Professor
Patrick Flynn
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2023 - Everything in this class could have been fine. The weekly quizzles consisted of homework questions from the previous week with different constants. The midterm exams were very fair and rather simple if you reviewed the homework problems beforehand. Then there was the final. Oh boy. To put it simply, this was a very, very misleading statement: "if you have been on top of the homework, and felt that the midterms and quizzes were do-able, there shouldn't be any big surprises on the exam!" -Professor Flynn, 2023 I honestly feel like the questions on the final were reasonable for this kind of class, it's just that the material taught and assigned did not accurately reflect what was on the exam. I'm just glad Patrick ended up curving at the end.
Fall 2023 - Everything in this class could have been fine. The weekly quizzles consisted of homework questions from the previous week with different constants. The midterm exams were very fair and rather simple if you reviewed the homework problems beforehand. Then there was the final. Oh boy. To put it simply, this was a very, very misleading statement: "if you have been on top of the homework, and felt that the midterms and quizzes were do-able, there shouldn't be any big surprises on the exam!" -Professor Flynn, 2023 I honestly feel like the questions on the final were reasonable for this kind of class, it's just that the material taught and assigned did not accurately reflect what was on the exam. I'm just glad Patrick ended up curving at the end.
Most Helpful Review
Fall 2024 - I am an applied math major senior student who have taken most of the upper div math courses and here is my individual experience: Patrick is a kind and approachable(also sweet and cute!) instructor who brings a lot of enthusiasm to the topics he enjoys, making him engaging and easy to connect with if you want to dive deeper into the subject matter. As a senior, I find his teaching style very appealing, as he explains not just what to learn but also why it matters and how to apply it, whether in mechanical physics or more abstract concepts(for me it's necessary for exploring PDE/ODE in future interest). However, his pacing can sometimes feel inconsistent—occasionally moving too quickly or too slowly and occasionally skipping necessary explanations. The course includes 2 midterms and 1 final exam, and I found his exams to be fair and reasonable, though sometimes tricky(just challenge urself). They are based entirely on the material covered in class, so if you thoroughly review the notes and genuinely understand the homework, you should be well-prepared to earn a good grade(not kidding!). Patrick is also very generous with partial credit, which I appreciated. While some students felt the final exam was particularly challenging, I personally didn’t think it was unfair. In fact, the mean score of around 70 was curved up to 89, which is crazy(in my experience 70 is a normal mean for a math courses and prof only adds 10%) and demonstrates Patrick’s generosity and desire to see his students succeed. I personally think he doesn’t design problems to 'trick' you; instead, they are closely tied to the homework, so consistent effort in completing and reviewing assignments really pays off(in my experience). The biggest challenge in the course was that the lecture notes often lagged behind the pace of the class. That said, Patrick provided notes in LaTeX format that were clear and helpful. It’s worth noting that this might have been his first time doing this kind of notes so some growing pains are understandable. I believe he’ll improve in future iterations because of how much he genuinely cares about his students’ learning. He is always willing to answer questions via email or during office hours, and he’s great at explaining concepts and providing thoughtful suggestions. On top of that, Patrick has a good sense of humor and does his best to help students relax during stressful times. The homework typically consists of around 10 problems per assignment, which can be time-consuming, but in my experience, this is standard for math courses. Rather than viewing it as excessive, I believe the homework is essential for preparing us for future challenges, fostering deeper exploration and understanding. At the start of the course, we fell behind on the homework schedule, sometimes by as much as two lectures, which felt chaotic and frustrating. However, Patrick managed to catch up after the first midterm. Hopefully, he will improve his pacing in future courses to avoid such issues. Overall, you'll really be fine if you 1. do homework 2. go to OH/send email if you have questions, his replies email very fast.
Fall 2024 - I am an applied math major senior student who have taken most of the upper div math courses and here is my individual experience: Patrick is a kind and approachable(also sweet and cute!) instructor who brings a lot of enthusiasm to the topics he enjoys, making him engaging and easy to connect with if you want to dive deeper into the subject matter. As a senior, I find his teaching style very appealing, as he explains not just what to learn but also why it matters and how to apply it, whether in mechanical physics or more abstract concepts(for me it's necessary for exploring PDE/ODE in future interest). However, his pacing can sometimes feel inconsistent—occasionally moving too quickly or too slowly and occasionally skipping necessary explanations. The course includes 2 midterms and 1 final exam, and I found his exams to be fair and reasonable, though sometimes tricky(just challenge urself). They are based entirely on the material covered in class, so if you thoroughly review the notes and genuinely understand the homework, you should be well-prepared to earn a good grade(not kidding!). Patrick is also very generous with partial credit, which I appreciated. While some students felt the final exam was particularly challenging, I personally didn’t think it was unfair. In fact, the mean score of around 70 was curved up to 89, which is crazy(in my experience 70 is a normal mean for a math courses and prof only adds 10%) and demonstrates Patrick’s generosity and desire to see his students succeed. I personally think he doesn’t design problems to 'trick' you; instead, they are closely tied to the homework, so consistent effort in completing and reviewing assignments really pays off(in my experience). The biggest challenge in the course was that the lecture notes often lagged behind the pace of the class. That said, Patrick provided notes in LaTeX format that were clear and helpful. It’s worth noting that this might have been his first time doing this kind of notes so some growing pains are understandable. I believe he’ll improve in future iterations because of how much he genuinely cares about his students’ learning. He is always willing to answer questions via email or during office hours, and he’s great at explaining concepts and providing thoughtful suggestions. On top of that, Patrick has a good sense of humor and does his best to help students relax during stressful times. The homework typically consists of around 10 problems per assignment, which can be time-consuming, but in my experience, this is standard for math courses. Rather than viewing it as excessive, I believe the homework is essential for preparing us for future challenges, fostering deeper exploration and understanding. At the start of the course, we fell behind on the homework schedule, sometimes by as much as two lectures, which felt chaotic and frustrating. However, Patrick managed to catch up after the first midterm. Hopefully, he will improve his pacing in future courses to avoid such issues. Overall, you'll really be fine if you 1. do homework 2. go to OH/send email if you have questions, his replies email very fast.
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