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I have been kind of disturbed by some recent posts where people have said that they did no or possibly could not graduate from college without passing Math, most often Algebra.
That's sad to me. People have different skills and gifts and some people are more Right brained, creative, and language oriented while others are more left brained, mathematically oriented. I know that's terribly;y simplistic, but you get the idea.
Back in the mid 70s through early eighties, there were many good colleges that did not require any mathematics in order to graduate. In fact, it was looking as though General Education, or Distributional Requirements were going to be a thing of the past.
However, at most colleges and universities by the late 80s they were back in full force.
I started wondering if there were, other than Harvard, any 4 year institutions that did not require mathematics and I thought I'd share my initial findings. I still need to completely verify them though.
There are some, but not many. According to what I have read the following schools do not require one Math course in order to graduate -
Earlham
Brown
Hiram
Bard
Evergreen
Kenyon
and Smith
There are colleges that permit a Science Substitution for those with a diagnoses of Dyscauclia. Many people, including the Spell Check on my computer, have never heard of Dyscaculia.
Essentially it's dyslexia but with numbers.
While doing my research I came across some forums where people got down right mean and nasty at the thought that a person could graduate from college with out an understanding of Math. People were calling others "Morons" "Lazy" "hopeless" and worse.
It's funny, we do not ask STEM majors to write a poem or short story in order to graduate. They just need to read one, or several, and write down what they think of it. They need to know a few famous poets and short story writers and the type of literature they write. But, they do not actually need to WORK in prose or poetry. Just know about it.
After all, they are never going to actually need to write a poem, a story or a book. And I agree with that.
However Right Brained folks do not only need to know what calculus, algebra, and trigonometry are, what they are used for and be able to spout off the names of a few famous mathematicians, they need to WORK mathematical problems when in fact they are never going to need to solve an equation or what ever else those people do because I haven't done it or needed it since ...1980 something...
It's not exactly fair.
ANYWAY - Please add to my already scanty list. Really don't want to argue about who needs Math or doesn't. I would just like to compile a list of colleges that don't require math.
I believe that the OP has a right to suggest that people stay on-topic for her thread. Please feel free to start a different thread if you'd like to talk about the need for basic math for college graduates.
Good News! I have yet another college to include to our ever growing list - Mount Holyoke College in South Hadway MA.
It is indeed interesting that many of these colleges and universities fall into the Highly Competitive category.
Mount Holyoke is indeed a good school. It combines access to the sort of coursework available at a large state university (through the 5 colleges consortium) with the warm, personal touch available at a small, liberal arts college. However, it does require coursework in mathematics.
Mount Holyoke is indeed a good school. It combines access to the sort of coursework available at a large state university (through the 5 colleges consortium) with the warm, personal touch available at a small, liberal arts college. However, it does require coursework in mathematics.
I will look into this. My source was secondary, not primary and was gleaned from the Dyscaculia web site, which I find in my work to be accurate.Your informational taken from the college web site or catalog reflects the mission statement of the college. It could be that they do not require mathematics, per se, and except a substitution in the sciences. Also if you will re-read the mission statement, science and mathematics are taken as one People with Dycalculia are often quite interested in, and skilled at Science, as long as there is a not a heavy math component.
Momma_bear, you do seem to know quite a lot about colleges and universities. Almost as much as I do. Perhaps you could put some of that ability into researching some colleges that accept substitutions for Math courses, for people who are Dyscalculiac, have a limited aptitude for Math, or are simply not interested in taking more math than they absolutely need. Some students are more interested in certain subjects than others.
There are many students who have excellent grades, and board scores, who score well on the SAT II subject tests, are intellectually curious and motivated academically, but do not wish to study college algebra.
These students are not academic slouches. The want to learn and want to obtain an undergraduate degree and in many cases a graduate degree. It would be tragic if students such as these were denied this opportunity because of a deficiency or a disinterest in one subject.
At any rate our moderator has spoken and you are welcome to be involved with this thread (Mod cut)
You are also free to start your own thread about the importance of mathematics. I personally will not be visiting that particular thread. I think that I have made my opinions about this apparent, and to express them further would be redundant, and would serve no purpose.
Also, I did not appreciate being called out and told to "buck up" and to take a math course or learn to live without a college degree, or something to that effect. Your comment was rude and uncalled for.
If you did more than skim the thread, you would have read that this is not my personal attempt to "get out" of taking college mathematics. In fact I took a college Mathematics class voluntarily, back in the 1978 or 9s as an undergraduate at Clark University. Later, I graduated from Stony Brook University, with distinction. I have done graduate work and I am twelve credits away from my MA, which I expect to complete in 2014. I am also a Registered Nurse, although I have been inactive in the profession for several years. I am currently seeking certification as an Independent Educational Adviser. That is part of my interest in this field.
The other part is indirectly personal. It is very tragic and it involves a close friend of mine. Her daughter is one grade ahead of my than my son, who is a freshman at college, recently failed at her third attempt at remedial mathematics. She is a brilliant young woman and a Comparative Literature major, with a Minor in Art History. She attended an elite public high school where she was a member of The National Honors Society, The French, Italian and German clubs, and was foreign exchange student. She did an internship at a world famous Art Museum and is a loving and deeply compassionate person who is an ethical vegetarian. She was a member of the Bell Choir and Vocal Choir at our church. She was in my son's confirmation class at church and she traveled to New Orleans with my son and other youth from our church several years back, sacrificing their spring vacation to help rebuild homes devastated in the wake of hurricane Katrina. She and my children are close friends.
Because she failed remedial mathematics, for a third time, she became extremely depressed over winter break and began talking about not returning to her college.
Her self esteem was badly wounded and she fell into a depression, that required hospitalization. This is a student who never took a remedial course in her life, and she has found herself at age twenty, failing her third. She was always a high achiever and the failure in a subject that in which she has no particular interest, was a huge blow to her young ego,
As I write this, she is once again in a psychiatric unit of a hospital. She feels worthless and incapable, for the first time in her young life. Her parents at my behest, are having her tested for Dyscalculia.
There is a large disparity in her SAT scores, with the two verbal scores in the 700s and the quantitative score in the low 500s. This is much like myself. However, with a score in the 500s, there is a possibility of her not being an actual Dyscaluliac. It is possible that she simply is not strong in math and dislikes it. She and her parents are hoping that she is Dyscauliac. That would be the bast of all outcomes.
Fortunately, her attempt at suicide was unsuccessful. This could have been even more tragic. Than it was. The sad thing is, this once bright, ebullient, and witty young woman is now on anti depressants and tranquilizers. In stead of studying the plethora of subjects in which she does excel, she is confined to a psychiatric hospital. I detest the smug and judgmental bureaucrats who make regulations such as this one that has so deeply effected my friends daughter.
Now, the young woman never wants to study mathematics again. I don't blame her. But instead of hating math, as she once did; she now hates herself, her college, and must leave her friends and start anew.
When she is well enough, she will take a battery of tests to determine if she meets the diagnostic criteria to be exempted from math. If she does, she will be covered under The Americans with disabilities Act. If she does not actually have Dyscalculia, she faces the task of finding a college or university that will not force her to take a subject that almost killed her.
Last edited by toobusytoday; 02-11-2013 at 11:25 AM..
Reason: Please don't chastise other posters.
I read through the Mt. Holyoke gen ed requirements, and they require two courses from the math/science areas, one of which must be a lab science. The only way to avoid math is to take two science courses, one of which must be the lab science, which will have a lot of math in it. In other words, there is no way to avoid doing math there, although the word "math" or the name of a math course might not show up on the transcript.
I read through the Mt. Holyoke gen ed requirements, and they require two courses from the math/science areas, one of which must be a lab science. The only way to avoid math is to take two science courses, one of which must be the lab science, which will have a lot of math in it. In other words, there is no way to avoid doing math there, although the word "math" or the name of a math course might not show up on the transcript.
As someone who struggles greatly with math involving algebra, and who has taken three college science courses with lab components, this would work beautifully for me. I have no issue with success in the lab sciences, and if I had that option for my degree I would be thrilled. I can do basic arithmetic, but not college algebra. Even so, I really didn't use much math in the labs I've had anyway (A&P, Modern Biology, and Environmental Biology).
As someone who struggles greatly with math involving algebra, and who has taken three college science courses with lab components, this would work beautifully for me. I have no issue with success in the lab sciences, and if I had that option for my degree I would be thrilled. I can do basic arithmetic, but not college algebra. Even so, I really didn't use much math in the labs I've had anyway (A&P, Modern Biology, and Environmental Biology).
There was a ton of math required in my general chem labs. I had to buy a slide rule (giving away my age here), which I had never seen before.
There was a ton of math required in my general chem labs. I had to buy a slide rule (giving away my age here), which I had never seen before.
Well okay I can see that, but I would assume that a person would not have to choose chemistry. There are often plenty of other course options with a lab component. I didn't look at that school's specific course options but I am just making that assumption based on my own school experiences both at community college and a large state university, as well as my research into other schools in general and their requirements.
I read through the Mt. Holyoke gen ed requirements, and they require two courses from the math/science areas, one of which must be a lab science. The only way to avoid math is to take two science courses, one of which must be the lab science, which will have a lot of math in it. In other words, there is no way to avoid doing math there, although the word "math" or the name of a math course might not show up on the transcript.
That actually works fine for most dycalculiacs, Since Math is only a percentage of the course content,and seldom is it more than 25%, that is generally enough to pass the course. They are not looking for As in that particular course. The science component is not they problem, and as I mentioned earlier, many dyscaluliacs enjoy science.
Mount Holyoke is defiantly a dicalculiac friendly college. The colleges formerly known as "The Seven Sisters", seem to be exceedingly dycalculiac sensitive. Perhaps because they all began as women's colleges and some still are, and a disproportionate amount of people living with dyscaculia are women.
And who said anything about taking chemistry? There are plenty of other less mathy sciences with labs.
That actually works fine for most dycalculiacs, Since Math is only a percentage of the course content,and seldom is it more than 25%, that is generally enough to pass the course. They are not looking for As in that particular course. The science component is not they problem, and as I mentioned earlier, many dyscaluliacs enjoy science.
Mount Holyoke is defiantly a dicalculiac friendly college. The colleges formerly known as "The Seven Sisters", seem to be exceedingly dycalculiac sensitive. Perhaps because they all began as women's colleges and some still are, and a disproportionate amount of people living with dyscaculia are women.
And who said anything about taking chemistry? There are plenty of other less mathy sciences with labs.
I was giving an example from my personal experience. General chem was required for nursing at the University of Pittsburgh. No math courses per se were required at that time for the nursing program.
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Perhaps you could put some of that ability into researching some colleges that accept substitutions for Math courses, for people who are Dyscalculiac, have a limited aptitude for Math, or are simply not interested in taking more math than they absolutely need. Some students are more interested in certain subjects than others.
