legendofmax

I was dual degree for a short period but I couldn't fit everything in in time, and transferring back... it'd probably be too late. I'm a junior atm.

cc2

>> just getting over the process and shelling through the terminology and buzzwords<<
legendofmax - You have learnt everything you need to learn and more from Wharton and see through the business world. Congrads.

Cheese_itz

I agree with everything legendofmax said. The thing with Wharton is, it's not only job training, but it tends to have the effect of "dampening" any intellectual curiosity you had going in. I mean, it's literally learning how to plug and chug the right numbers into equations the professors think (and are right to think) that are too advanced for students because they don't know enough math.

Legend, I can't believe we haven't had any classes together yet.

Eloquence

Legend, how did you like Math at CAS?

legendofmax

Cheese_itz, what's your real name? Not sure if I know who you are

Eloquence: I actually really liked math at CAS. The early recitations aren't too fun, though, for certain courses.

Cheese_itz

Legend, check msgs.

I'm going to jump in and say something about Penn Math (I've taken enough of them, I think): choose your professors wisely. The quality of the math dept. here swings towards the extremes with the professors. Use the Penn Course Review; other than that, it's decent, it's math.

legendofmax

Most definitely ^

Eloquence

Ahh I'm really thinking about Math, I love it so much, I just don't want to end up with professors who just sit there and teach formulas, I wanna know where it all comes from how it ties into other things, the practicality of the material, etc. etc.

legendofmax

Just make sure you get a good teacher. I had to switch my 114 course, for instance, a few times because the teachers were just so bad. One of them would just start scrawling crap on the board that had little to do with the sections we did homework in/did reading for. He'd get so excited and flustered, and in 20 minutes the entire chalkboard would be FULL of scrawling that was impossible to read and he'd be talking a mile a minute. It was almost like watching a human get caught in an infinite while-loop, going into some crazy overdrive mode. I seriously wonder if he knew what class he was teaching. I am pretty sure he was let go, since he no longer teaches here. EDIT: ROFL, his course review page shows my opinion is shared by pretty much everyone who turned in an evaluation.

The math books generally do have plenty of examples that show how certain concepts/functions are derived and how they are applied, which is always nice. I think the math department could use some better teachers, but if you love math, try to find the best teacher you can get and you should have a decent time in the course.

Cheese_itz

Yea. My professor was so bad for 114...he was some dude from a community college. The class made me feel so inept that I actually took a break from it. Just keep in mind that the higher you go in math, the more useless it'll seem to you, and it'll be the professor's job to make it all matter. Even the more "applied" math classes will be completely theory based.

There are a few (more like 2 or 3) VERY good math professors here, though. But you have to plan your schedule so you can take their classes when it's actually offered. So remember to look at the course register and make a mental note of the "cycles" in the dept and plan accordingly.

Rudess

To those who want a great math prof and who want to experience real math, I highly recommend that you take a course by Prof. David Harbater.

wharton4life

Thanks Rudess, are there any other great math profs we should keep our eyes on?

freetense

harbater is good. i think popa might not be the best teacher but he definitely tries his best and he care about teaching, so i recommend him. Pop is a really nice guy as well. rimmer is good although somewhat disorganized. crotty is good overall although uh. . .i don't know. i don't necessarily like him as a teacher. but he's definitely alright. Also Deturk is good stuff

ilovebagels

I know people who transferred from CAS to Wharton only to realize what legend said and transfer BACK into CAS.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. People get trained in Wharton, and educated in CAS.
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45 Percenter

^ Or, they can do both in both.