(I’m not sure where in the forum I’m suppose to ask this, so I apologize if I happen to have placed it in the wrong area)
I’m planning to enter Community College in the Fall of 2016 as a General Major due to my family’s financial instability. (I was originally going to go in for Physical Therapy but the schooling is not only long but expensive as well…)
Due to how I am entering in as a General Major I was planning to take Calculus since I noticed that a lot of majors seem to require this math course (Like Biology, Computer Science (I am a bit interested in this field), and Business).
Unfortunately I found out that at my C.C. the only way they allow students to enter Calculus on their first semester is if they either took AP Calculus (Which I did not take) or if they pass their proficiency test…
I just took the proficiency test and unfortunately it was difficult (According to the lady I spoke with she informed me that barely any one passes their test), and I was unable to pass… therefore in order for me to take Calculus 1, I must take the long route (take Algebra, Precalc. and then Calculus).
I’m confused cause I’m not sure if I should risk NOT taking Calculus in case I do become interested in a field that requires it…
Therefore my question is this
Is it worth it for me to take Calculus and go through Algebra and Precalc courses (which is extra money for my family) in order for me to take the class? Precalc and Algebra do not fulfill my math requirement and apparently are not accepted by many top colleges which I plan to strive for… The only pro is that they lead the path to allow me to take calculus at C.C.
Or should I just take Statistics (Which fulfills my Math course requirement and is only one course).
I’m not really sure what to do in this situation, so any advice will be greatly appreciated!
@dream98 What math courses have you taken so far (in high school or elsewhere)?
If you did not pass the placement exam into calculus, then you are most likely not ready. I’ve tutored calculus to several students in the past, and some of them lacked the algebra, trig, and pre-calc background necessary to do well.
If you wish to take calculus at your CC, look at the pre-requisite courses needed and see which one should be at your level. They may let you place into a lower-level one (e.g. pre-calculus).
I took Algebra, Precalculus, and Calculus in High School. I got an A+ in Algebra and Precalc, and got an A- in Calculus.
Unfortunately, I am not allowed to enter into Precalc since I was not able to pass the Proficiency Test (If I passed this the C.C. would have let me take either Precalc or Calculus…).
Since I did not pass this test I must take Algebra in order to enter into Precalc, and then take Precalc to be able to take Calculus.
So basically I must take two extra courses (that aren’t generally accepted by a lot of top tier colleges and don’t fill up my math course requirement) in order to be able to take Calculus as a course…
I’m just not sure if I should go through the long route to take Calculus (Which is a course required by many majors and a course that requires me to spend more money on two extra courses) or just go through the easier route and take statistics (Which fills up my math course requirement and is only one course)…
@dream98 sounds like you will need to review algebra and pre-calculus well, if you wish to take calculus. How long ago did you take those courses? It seems like taking those courses again will slow you down 3 semesters or so.
If you’re planning on applying to top-tier colleges (as a transfer?) as a biology, CS, or business major, you really should have calculus under your belt.
If you take statistics, make sure that you have satisfied the pre-requisites (it may require algebra and/or pre-calc, more advanced statistics classes generally require calculus and linear algebra).
In my experience, many students who earned high grades in HS Math don’t do as well as they could/should on proficiency tests because their algebra skills are ‘rusty’ from disuse. Will they allow you to take the test again? If so, then I would suggest studying up on algebra/trig and retaking, with the hope of at least placing into Precalculus.
Which test did they use?
I understand your CC’s Calc policy; we have found that too many HS Calc and Precalc courses are weak on the underlying Algebra skills required to do well in college-level Calc courses. I suspect that if the proficiency test placed you two steps below Calc, then you would not have earned a good Calc I grade if you had been allowed to enroll.
If you intend to major in a STEM field, then you will have to take at least two Calc courses. While taking a Stats class may be helpful to you in certain disciplines, you are still going to need the Calc classes.
Did you speak with an advisor or the chairperson of the Math Department to see if another evaluation is possible? Every CC is different on this, but some may change the placement based on high school performance or may allow you to take a different type of placement evaluation. It is worth at least looking into these possibilities.