Stanford Course for freshman

NothinButTheBest
Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:58:47 +0000

I thought they were definitely tough, but you can definitely do well if you apply yourself. I haven’t taken math yet, but I have taken most of the chem and physics intro series. I think the difficulty is relative, it depends on a lot of factors like the prof, your TA, other commitments you have, etc. I’ve experienced both types of classes here (working hard can lead to an A, while some are just ridiculously hard).

Depending on what your studying you might end up in a class and wonder why do I need to learn this for my major. I know that physics 43 is that class for me. I feel like the material is interesting to learn about, but I doubt I will be using it heavily in my future, at least to the extent to what the midterms have expected us to know. On the other end, I have found chem 33 tests to be ridiculously hard not because of the material but because of the time limit. I struggled adjusting to the speed but the extra work has paid off on my last midterm.

Some profs are good, some aren’t. You mostly learn on your own or with others doing problem sets and reading, TA/Prof office hours, or in section. From my experience learning in college is nothing like learning in high school. More responsibility is put on yourself to learn the information in a way that works best for you if you don’t understand everything from lecture (which you probably don’t even if you think you do).

I applied to do research here over the summer with the MatSci department, but I didn’t get accepted. They really wanted sophomores (they stated it on the app), but I thought maybe since this department is smaller I might have a chance. I also applied to intern at GM but I haven’t heard back. I would suggest taking an introsem that you are really interested in and then getting to know the prof and ask him/her if they have any positions in their lab.

Your welcome! If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask.