[commandlinefan]

> the upper-division undergraduate math department course called "Algebra"

And be careful what you wish for - the way eighth-grade algebra hurt your brain when you were 13 will be nothing compared to the way abstract algebra will hurt your brain when you're 20.

[anthk]

In my case abstract algebra was much easier to grasp than polynomials with no context.

[dllthomas]

... in a good way.

I liked "high school" algebra okay, but group theory was fun, even if homework was sometimes spending hours and pages to wind up with a 10 line proof.