits except research which is only 2 this time. so 17 hrs per week.

 

[Quincy]

Fall 2009 (freshman):
- English 101 (I'm horrible at english, this class will probably bring down my GPA)
- Microeconomics (It's only been a week, but seems like an interesting class)
- Intro to Programming
- Calculus I - I can barely understand my professor's accent, I'm going to have to rely on the book :(
- Intro to Engineering (I've heard it's a pretty easy class)

 

[89ta]

Fall 2009 (Senior year of high school)

1. AP Physics B
2. CAD 1
3. Weight Training
4. Honors Pre Calc
5. Missing Class :D (I will have to get this fixed though...)
6. AP Chemistry
7. Engineering Concepts and Design 2

 

[megr_ftw]

Engineering Mechanics
Calculus 3
Physics 2
MacroEconomics..dont know why i need that
Science, Society and you (anthropology)...slack class

 

[Quincy]

Fall 2009 (Senior year of high school)

1. AP Physics B
2. CAD 1
3. Weight Training
4. Honors Pre Calc
5. Missing Class :D (I will have to get this fixed though...)
6. AP Chemistry
7. Engineering Concepts and Design 2

Wow, that's almost exactly the same as my senior year schedule.

 

[thrill3rnit3]

I'm currently a high school junior

AP Calc BC (my school doesn't credit college courses taken)
AP Physics C: Mechanics
religion class
AP English language and Comp.
Spanish III Honors
AP US History
Academic Decathlon

I'm going to try out Stanford's EPGY (online learning), I'm probably going to take their Real Analysis (Ross) and Intermediate E&M (Griffiths) course, see if it's any good.

 

[colonelcrayon]

I didn't know we could do high school schedules!

Junior:

AP Calc BC
AP Statistics
Symphonic Band
French IV
AP Lang & Comp
AP Biology

I'm beginning a self-study of AP Chem as well as planning an intro real analysis study.

 

[Bill Foster]

Classes
Linear Algebra- Using professors own text(with will certainly be supplemented with MIT video lectures.
Discrete Math- Using Rosen's Discrete Math and Applications
Calc III- Using Stewart
Physics 2 E&M Using Wolfson's University Physics
Dumb English Course

Questions
1.Is this too many courses to succeed in? I'm hoping to sweep the board with A/A- and perhaps 1 or 2 B+'s at the worst?

Depends on the professors. But I would say, on average, that to get all As, you're going to have little free time.

 

[Bill Foster]

I like this idea!

Classes:

• Quantum Mechanics - Griffiths, which I think I'll try and supplement with Mendl
• E & M II - Intro to Electrodynamics, Griffiths again
• Partial Differential Equations - Applied PDE, Haberman
• Astrophysics (emphasis on stars) - Intro to Modern Astrophysics, Carroll and Ostile (the BOB - big orange book)
• Intro to aikido...!

My questions:
1. Does anyone have any recommendations for someone just getting starting to scratch the surface of QM? Texts, materials, videos, anything that would help me immerse myself a bit? Same with E&M II?

Griffiths is all you need. Read the book with pencil and paper in hand. Take notes and derive the equations he presents to see how he came up with them.

2. Anyone else taking astrophysics?

Took it in the spring.

 

[Bill Foster]

My tip: Don't be so blase about your English class. The ability to write well is an incredibly important skill that many science students completely overlook.

Agreed. Look at it as a way to express yourself; be creative, original, and have fun with it.

 

[Bill Foster]

Questions
1) Am I going to die?

Absolutely.

 

[Bill Foster]

Questions
1) I was wondering: how beneficial do you think learning from multiple textbooks is? In particular, would it be worth it to purchase or borrow Artin's textbook to supplement Dummit & Foote?

I don't know anything about the particular textbooks you've listed, but a general answer is that it can be beneficial to learn from multiple textbooks. Some textbooks may go into more detail in a certain area. On the other hand, some textbooks are really good and will be all you need.

2) As a math major who wants to go to grad school, what is your opinion on double majoring in philosophy purely out of interest? I find philosophy courses to be quite enlightening and a welcome change of pace, regardless of applicability.

It can't hurt unless your philosophy studies take away time from your math studies which result in a negative impact on your grade. But if that's not an issue, keep studying philosophy.

 

[Bill Foster]

Classes
RUSS1001 - Elementary Russian I
PHYS8101 - Quantum Mechanics I
PHYS8201 - Advanced Electromagnetic Theory I

 

[kbaumen]

First year at university. The course is Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.

These are compulsory:

Engineering mechanics 1
Engineering industry and profession
Electronic and electrical techniques 1
Electronic & electrical principles 1
Mechanical engineering principles
Mathematics 1e
Mathematics 2e

Those math classes are something similar to Calc I and II.

I still have some space for electives.

 

[wobblebase]

General Physiology
Eukaryotic Cell Biology
Topics in Pathogenic Microbiology

One more semester to go in undergrad, only 6 hours left to complete:)

 

[Patrick_Nth]

Junior in Physics.

Linear Algebra - Friedberg
Intro to Quantum Mechanics - Griffiths
2nd Quarter E&M - Griffiths
and maybe a weekly seminar: What students need to know about careers in engineering.

 

[Advent]

· Differential equations (ODE's)
· Numerical methods
· Advanced mathematical methods I (Complex var, som PDE's I guess)
· Classical Mechanics (Lagrangian and Hamiltonian Mech.)
· Thermodynamics.
· And one optative course, but I'm not sure about it

Second year in physics

 

[jtbell]

I sort of feel a new thread should be started for a new semester?

You mean like this one?

https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=396722

(I moved all the recent Fall 2010 posts, including yours, to the thread linked above.)