About my Lectures at University

As mentioned on the About-page I study mathematics at the University of Bremen. I can say it isn't always easy and some of the stuff is very difficult. I thought it would be fun to tell you about those lectures a bit.

General

It is said that you have all the liberty at university. That is only partly true. Nobody cares if you attend the lectures or not, but you have to be present in the tutorials. In the mathematical faculty you have to attend lectures, a tutorial and hand in excercise papers every week. That does sound easy and if you look at your time schedule you think "what a life". Well and then you get the first excercise paper and think "all those excersises in one week? Ah easy". This feeling holds about one hour, after that you realise "Uh, oh, just one week left and I got two of those papers!" and some days later "what? Tomorrow is the hand in day already!?" But that is ok, because all around you you find people who have the same dilemma and so you fold one big group and solve the equations in a T.E.A.M. "Toll, ein anderer macht's" (Great, someone else solves it). Fortunately I was among the group that was solving the equations, rather than in the group that only copied the results.

Schedule

Just recently I decided to put my current schedule online! Read when I attend my lectures. Extensive descriptions of the subjects will follow here.

Linear Algebra

First and second semester

The first subject one has to take is Linear Algebra I, one part makes up one semester. In LinA we had 10 excercises to solve each with 20 points to get. Out of the first 7 papers we had to get no less than 70 points, so 50% per paper. In the last three which were said to be more difficult, because they contained excercises from the entire semester we had to get 30 points all together. Well, I was a bit surprised to make 40 in the first two papers. Before the summer break we had to write a test which was similar to the last papers, but a bit more easy, so the excercises could be solved within 120 minutes rather than 7 days. In the test you had again receive more than 50% of the maximum points. After that I received a "Schein", a small white paper with the professor's signature that you passed the course.

After a year you had yourself worked through 20 papers and 2 test for each set of LinA I and II, if you had at least one Schein you were allowed to make an exam, which would be a dialogue between you and the professor. What some might not believe is that you can learn quite a lot within one year and write down notes onto some 160 A4 pages! Of course you have to know everything written there on!

During the summer break it was finally the day where I had to take that exam. The days before were the horror, sunshine, sunshine and nothing else than sunshine, what do I? Sit above matrix equations and vector spaces. However it was worth the work, I could tell the professor almost everything she wanted to know and awarded me with a 1.7 -- a good mark.

Analysis

First four sememsters

The principle in Analysis was similar to the one used in LinA, but we had to get 75% in our papers in two tries. The excercises were a lot more difficult and so was the test in the end. In the exam I received a 1.7 too, I feared it would be a lot less, but when I look at it now, I have to say I could have been better. I will tell another time about that.

Stochastic

Third sememster

In my third semester I have to attend Stochastic lectures. In the begining it was quite easy, but now it is getting more and more complicated. Especially bad is that one of the lectures is parallel to my physics lecture.

Algebra

Third sememster

As a replacement for Linear Algebra I have to attend Algebra in the third semester. As expected it is more general and not restricted to linear equations anymore. The professor is somehow as you expect a professor to be, very confusing. I hope I only have to pass the exercises with his lecture stuff only I barely am prepared for an oral exam.

Update: The third semester is over and my attitude to Algebra had changed. I decided to take my third semester oral exam in Algebra rather than Analysis III, because I first had the impression there was a lot less stuff to learn for Algebra than for Analysis. However I quickly learnt that I was in a misbelieve, though there was less stuff to learn it was much more complicated and abstract. In the end I was close to giving up, but together with two fellow students who were in the same situation we faced the situation and made a three week Algebra crash course. Finally the day of the exam did approach and we all were caught a bit off hand and were surprised by the hard questions we were asked. The luck was with me though (and the fact that I was the last of three testants) so I received the same mark as before: 1.7

Physics

Third and fourth sememster

As student of mathematics you have to decide what minor you take, my choice was Physics and after only three weeks I already regret that. While the exercises are easy for someone who is used to calculate in n dimensions, the experiments are very time consuming.

Marks

Now you want to know what is so special about 1.7, right? Well in Germany a mark scale from 1 to 5 is used: 1 means passed with excellence and 5 means failed. Of course there are different shades and the mark can get up and down by 0.3 points. So the set of available marks, from best to worst are: {1.0; 1.3; 1.7; 2.0; 2.3; 2.7; 3.0; 3.3; 3.7; 4.0; 5}