Optmization Exam

Phew..Its over..I have to write this post. I just realized how I fooled myself through my 4 years of engineering in India. I think this was my first hard core engineering class at Stanford. And I realised that I was not even able to conceptualize simple concepts. I have never done assignments on my own and specially such challenging ones. It is interesting to see how one's thinking evolves as one gets ingrained into the American education system. I hate it when others in my class are able to solve the problems in minutes which take me hours. But I guess it is the price one pays for not doing much thinking during the undergrad days. I sometimes wish I had come to America directly to study after 12th. I love the education system here. It is so real compared to the one in India. How can we change this? Not only are we made to prepare for the "specific questions" which come in exams, but given solutions for everything. If the solution is not available with the teacher, the tutor will have it. It is one big eco system which feeds on each other. The teachers have stopped teaching and the tutors make money. It wans't so bad when I was in school. I barely had tuitions for 1oth and 12th, mostly for Maths, which I infact loved. Somehow I believe now that the reason I loved it was because it was easy to apply what I was told to.Here I have to think of everything!!!Better late than never....