[Rhodes22-list] SVSU Fall Semester, 2003 Results

[ellner]

Way to go, Roger!  Looks/sounds like this semester was the worst you'll 
encounter!  And you came through with flying colors!  mary/rod





At 03:55 PM 12/16/2003 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi Everybody,
>
>Well, I just got my report card on-line for the Fall Semester, 2003.  I 
>ended up with 5 A's, 1 A-, and 1 B+ for an overall 3.824 GPA.  That's not 
>too shabby for an old nerd, especially considering the heavy class 
>load.  The B+ was in Solid Mechanics and was the 2nd highest grade in the 
>class.  A lot of the students in my Solid Mechanics class will be retaking 
>the class next semester because it's a required core curriculum class for 
>all engineering majors.  In order for the course to count towards their 
>major, engineering students must pass Solid Mechanics with at least a C at 
>SVSU and nearly 50% of the class didn't score well enough!  My problem 
>with Solid Mechanics was I never did remember enough of my Calculus, 
>Differential Equations, & Statics from college classes taken 30+ years ago 
>to get sufficiently fast at doing these problems to ace the 
>exams.  Therefore, on the exams, I always ran out of time.  I had a 98% 
>average on the graded homework in that class, when I had time to think 
>about the problems and work thru the Calculus, Statics, & Differential 
>Equations.  Based upon my homework grades, I think I actually understand 
>and know how to apply the subject material pretty well.  I'm just not real 
>fast at working out the problems.  It's a classic case of test taking 
>ability vs. real world ability.  Fortunately, in a real world job 
>situation, this shouldn't matter.
>
>The A- was in Dynamics and was the highest grade in the class.  Dynamics 
>is another required core curriculum course and close to half the students 
>my class will be repeating it next semester.  Actually, Dynamics was one 
>of the prerequisite courses for Solid Mechanics, which was also part of my 
>problem with Solid Mechanics.  I had to get special permission to take 
>both courses concurrently, a practice I definitely would not recommend!
>
>A more reasonable total class load or simply not taking both of these 
>courses at the same time would have made a huge difference. But, I need to 
>be finished with my BS mechanical engineering degree in a year or less, so 
>there was no choice.  Ah well, I'm still in the game and still committed 
>to seeing this adventure thru to the end.  Boy, am I ever glad this 
>semester is over!
>
>Roger Pihlaja
>S/V Dynamic Equilbrium
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