I got a 62% on my math placement which got me into college algebra and I was wondering if that will affect me? I’m kinda mad at myself right now because when I was taking the test I thought it was a practice test so I didn’t try on it, until the end where it gave me my score and I realized that I TOOK THE REAL TEST. I want to get into engineering and I have A’s on my AP Calculus grades, so getting placed into College Algebra really hurts. Is there anything I can do?
What school? Does it give you the option to restudy/retake the test?
For engineering, starting in algebra will almost certainly delay your graduation. Most engineering programs want you to start in calculus 1 to finish in four years.
Yes it does give me an option to retake but it will be $41
I guess you’ll have to weigh the pros and cons for yourself, but to me $41 and some studying would be worth saving an extra year (if you would have to take algebra and then trig/precalc before getting to calc 1) in college tuition.
Man this is such as waste of time, only if I wasn’t dumb and tried my hardest.
I would retake the test so you are properly placed. If the money is a huge problem, call the school, explain your mistake, and see if you could possibly get a waiver for the cost of the retake.
Agree with contacting school. ^^ The money you will spend on additional math courses is going to be much more than the $41 to retake, but try to get some help with it if you need it by asking the school if they can help you out.
Here’s my feeling on placement tests: they shouldn’t require a ton of studying. I think you should show up and show them what you really know, not what you’re prepared to cram into your head for the duration of the test.
That way, you end up placed into the course that fits your real knowledge, not the crammed in short term knowledge.
You took the test. Whether or not you thought it was a practice test, you put down the answers you thought were right. You showed them that you should be in college algebra. Perhaps that’s where you should be?
If you think otherwise, then I agree with the others: $41 is a small price to pay.
@bjkmom I agree, but the issue seems not to be the lack of studying but rather that the OP said that he/she “did not try” on the test thinking it was just a practice. I could see a scenario where thinking a test was just a practice that a person didn’t complete all the questions, do all the calculations for problems they knew how to do etc.
And to the OP, you are in college now and you will need to work and function more independently. Be sure to read all instructions/directions very carefully going forward and carefully note any deadlines. Seems to me that $41 is not too terrible of a price to learn that lesson.
@happy1 @bjkmom On the placement test there was an option for “I don’t know”, which was for questions you have no knowledge on or seen before, and my lazy butt clicked that when I didn’t want to do a question that took to long to solve. You are both right, I should have read the instructions carefully and not just randomly skim through it thinking I knew everything. But I’m thinking that $41 is not a bad price to pay for my stupidity. Thanks for the help everyone.