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Thanks yds! I'm going to explore that site thoroughly this evening after work. And concerning tuition, I'm definitely not giving up. If all else fails, I'll simply enroll at the local university and try to transfer if I can get some financial assistance. And at the very worst I can go there for undergraduate school and try to attend a better school for graduate courses later. I've decided that, even though I'm sick of living here and don't care for the school, it beats having to live here forever!
There is a community college near the university I want to attend, and I could take some basic math courses to get me back up to speed while there. But wouldn't I still have to be working full time, or does attending the CC for two years give me the same benefit? I'd have no problem with working while taking a couple of classes per semester at the CC, I'm just not very optimistic about being able to find a job considering the current economic situations. I'm still planning to visit the school in November, so I'll visit the CC as well and ask a lot of questions. Perhaps I should also look around town for job openings while I'm there.
As I have already stated, I personally would not recommend taking remedial math courses at a CC. The costs may be cheaper, but you can teach yourself the basics for free. Not to mention that every basic math course you take is taking the place of a course that could be applied towards your major. Most (all?) science programs at the university level will not apply any math lower than calculus towards your degree. Perhaps an algebra, trig, or pre-calc course could be used to fulfill an elective.
Realistically, you will essentially be paying for tutoring service if you take the basic math courses. If you want that sort of service, you might be better served just finding an actual tutor to study math on your own time.
CCs are cheaper than public universities, and depending on your location, the descripency in tuition and fees could be substantial. The courses that you would take at a CC would, for the most part, be the same courses that you would take in your first two years at a university. The benefit is that you would be getting the same education at a reduced costs. For example, when I was living in California, CSUS was around $3,000 a year for in-state students. The local CC was around $600 a year (this includes books).
Depending on your tax-return status, you should be able to get enough in Pell Grants to cover tuition. If you do require a loan to cover costs, I'd almost bet that you would not need to take out more than $3,000 a year.
CCs also offer a second chance for college students. I mean that in the way of scholarships. For students who had a less than stellar high school GPA, attending a CC is another round of opportunity to prove that you are capable of getting high grades and thus, receiving (more) scholarship money when you transfer.
Of course you can always work your way up to scholarships at a university, but it kind of defeats the purpose if finances are a problem.
My brother was required to take a couple of remedial math courses before he could take even a basic college math class, so I figured I'd probably have to do something similar, but who knows? I guess I would take some sort of placement test first to see what I'm lacking?
My brother was required to take a couple of remedial math courses before he could take even a basic college math class, so I figured I'd probably have to do something similar, but who knows? I guess I would take some sort of placement test first to see what I'm lacking?
At our CC's that's exactly what happens - you take a placement test and then you sign up for the class that's needed.
My brother was required to take a couple of remedial math courses before he could take even a basic college math class, so I figured I'd probably have to do something similar, but who knows? I guess I would take some sort of placement test first to see what I'm lacking?
You take the placement test, and begin at which ever level you are placed. This is done at the CCs and universities (unless you SAT/ACT score was high enough). Here is the catch:
1. You are not required to immediately begin taking these courses. i.e., if you took the placement test today, you would not have to take your first math course next semester.
It's just a placement test.
2. You can take the test as many times as you want, although you might get charged after the third or fourth time ($10 or so per test).
So, you take the test today and get placed in remedial math. You go home and study Paul's Notes, then retake the placement test in two months. You get placed into algebra.
You decide not to take a math course next semester, but you still study using Paul's Notes, and decide to take the placement test one last time. You place into calc I.
Do you what you want, but remember that remedial math courses will not transfer; some are zero credits-so they won't even count towards your GPA. That could be good or bad; taking one or two remedial courses will take time/space away from other courses that you need or want.
Go ahead and spend $100's of dollars taking remedial courses, perhaps a grand or more, or just study on your own time, take the placement test (perhaps a few times), and get into the higher level math courses.
Yes, my brother's remedial classes didn't contribute to his credit hours. Which is good because he failed the first one and barely passed the second one. I am planning to try to re-learn in my own time a lot of the math I should have learned in high school before I start college. I guess when it comes to math I'm still pretty pessimistic and just assumed I still wouldn't cut it when I take the placement test. But that's not the way I should be thinking! I have to work on that.
i disagree with k-luv. if you are on here admitting that you are weak in math skills, i would strongly recommend taking the placement test, sucking it up and starting out in the class they tell you that you belong in. i HATED math in high school and only made it as high as consumer math (no algebra at all) in 11th grade. i didn't go to college until 8yrs later and was, like yourself, terrified to even begin college because of the math that was involved. i took the placement test and was placed in elementary algebra. i took that along with english, history, and art appreciation. i personally believe that the classroom structure was paramount to my learning and understanding algebra. i got a C in that first class, then was just under a B in intermediate algebra. i got a B in college algebra at the end of the day. yes, the two remedial classes didn't count towards anything credit-wise, but were key to my success in getting through what i had to do. trying to learn algebra online would have been worthless to me. plus, you can still take other classes at the same time you are in the remedial math classes. in the grand scheme of things, i think you are better off in a classroom setting with other people like yourself working through equations and having them explained by an in-person professor, as opposed to piecemealing your understanding. anyway - just my two cents.
I started browsing Paul's math notes, and (unless I'm overlooking a very basic tutorial on the site) the very first lesson was over my head. But after looking at the "links" page, I came across a web site called Algebra.help.com. It has lessons and there is a quiz/worksheet at the end of each lesson. So I started with the first lesson, which was just basic Algebra equations. I read it, took the 20 question quiz, and got 95% correct. And the one I missed was actually just an input error. For some reason I entered the answer as -4 when on my paper where I worked out the problem I had solved it correctly, and gotten 4 as the answer. So had it not been for that I would have gotten 100%.
The second lesson deals with basic proportions. I read it and the quiz seemed fairly easy, but when I clicked the button to check my answers, I missed the last three and my score was 85%. These three questions were the only three involving two variables instead of one, which the tutorial covered and I thought I understood. The site has a calculator, and for each problem you can click on a step-by-step button that, using the calculator, shows you how to correctly work out the answer. For these three problems the calculator showed several extra steps that I don't quite grasp, and the answers for each problem are two numbers: the positive number, like my answer, and its negative counterpart. So where I answered "3", the actual answer is "3, -3". I think I understand why this is, but I'm not sure. Is it because both positive and negative numbers would make the expression true? I can grasp that, though looking at how the calculator comes to that conclusion is still baffling to me. And it would have been nice if there had been any mention of that in the tutorial, but instead they just show the answer as a single, positive number.
Example:
3 = x
x = 3
I cross-multiplied:
x * x = 3 * 3 or x2 = 9
I answered "x = 3" But the correct answer is " x = (3, -3)" The calculator shows the process like this:
3 = x
x = 3
Cross multiply:
3 * 3 = x * x
Simplifying
3 * 3 = x * x
Multiply
3 * 3
9 = x * x
Multiply
x * x
9 = x2
Solving
9 = x2
(I understand just fine up until this: )
Solving for variable 'x'.
Move all terms containing x to the left, all other terms to the right.
Add '-1x2' to each side of the equation.
9 + -1x2 = x2 + -1x2
Combine like terms:
x2 + -1x2 = 0 9 + -1x2 = 0
Add '-9' to each side of the equation.
9 + -9 + -1x2 = 0 + -9
You seem very literate to me - you write well and your post is well thought out. You also sound very motivated and I think 31 is a great age to return to - or to begin college!
Now here is some other news - there actually ARE some people who can not learn math. It is true. There are people out there who cannot learn math.
Many people do not believe them, they try to chalk it up to gender, or age. Sometimes that is true but not always.
I am not diagnosing you by any means, but this could be the problem. If it is, you deserve to find out.
1. A psychologist can test you to determine if you do have this problem.
2. Many colleges offer modified programs for students with math disorders.
This is a REAL learning disorder and it is just a valid as dyslexia.
3. Check out Peterson's Guide for Students With Learning Disabilities, ( I am almost sure that it's Peterson's) There are many colleges and universities that wave the math requirement for students with a documented math disorder.
4. If you have this probelm, no amount of study, practice.tutoring or remediation will help.
This does not mean you are stupid!
You are not alone! Keep in touch and let me know what happens!
~Sheena
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