End of Exams.
So it’s been three days since exams ended, and I’ve not recovered yet. This is the first time academically that I feel like I hadn’t sufficiently prepared for an exam set. In retrospect I treated this past term very laisse-faire, having somewhat convinced myself that doing the assignments could be justified as studying. This, for other subjects, obviously isn’t true, however up until now it has worked pretty well for maths and physics. Understanding how to solve problems is the key thing, whereas definitions don’t matter so much.
So what changed? I think it’s the algebra, specifically studying Rings & Fields I and Groups I. The assignments therefore were all pretty involved, typically taking 8hrs each and involving heavy research. This is because, unlike other areas of maths, I haven’t yet acquired a strong instinct for the immediate avenue of a solution. I would typically dive very deep exploring an approach, only to find that there was a single paragraph answer using some observation of which I was unaware. Nonetheless I consistently did very well in the assignments and figured that when exam week came around I’d only need to revise theorems and proofs. Obviously, however, what I really needed to do was practice; clearly the best way to learn a mathematical subject. That this slipped my mind is embarassing, and probably speaks to a level of overconfidence due to how the assignments went.
So how did the exams go? I think they went alright really, just not what I was hoping for. I’m aiming for two things this year: >90% GPA, and the Hamilton Prize. My (maybe optimistic) predictions for my subject marks are as follows:
- 97% in ODEs,
- 97% in Real Analysis I,
- 90% in Statmech,
- 85% in Groups I,
- 83% in Rings & Fields I,
- 97% in Quantum Mechanics I.
This leaves me where I wanna be GPA-wise, however it’s really brought up by the physics results, I’m not doing so hot in the pure maths, which I need to be for the Hamilton Prize. So what to do?
New Year.
Really gotta ace the exams this term, hopefully I got enough of a kick this month to motivate a comeback. So what am I studying?
General Relativity: Bound to be very interesting, bound to be very difficult. Can’t really imagine what this class will be like to be honest. Hopefully my prelinary tensor knowledge will come in handy? Who knows.
Computational Physics I: Couldn’t be more prepared for this course, having a look at the past papers I could pass it already, not too concerned. Looking forward to having a lab again though!
Quantum Mecahnics II: Not too worried, QM I was very easy, and QM II seems to revolve around stuff I’ve studied before. Happy to finally understand how to do perturbations though.
Real Analysis II: RA I was not easy per se, but it really wasn’t that hard, especially compared to how daunting Intro to Analysis was. Not sure what the subject is about, I suppose we’ll really go into fourier analysis? Which would be neat.
Complex Analysis I: Have heard many different takes on how hard this class is, varying from saying it’s piss to saying it’s quite hard. So again, we’ll see I suppose.
Rings & Fields II: Realllllly not looking to do rings so soon after finishing R&F I, I’m tired of it tbh. This is gonna require a lot of study I think, with probably very tricky assignments. An opportunity for redemption though, I suppose.
So certainly not a trivial year. In fact, probably going to be the first year where I can only say we have one “easy” subject. Typically we have at least two. I’m going to have to become very familiar with the arts building blackboards I think.
Summer Plans.
Sometimes when I say “Summer plans” people respond in turn with their plans to go to mainland europe or south-east asia backpacking. Which throws me off because I’m really thinking about placements/internships. It’s quite sad really, but never more than this year. I’m very concerned about my options because I really doubt I’ll get into CERN, which means my best bet is in Dublin. In Dublin, however, accommodation is impossible, so idk what to do. For unfortunmate circumstances, I don’t think I’ll be able to stay where I’ve stayed before. Also, I have two options down here: DIAS and SPUR. I’d really enjoy SPUR, I think, but it is far too short of a duration for an internship, and as such there’s very little money in it to sort accommodation. Who would put me up for 6 weeks? It’s short enough that I’d have to move back home and spent a long time either unemployed or employed in something I don’t wanna do. DIAS would also be really cool, and it does last a bit longer, but I’ve a lower chance of getting in, and I don’t know where I’d stay.
These are good problems to have I think, but it causes me a lot of stress. The best case scenario is Perimeter Start, where I would get to go to canada, but I wouldn’t have to live there, I could do most of the term at home. This would mean I’d have a job all summer and v little expenses. Also I wouldn’t have to move around so much. The downside is that I’ve procrastinated myself out of the opportunity. Although I have great references, I applied nearly a week too late for the position, and one of my referees doesn’t see the perimeter email, meaning I really only have one reference. So I’m not exactly full of hope here.
I guess we’ll see how it goes, but if it comes down to SPUR, I’ll have to make a tough choice. Either I struggle to find accommodation, I commute from Sligo every day, or I get a job in engineering at home. I don’t like those options. Who knows, maybe like Tyndall, maynooth will offer student accom for the summer? But I doubt it.