So, I’ve faced a good amount of test anxiety when it comes to anything related to math. No matter how much I prepare, I usually mess up on the test (i.e. this has happened a lot the past few weeks, mixing pi/6 and pi/3 up in terms of degree values) due to silly mistakes or rushed times. I’m Asian, and so is roughly the majority (>70%, let’s leave it at that) of my school. It feels really bad to be this bad at math for an Asian. Here’s what my grades and test scores reflect:
8th Grade: Algebra 1 (A/A/A) (this is used for credit, but yeah) tests were 80% of the grade
9th Grade: Geometry (A/A) tests were roughly 45-50% of the grade, can’t remember.
10th Grade: Algebra 2/Trig (B/B) (I was going through some tough things during this year, and I had a student teacher who hated me) tests were 75% of the grade
11th Grade Pre-Calc H (only math honors at my school) (B/A) tests were 60% of the grade, can’t remember
12th Grade AP Calc BC currently a B+ (87 ish) with my lowest test dropped (this is a standard procedure in the class) I got 6 straight Bs (mix of B+, Bs, and 1 or 2 B-'s) and then a D+ on a chapter test (again, testing anxiety), followed by a B+ (one point away from an A, the fourth time this has happened) on a quiz.
PCH had restricted calculator use (i.e. around 60% of the tests were taken without any calcs, and if we had one it was a scientific) and AP Calc BC let’s you use NO CALCULATOR for anything.
Oct 2014 SAT M: 800
Jan 2015 SAT M: 800
Oct 2015 SAT M: 770 (I really didn’t care about this tbh)
Math Level 2 June 2015: 770 (again, lots of testing anxiety)
Math Level 2 Oct 2015: crashed and burned, let’s not talk about this.
ACT Math Sept 2015: 35
So yeah, that works out to be a 3.5 math GPA for HS, the lowest (tied with history, but I didn’t take one freshman year) out of all my academic GPAs. I’m majoring in a physical science, but I am not bad at math, despite what my numbers show. How much will this affect my chances of getting into a school as a Chem major?
It shouldn’t matter too much, because you did really well on Math 2, the math section in SAT 1, and the math section in the ACT. So, that will tell colleges that your school is really tough. You also have lots of great chem-related ECs and great grades/test scores in chem coursework, so I think you should be fine.
“It feels really bad to be this bad at math for an Asian”
Are you sure you’re bad at math or just bad at memorization?
Lots of Asians do well in high school math, but completely bomb when they reach ‘real’ math - proving things rather than memorizing and regurgitating formulas. The valedictorian and salutatorian in my high school class year tried to major in math and got destroyed once they reached real analysis. Intelligent slackers like me aced those classes.
I hated high school math because of ridiculous homework policy (30% of your grade) and emphasis on memorization, but I loved collegiate math because no homeworks and only 2 exams per term. The exams all had less than 8 questions, which were all proof questions none of us have seen before. It truly separated hard workers from the naturally gifted.
I also loved most of my math professors, because they can see which of their students are gifted, and they LOVE gifted students. High school teachers scorn gifted students and praise mediocre students who work hard.
@IQTrumpsEffort Well, I’m not bad at math per se, it’s more that the number shows I’m bad at math. My memory (especially long term) is great. I can remember my grades from freshman year down to the second decimal point, as well as what I scored on the finals.
lol I’m pretty bad at math and I’m Asian. Got Bs and B+s in both precal and cal bc. Did get a 5 on the AP though, and now I’m getting A+s in AP stats. Guess it was either the class or the teacher that just doesn’t suit me.