I know every undergraduate student needs to complete the gen eds, so even if my major does not need a high level math class, am I still required to fulfill the analytical reasonings gen ed requirement?
Yes. All students are required to fulfill all gen ed requirements, regardless of major. Gen eds may be fulfilled by AP/Transfer credit also.
Note that if you can handle Calc I, you can kill 2 birds with one stone as it fulfills both FSAR and FSMA (MATH 130, 140, 140H or 220 - note that 220 is elementary calculus I). You have 4 years to get it done. So, watch testudo carefully (go here for gen ed selections https://ntst.umd.edu/soc/gen-ed/201608) each semester (options do change!) for who is teaching what and use ourumd.com for insight into teachers (take all reviews with a grain of salt as only students with really good or really bad experience tend to be motivated to write reviews AND also be careful to note if the review is for the exact class (same course number) you are interested in…it definitely can make a difference).
For example,if you want to try calc 220, which is elementary calc, one of the teachers is Lawrence Washington. While he has not taught 220 previously, here is a general sense of him http://www.ourumd.com/reviews/Washington,%20L which you can compare to another teacher for the same class, Timothy Pilachowski http://www.ourumd.com/prof/Pilachowski,%20T.
If you don’t want to try Calc, then maybe PHIL170 (Intro to Logic) might be a good option this Fall when S.Woo is teaching http://www.ourumd.com/prof/Woo,%20S BUT note that the review and grade distribution listed is for a DIFFERENT class - PHIL140 not 170, so it’s still an unknown as to how difficult this particular course is.
@maryversity Thank you so much for the links! They were extremely helpful! I was just wondering if you knew which of the three—calc, elem calc, and philosophy seem to be easier? I already have a credit for the FSMA requirement and if possible, would only like a credit that fulfills the FSAR requirement. I would like to take the class at my community college and transfer that credit to Maryland when I transfer in for the Fall.
No problem. Unfortunately, I can’t know what would be easier for you as everyone has different strengths. I am NOT a math person by any stretch of the imagination, but my son is an engineer, so math comes naturally to him. Where you would like to avoid analytical reasoning, he would have preferred to avoid humanities. However, Maryland is really pretty awesome in the variety of offerings to fulfill gen eds. With perhaps the exception of FSAR, which seems to be all about stats/probability within a variety of fields, most gen eds have some pretty good/interesting options with a wider range. So, from my personal standpoint, I might go for the philosophy/logic class? If you are somewhat ok in math but just don’t prefer it, you might want to go for the elementary calc…?
Daughter at another university was looking to take the easiest math possible because she doesn’t like it (even though she is actually decent at math and got an impressive math score on SAT). Turns out the “easy” math class is actually harder to understand than the straight up calc class because the beauty of that math is that there is one right answer. The “easy” math is more fuzzy crap and not as straight forward right/wrong.
If you are looking to take the class at a community college, be sure that the class you sign up for will actually count for credit in the area you want it to. Use this link - https://ntst.umd.edu/tce/ Just plug in the community college and state to get a database of specific courses – and it will tell you if it has a direct equivalent at Maryland.
Use this link to help interpret the data http://transfercredit.umd.edu/tcdbhelp.html.
As an example, say you attend Hagerstown Community College, the only classes that transfer to fulfill the FSAR requirement are MAT106, MAT109, MAT119, MAT164 and MAT203 as per this database of pre-evaluated courses for transfer credit https://ntst.umd.edu/tce/display-inst-courses.html?instCode=524210
Finally, one other option to consider is study abroad. I highly recommend it. Not only is it a great experience, but you can get some gen eds done there as an alternative
@maryversity Wow! Thank you! I am going to be an English major, so I would prefer not to take any math. I think I will try the philosophy class. But I would most likely still have to take the math placement test, right? And would you possibly know what math English majors have to take to fulfill the math requirement? (Pre-Calc or Calc 1)?
Haha, I totally understand not wanting any unnecessary math…I don’t know what the requirements are for English majors, but they will go over that with you at orientation (Maryland is pretty good about providing sample 4 year plans to help you pick classes). If u need to know before your orientation date (to meet a community college class registration deadline), I would email the departmental advising staff.
My S who is not good at math at all and is a Gov’t and Politics Major, is currently taking STAT and not only thinks it is ok as a class he is actually doing well in it. STAT fulfills his math requirement and seems to be relatively painless.
Thank you! @maryversity
I will definitely look into that as well, thank you for the information! @rocklandmom