18.600 knowledge is required, although some students thought classes such as 6.042 or 18.05 gave the necessary background.
Some knowledge of linear algebra and exposure to analysis was necessary.
Subject Matter
Content was mostly theoretical.
Most of the theorems weren’t proved in class.
Course Staff
Most found the course staff was approachable and caring.
Lectures
Lectures could be very vague and confusing.
Many students found lectures to be engaging and had high participation.
Students recommended using OCW to supplement lectures.
Problem Sets
Difficulty varied from problem set to problem set.
Oftentimes were direct applications of the theorems presented in class.
Exams
Exams were straightforward and standard.
Some students complained on the large weight given to individual true/false questions, where 10% of your grade was lost for a wrong answer to one of the true/false questions.
One student thought the lack of an equation sheet required a lot of memorization before exams.
Resources
Many thought the OCW was a useful supplement to lectures.
There was no official textbook.
Lecture slides and a set of typed notes were made available, though many found the notes to not be helpful.
Grading
Students generally found the grading to be lenient and fair.
Advice to Future Students
“Brush up on your basic linear algebra and review probability distributions.”
“Only take this class if you want to get a theoretical foundation, and expect to learn for yourself, as you can’t really rely on the staff.”
”A great course for introduction to statistics. It gets easier after the first two weeks.”