<p>It is a common complaint of students at top ranked Math departments. Princeton for example has a horrible reputation for the instruction of lower level math courses although Princeton is generally ranked #1 or #2 in math. </p>
<p>Michigan’s math department is ranked among the top 10 nationally and its faculty is highly gifted. But they do not teach Math 115 and 116. There are simply too many students taking those classes to assign professors to them. But once you hit the 200 level math classes, you start getting professors teaching and at that point, the classes are very challenging and well taught.</p>
<p>But be careful what you say Nirvana. Michigan is a great place for students wishing to “pursue” math. It just isn’t a great place for students who have to take lower level math classes as requirements or pre-requisits to other classes.</p>