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In response to
"Harvard and MIT team up as the latest to offer free online courses -- (link)"
by
znufrii
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like Math 55
Posted by
Harvard (aka chris)
May 2 '12, 11:01
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Math 55--Harvard University
A freshman survey math class � how hard could it be? If you ask anyone who�s taken Math 55 at Harvard, they will tell you: as hard as it gets. Called �probably the most difficult undergraduate math class in the country� on the math department�s website, this is not your average math class. �The class aims to cover what would normally take two years for another honors math sequence at Harvard to finish, and what would probably constitute a typical full undergraduate math education,� says Tony Feng, a T.A. for Math 55. Don�t expect to have much of a social life if you�re in this class � According to the course description, problem sets can take anywhere from 24 to 60 hours a week to complete. �The material itself is dealt with at a high level of abstraction and generality,� Feng explains. �Some of the problems are actually major theorems that took mathematicians a while to discover. After Math 55, one could potentially jump straight into graduate-level classes.� This class�s reputation precedes it, and only the most bright and determined students in Harvard�s top-ranked math department go through with it: From about 40 students who showed up for this year�s the first day of class, only 9 people stuck with it, Feng said.
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