<p>So I looking at the courses today, and I was wondering how hard are the "honors" classes</p>
<p>Especially the Math 51H series, Chem X series, and the physics 45, or the 60s series. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any personal experiences with these courses? </p>
<p>If you do, how difficult were the courses for you and your peers, and are there any professors that should be sought after or avoided completely?</p>
<p>I haven’t taken Chem X, though I know a couple people who did. They all found it quite challenging, though they all passed so it wasn’t that terrible. I also don’t know much about the physics. </p>
<p>However, I did take math 51h for a few weeks at the start of my first quarter. It was a completely new and abstract type of math for me. Consequently, I had trouble keeping up and eventually ended up taking 51 instead, which was significantly easier. I would say most of the kids who stayed in 51h had some formal background in proofs. The nice thing is that they let you switch out after the first mid term (which is after the drop date for other classes) if you have done poorly and drop down to 51.
This was a long way of saying that I thought 51H was quite challenging and fast paced. Still, if you are interested you may want to try taking the class for a few weeks and see if you can keep up.</p>
<p>Chem 31X and the Physics 40s series aren’t really “honors” type things
Chem 31X is accelerated in time. It’s not any harder (in my opinion, its less difficult and less busy work than Chem 31A/B), but it moves faster and you cover fewer topics. That said, I still got a B.
Physics is weird in that 20s is easier than 40s, which is easier than 60s, but they aren’t accelerated or honors-type categorizations. In reality, they are different physics series because you use them for different things. There is no point in taking a physics series higher than you need. i.e. bio and premed students take the 20s because it is basic algebraic physics. some engineering students take 40s because its calc-based. the hardcore engineers, physics majors, etc., take 60s because it is calc-heavy and geared to advanced physics topics.</p>
<p>Math 51 is already arguably the hardest class at Stanford for a large number of students. (probably me included). Math 51H is harder, but it’s mostly because the course is proof-heavy. If you aren’t interested in proofs, there is absolutely no reason to take it. </p>
<p>College classes don’t serve any purpose of showing off that you can take a harder class. You only take classes you need to take, want to take, or are interested in. Don’t pick classes ONLY because they are more difficult unless you are actually LOOKING for a challenge. and once you’re here, you won’t need other things taking up your time. you will definitely have enough challenges</p>
<p>there are definitely better and worse professors. PM me if you are considering particular classes. However, Chem 31X is taught by the same professors every year. Physics 20s and 40s, no matter what, always have terrible professors (especially the nobel prize winners…). in physics 21 last quarter, about 30/120 showed up to lecture. and that professor was better than the physics 23 professor…so idk what it’s like now.
math has good and bad. Math 51, in particular, has a large variation. Joan Licata is supposed to be great, but this is her last year. Her husband teaches the 40s in Math. Some of the post-doc fellows in the Math department are a lot better than some full-time professors, so definitely attend a few to see which you like better</p>
<p>Since I’m most likely going into chem or mat sci engineering, I want some solid foundations in chem and physics. (so would this mean more of a physics 40 or 60?) Also I really really really hate busy work, but if you learn from doing something, i don’t mind it being hard. The math one i was just curious about.</p>
<p>The Honors series of Math 51-53 requires the explicit proof of every single proposition/theorem involved in each problem. It’s <em>extremely</em> time-intensive but if you are willing to put in the hours you will learn an amazing amount of mathematics, at an entirely different level. The professors in the H series are incredible too.</p>
<p>What about the physics 60s series vs the 40s?</p>
<p>^it really just depends on the major. some majors ask for 60s. for others, 40s is sufficient</p>
<p>Don’t take 51H/52H/53H unless you made at least USAMO. That’s just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>Generally if the course ends in an X, it’s an accelerated or “honors” course and will be tough; they’re typically for students who have already taken some of the subject. The honors series courses, though, are typically for people who are planning to major in that subject; thus the 50H series is for math majors, generally, though you’ll find some non-majors who just love math. Be ready to do very difficult proofs; if you can’t, just go for the regular 50 series, which is difficult enough. The physics 60 series, as you can guess, is for intended physics majors who have already studied it before, but the physics major, and every other major that requires physics, will let you get by with the 40 series. Some will even let you get by with the 20 series (like biology and computer science), though it isn’t calculus-based. </p>
<p>My rule of thumb on math classes (esp. the 50 series): if you can’t even conceive of pronouncing the professor’s name right, try to find a different lecture to take the class (they usually have many instructors teaching the 50 series). The reason for that is that they’re more likely to have a strong accent and can be difficult to understand. I had a Polish professor (Wojchieczhkjsdofih), and I can tell you, he wasn’t very good at teaching and his accent made it even more difficult; others with similar professors complained too.</p>