18.02: Calculus II

Table of contents

1. Course Info
2. Realistic Prerequisites
3. Subject Matter
4. Course Staff
5. Lectures
6. Problem Sets
7. Exams
8. Resources
9. Grading
10. Advice to Future Students

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Course Info

Class Size	275
Hours/Week	11.0 (102 responses)
Instructors	Gigliola Staffilani
Overall Rating	4.5/7.0

Realistic Prerequisites

• The content of 18.01 was a necessary prerequisite.

Subject Matter

• Most thought it was a good balance between theoretical and applications of the theories.
• Some students recommended taking 8.02 at the same time to help understand the material on flux.

Course Staff

• Students found TAs helpful and approachable, especially since they did review sessions before exams.
• Some students said the professor (Prof. Staffilani) was not approachable and was not lenient with extensions.

Lectures

• Most students believed they learned from the lecture notes and not the lectures.
• Students went to office hours and did practice problems to reinforce learning.

Problem Sets

• Problem sets contained an online pset and a written pset submission.
• Students found lectures did not prepare them well for psets.
• Students found working in groups helped them work through the psets.
• Students spent 5 or more hours on each pset.

Exams

• Students found the exams straight-forward, but tough to complete in the allotted time.
• Practice problems were how most students prepared for the exams.

Resources

• Most students used the lecture notes extensively.
• Some referred to the course textbook to clarify their understanding.

Grading

• Students felt that grading was transparent but harsh.
• 75% of the grade came from midterms and the final exam.

Advice to Future Students

1. “Doing lots of practice problems is really important”
2. “Work on psets early. Very early, with others, even if you need to bother people, do it!”
3. ”Do the readings and read the lecture notes, even if you already attended lecture.“