College: Huge Transition (Work Load) between 101 courses and beyond?

[Coldkilla]

Hi,

I have my first midterms on Tuesday (Im a 1st yr-- freshmen @ college), and after this semester, I will be allowed to 'move up the chain' of courses. So far, my classes have been alright I guess.. but I fear that the introductory 101 classes are 1000x easier than the next level. Is this true? Or are they relativly the same?

ps; I'm a CS Major.

Just wondering.. please answer with educated responces, I appreciate it thanks

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Hi,

I have my first midterms on Tuesday (Im a 1st yr-- freshmen @ college), and after this semester, I will be allowed to 'move up the chain' of courses. So far, my classes have been alright I guess.. but I fear that the introductory 101 classes are 1000x easier than the next level. Is this true? Or are they relativly the same?

ps; I'm a CS Major.

Just wondering.. please answer with educated responces, I appreciate it thanks

im a 1st-year too, but I'd say that generally the classes will remain the same difficulty, as their is the assumption that you will learn during the previous courses so you are applying what you previously learned. workload may increase but difficulty shouldn't, as long as you learned in the classes beforehand, such as in the ones you are in now.

 

[rmrfhomeoops]

The difficult part is be able to retain what you have learn previously and continue to built on it. Anything you didn't do so well before will further hinder your ability to pick up new materials in the more advance course. Also I would recommend you to try network with other students because sometimes the solution is obvious to one person while the other may keep banging their head trying to find a solution. If you do need to ask for a solution, avoid copy it directly but analyze the answer and figure out how they come up with it.
It'll be much harder as you reach senior year. The required CS class materials aren't always the most interesting and so if you don't have the dedication and the diligence it'll make the study the material difficult.

 

[BigJ]

They only get exponentially more difficult if you don't attend class.

Like rmrfhomeoops said, in your upper level classes, you will be building on materials you've learned in your previous classes. For example, my Industrial Organization (4xx) class builds heavily on what we covered for a few weeks in Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory (3xx) so far. My Quantitative Methods in Economics (another 4xx class) builds heavily on what we learned in Economics Statistics (3xx).

In my experience, the 3xx level courses introduce new concepts that may not necessarily intensely build on your 1xx-2xx level courses, with the subject material being a little bit harder, but the 4xx courses are the courses you really have to worry about.

 

[probzy]

I hate to missed class

 

[santz]

buddy, just be regular with your reading, and all will be fine!

everything is ok! higher level courses donot necessarily mean harder! you dont have to cram , just be regular!
- advice from a senior accounting undergrad major

 

[bignateyk]

Its kinda like a bell curve... The freshmen classes are really easy, and the late sophmore and junior classes are kinda hard... then the senior level classes are really easy again.

Then the grad level classes are like 10x harder than anything

 

[dullard]

Most 100 level courses are a piece of cake. Sure some may come with a lot of work, and some may be harshly graded, but most are easy. Just be careful of the occasional weed-out class.

Most 200 level courses are about the same. Topics may build a bit, and they may go into a little more detail, but for the most part 200 level courses are easy.

Most 300 level courses are where the real work comes in. My experience showed that I needed about double the study time and double the homework time for 300 level courses vs. 100 or 200 level courses. My 2nd semester junior year in college was by far the worst (from preschool up to and including getting my PhD).

Most 400 level courses are noticibly easier than most 300 level courses. At this point, you are either (a) repeating the 300 level ideas at a greater depth, so if you understood the 300 level course, you'll have no trouble in the 400 level, or (b) simple 100 level courses for graduate classes (with the same easy attitude of the 100 level courses). My senior year was not difficult at all.

 

[jmcoreymv]

It always seemed like you had to put in the most effort for 100-level clases to make decent grades. By the time you got up to 3-400 level, the material was more difficult but the class was easier.

 

[BrownTown]

Maybe its jsut me, or my college, but i found the higher level courses to be easier. The 100 levels courses had a bunch of stuff thrown at you ,and lots of homework + quizzes + tests to study for. In all my higher level classes which I am taking now there are only a few tests that count for the whole grade of the class, and the material is much more focussed. So, there is alot less stuff to worry about, you jsut have to make sure you know that stuff well.

 

[acemcmac]

Definitely. I got A's in my CS 100 classes without even showing up. That would be impossible in 200 level CS classes and beyond

 

[Coldkilla]

Reason I asked is because some of my classes are stupid.

My math 101: It's an online class, twice a day. 5x a week. I've missed 15 classes (Its at 7AM and my travel time is over an hour to get to school, I stay up late nights, dont go out/party... addicited to 1 video game [ofp], and find it impossible to read, study, consintrate, have no sleeping habbits)... So i miss my first class a lot.. HOWEVER: I do the work late at night, and I'm still getting an A.

I tested out of one of my PC classes with a 99%. Never studied.
Have a B+ in my CS101 class, studied total of 30mins all semester.
Film: Never need to study or do h/w.
English: Hate writing, but am passing.

I fear that my habbits will catch up for me.. I see no huge incentives to change my ways.. and with the difficulty level possibily increasing... idk, it just seems pointless to make time in the day for reading/studying.. when im doing fine as it is..

 

[BigJ]

Unless you're brilliant, with your current habits you will eventually either do poorly or fail out of college.

 

[BD2003]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Hi,

I have my first midterms on Tuesday (Im a 1st yr-- freshmen @ college), and after this semester, I will be allowed to 'move up the chain' of courses. So far, my classes have been alright I guess.. but I fear that the introductory 101 classes are 1000x easier than the next level. Is this true? Or are they relativly the same?

ps; I'm a CS Major.

Just wondering.. please answer with educated responces, I appreciate it thanks

I dunno about CS, but speaking for bio/biochem:

The 100/200 level classes are VERY general, and a LOT of new information is thrown at you, but its not too complicated, IMO. You might take a 2-3 semester genral bio course. One semester might go over cell bio, genetics and biochem.

The 300 level classes go into a lot more depth on one particular subject. They are only more difficult if you did poorly in the 100/200 levels. If you did well, you've got one leg up, and its more expanding upon what you already know, than learning something entirely new. If you scraped by in the intro courses, you are in quite a bit of trouble, in any subject.

Chem on the other hand, is a killer from the start and only gets worse because it doesnt build so much on what you learned. General chem 100/200 is a pain in the ass for most people. Organic Chem (300, usually), is a pain in the ass to 99.99% of all people. I have met only one single rare exception - everyone else got taken back by it. Its so foreign to anything you've ever learned. It's like teaching calculus to an infant. Biochem and Physical chem...don't get me started.