Mechanical Engineering · Columbia University
20 percent HWs, 40 percent midterm, 40 percent final. The median on the midterm and final was about 92 to 93 percent. Exams are super easy with extra credit opportunities with on time submissions of homeworks and extra problems on the exam which are easy as well. This class is extremely easy if Myers is teaching it!
30% Problem Sets, 20% each for midterm and “final, 25% final project, 5% participation. Final project is due before thanksgiving and there are no problem sets during that time so managing a project and a final isn’t bad at all.
She is the easiest professor one can receive for Solids. She goes step by step and does not assume previous knowledge most times. Class is systematic and has a clear flow. Objectives and expectations are clear and very reasonable. She posts her notes which are so concise yet cover everything. And she talks about her research in the class and takes examples from that and it is so inspiring and effective as it is a direct link with the concepts she is teaching. Simply put, she is amazing. Hands down one of the best professors Columbia has both in terms of teaching and research.
Professor Myers was a good teacher. She explained things very clearly in class, provided a lot of examples ranging in difficulty, and her problems reflected applications in industry. Her midterm and non-cumulative final (i.e. a second midterm) aren’t super hard. The second one is easier because the material is easier and there is less material due to more guest lecturers. Thus, it’s nice that the second half of her class is more chill than the first, because most other courses are the opposite. I wouldn’t agree with other reviewers that you don’t need to study for the midterm and final. You should study for them, but you don’t need to study for them as much as, say, a physics midterm or final. Definitely study more for the midterm. The guest lecturers were usually quite interesting, and I think they added a lot to the course. The problem sets in this class aren’t too difficult but you still learn from them. Overall, I found this a helpful class for learning about mechanical engineering in a low stress environment. If you are unsure about MechE, like myself, I would recommend this class in a heartbeat.
Pretty reasonable. Approximately 1 pset a week that would take a few hours, and two exams. She would also adjust deadlines if she knew weeks were heavy (since most of the class were Mechanical Engineering Juniors) and she was pretty understanding with deadlines. Occasionally psets would take a bit longer, or studying for exams would take some time, but by far one of my least stressful engineering courses. Grade breakdown: 20% HW, 40% Midterm, 40% Final -- Exams were straightforward so the large weighting wasn't overly stressful.
Problem set due every week (some problems are a little difficult and can take some time), 30% Midterm (easier than or same level as the problem sets), 25% Final Project (it consumes some time), 20% Final Exam (same level of difficulty as midterm), 25%
The teaching style is engaging and you cover a lot of important content. Myers does spend quite a bit of time on traction vectors, which are ultimately pretty straightforward to grasp so some of the middle lectures get repetitive, but otherwise there is a lot of focus on information that would be useful in other classes and in your career as an engineer, and homeworks and exams accurately reflected what was learned in class. Lectures also did a strong job of teaching you the content, and I found that I didn't need to study much outside of class to do the homeworks or do well on exams.
Overall, Prof Myers was a great professor. She is always willing to answer any question you may have. Prof Myers basically does everything she can to give everyone an A because (1) she gives you the opportunity to use a cheat sheet during the midterm and final, (2) she makes her exams really easy, and (3) she is lenient when it comes to grading the final project that you have to do at the end of the semester. The class is a GPA booster, but you have to work for it. It helps if you've taken AP Physics B.
Her grading for psets can be a little bit strict, depending on the TA grading, since the rubric is very objective. Just make sure to cross-reference with others. There are about ten psets for the semester that take about two hours each to complete. Some of the SOLIDWORKs tutorials may take a little bit longer if you are unfamiliar with the software. Overall, about average to lighter than the average course load for a mech-e class. 20 pset - 40 midterm - 40 final grade distribution
A problem set every week or so that takes from 30 to 120 minutes. No studying needed for midterm and exam if you the exam sheets. Wonderful class, learned alot with minimal effort.