<p>I hear from some people that a lot of upper division classes are much more easier because it isn't designed to weed out the weak in the intro. Is this actually true? I would only imagine each year getting more difficult.</p>
<p>The response is the same for every “how hard is this class” question. It depends. </p>
<p>Likely you’ll have some very hard 200-level classes and some easy ones. Likely you’ll have some very hard 400/500-level classes available for you to take and some easy ones. The best you’re gonna do is compare 1 class to another. You’re not going to be able to compare the collective of 200-level classes in a department to the collective of 400/500-levels.</p>
<p>All I’ve heard is that the material gets more complex, but, it can feel easier because your working in your major instead of finishing up gen ed requirements. </p>
<p>Biology and Chemistry so far are coming very easy for me, like perfect scores easy. BUT, I feel like I’m fighting my way through the music appreciation class I’m taking. I’m just not good at picking apart a musical piece and explaining what it means to me. I don’t like explaining what anything means to me on an emotional level. By comparison, bio is easy even with the instructor who has a pretty high fail/withdraw rate. If your major is actually an interest of yours, then the material is easier to read because your interested in it. It’s harder to force yourself to study things you aren’t remotely interested in or will never use again.</p>
<p>Yes and no.</p>
<p>Since the curriculum for most math/science/engr majors “builds up” on what you’ve already learned, you’re not going to find a class “easier” than the previous one if you don’t have a solid grasp on the concepts in the earlier classes.
On the other hand, you do the similar kinds of problems and concepts over and over so much across your classes that your brain will eventually “get” a harder concept more easily in a higher-level class, just because of the experience you’ve had with that kind of problem-solving.</p>
<p>Ex: The first computer science class you take (given you have no experience) will likely be very challenging and difficult. Once you start taking more (and even learning more languages), you will climb the learning curve much quicker - since you already know how logic flows in a program, how to control algorithms, how to use loops and generic programming tricks etc (most of these “programming essentials” are similar across all computer languages, it’s just a different syntax and programming environment that you have to get used to for each new language you learn).</p>
<p>It also depends a lot on the grading practices of the place.</p>
<p>For example, in my undergraduate major department, upper-level courses were basically graded on a 3.0 - 4.0 scale. (Meaning, if you didn’t get it but put in a minimum of effort, you still got a 3.0.) Lower-level in contrast courses utilized the full range of grades. </p>
<p>But grading practices vary between departments and colleges, do your mileage will vary. Advice from people in your major will be as reliable as it gets.</p>
<p>not in engineering, that’s for sure</p>