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Prep for the fall

Posted: Sun May 14, 2017 7:27 pm
by mjc89
I'm starting grad school in the fall after taking five years off school since finishing my BA. I'm a little rusty, but I plan on working through my UG algebra and analysis texts over the summer. I'm hoping someone who's been in a similar situation could give me some advice. Specifically, I'm wondering if working through some proofs to sharpen my skills will be sufficient, or if I should have all the main theorems from undergrad courses memorized. I know grad classes sometimes recover earlier material, but I'm not sure to what extent. Any advice from people who went to grad school after taking time off - or anyone else who might have some insight - would be much appreciated.

Re: Prep for the fall

Posted: Mon May 15, 2017 2:26 pm
by fiboniz
I am also a little rusty and got some advice from a student in the PhD program I'm attending. For analysis, I've used this YouTube series and found it immensely helpful while working through Rudin Analysis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqEyWLG ... 96F72137EC

I also found the linear algebra course 18.06 SC in the MIT OpenCourseWare very helpful in guiding me through some refreshing of linear algebra topics.

I would not memorize theorems, instead I'd work on your proof writing (formal) and really try to understand at least the basics so you can hit the ground running in the fall. I am retaking Analysis in my program this fall (I took it in my undergrad) just so I can refresh my proof writing and my deeper understanding of math and be well prepared for dissertation writing and better research.

As long as you get the basics down before your program starts, you should be able to keep up without having to go back and relearn things from undergrad. So for the rest of the summer, focus on big topics in Analysis, proof writing skills, and important linear algebra topics like vector spaces/subspaces etc.

Good luck! Glad I'm not the only one studying this summer just to be prepared for the PhD program.