<p>That's somewhat true of freshman classes, and it does happen in upper-level classes too (my boyfriend is course 16 and the entire class works together on the problem sets, or else they'd never get done).</p>
<p>On freshman classes, it's possible to do them yourself (generally), but it's easier/more fun/faster to do them with other people, so that's what a lot of people end up doing.</p>
<p>In a way, it's true... some classes have take home exams that are killer. In general though, the point of working with others is everyone's good at something slightly different (e.g. one person may understand a certain concept a bit better), and you work <em>together</em>, so that at the end, everyone knows how to get to the answer, rather than just copying. </p>
<p>Most majors will have a bit of this issue, especially engineering...</p>
<p>yeah, it's the blending of talents...the v. first really excellent study group i fell into, for 8.022, contained one person who couldn't do anything w/o eqns and math, another who can't do math for beans but can intuit a problem like nobody's business, and me, who can do a bit of math, a bit of intuition, toss in some random crazy physics, and most importantly, got the other two to talk to each other instead of beating each other to death.</p>
<p>it was a grand semester. we still work psets together. but yeah, point: it's all about different styles and different contributions and learning to make it together.</p>
<p>Also key to the group learning thing is that it doesn't necessarily mean 12+ people. I've studied in groups of 2-3 with pretty good results. :)</p>
<p>goddess,</p>
<p>why would someone who can't do math take 8.022?</p>
<p>I'm considering taking 8.022, what do you think of the class now that you've taken it?</p>
<p>ah, the innocent questions...well, b/c i was (and am) interested in physics, but i realize that i suck at math, so i said y'know, i should try 8.022, and if that's too hard, then i really should see about majoring in something else. i wish i could tell you good stories about taking it so i could sit next to a cute guy, or the joys of abc-nr, but i was on sophomore standing and my bf had been eaten by 6.170, so no luck. and hey, i ended up with an A- in that class, which blew my prof away.</p>
<p>speaking of which, i'd recommend the class primarily for the professor; scott hughes is not just entertaining, which i realized while i was taking the class, but also a v. organized, insightful professor who can really teach well. also, he's an all-round cool guy, and i'm not just saying that b/c he shows up to exams in black leather boots, pants, jacket, plus a dangly cross earring, quakerboy2's uroping for him this summer, he came to roast and yelled at a former haus president on our behalf, and b/c he's loaning me his soul for one term of j.lab next year. i hear his wife likes him too.</p>
<p>um, reasons to not take the class: you're bad at math <em>and</em> physics, you're taking something(s) else that are pretty hosing that term, you're majoring in something that really doesn't need the rigor and you don't care that much. i'd think hard about taking 8.022 <em>just</em> to avoid teal, but in general, i'd say go for it. it is more fun with friends, tho.</p>
<p>Goddess: can't forget that masochism is the ultimate sign of a MIT student...</p>
<p>Masochist-In-Training</p>
<p>Some key points I've garnered from this thread:</p>
<ul>
<li> The MIT workload is essentially analogous to sticking a firehose in a water balloon.</li>
<li> Going out of your way to placing out of basic courses is a good idea.</li>
<li> MIT has a group-oriented culture in it's student body.</li>
<li> During a given year, you'll essentially be doing three things: studying, sleeping, socializing (while studying), and eating (sometimes), or ECing.</li>
<li> The idea of an MIT education is not to actually learn math and science, but rather how to think in math and science.</li>
<li> It's hard. Damn hard.</li>
<li> It's fun.</li>
<li> Grades aren't as important as they were in high school.</li>
<li> One's grades are weighted by matter of how well the other students perform.</li>
<li> It's worth every minute.</li>
</ul>
<p>Is that more-or-less a nice comprehensive list? I'm interested in knowing since MIT is a prospect for me. </p>
<p>Thanks for the insight MIT students, it was what I was looking for.</p>
<p>note that that's our collective subjective opinions; not everyone here absolutely loves it, unfortunately, and not everyone believes it's worth it. also, your 4th point is usually worded more succinctly, as "sleep, studies, socializing: pick two" (or some variation thereof). i'd note that not every single class is on a curve (3.091 being a famous example), but enough are that it's a good rule.</p>
<p>but, um, yeah, what you said.</p>
<p>And, collectively, we enjoy being disputative.</p>
<p>blah, 3.091 doesn't have a curve because it doesn't need one! No psets! (Quizzes, but you can usually do them without doing the psets). The tests are very manageable if you study! At least it was my year. I have heard rumors that the difficulty can vary</p>
<p>to answer the original question, i thought that first semester was pretty easy but the second semester was just awful. the most important things i've learned from freshmen year are (1) to always preview for classes and (2) to learn the materials while doing the psets instead of cramming everything within 28 hours before the actual exam.</p>
<p>I really wish I applied to MIT, because it sounds fun. I probably wouldn't have gotten in, though.</p>
<p>how many problems are in each p-set?</p>
<p>Generally 10 or less HARD-CORE, IMPOSSIBLE problems. Each problem takes me around 1 hour, depending on the specific problem and on the subject matter, of course.</p>