Suggestions for math major

ucbalumnus
Fri, 17 Jan 2014 16:53:03 +0000

1214mom:

His problem may be that he took many math classes at random places before college, so he didn’t build the foundation through the logical sequence of classes at his school. He did not want to repeat anything he’d done before, and he started right in with 400 (4000?) level classes. His study skills are also not the best. He didn’t have to study much in HS, and he didn’t.



The mixed bag of courses taken previously can be an issue, particularly if any were upper division (300/400-level) courses where syllabus variation tends to be greater than in lower division (100/200-level) courses. Because many upper division math courses are proof oriented, and the expectations of instructors (especially across different schools) can vary significantly with respect to proof skills, it can be particularly risky to skip such courses on the basis of previous course work taken elsewhere without reviewing the old assignments and exams of the course to the skipped. The study skills can also be an issue when he encounters a course that is more difficult or more time consuming than he is used to.