I took my Differential Equations final today, and with any luck I’ve got a B for the course.

I say with any luck, because I may have gotten a C. I suppose that if my 4.0 needs to end, that Differential Equations is an appropriately difficult class to deliver the crushing blow. Not that I actually have a 4.0. I only have a 4.0 at UCCS as long as I conveniently ignore the 2.3 I had at UD.

I thought there was a vague chance that I would turn out to be good at math. This summer has taught me otherwise. It’s a good thing I wasn’t planning on being a mathematician.

The class was extraordinarily challenging for me. I found that at different times it seemed to require just about every mathematical trick I had learned up to this point. The biggest problem is that because it was a summer class where one week of material in a normal semester is covered in one day (3 days/week) that it was impossible for me to practice enough to get proficient with it. I think it might have been possible to get an A were I not taking two other classes at the same time.

I suspect that even passing differential equations makes me better at math than 99% of the population, yet compared to anyone who is good at it, I’m laughably bad. If you just want an idea of what a differential equations test looks like, here’s our midterm. (That’s the solutions as worked out by the professor.) The worst part about that exam was having us solve a single problem 3 different ways. I got 3 different answers, but didn’t have time to figure out where I’d made a mistake.

My Linear Algebra final is on Monday. I’m dreading it, because I need an A on the final to get an A in the class. I’m not sure if I’ll manage it or not.

My third class, Computer Networks, is the only one I’m really enjoying. I wish I had more time to spend with it, but the subject is interesting, our textbook is really good, and the professor is doing a good job.