I am wrapping up my 3rd year of a 4 year degree in Business. I have hit the wall that is Algebra. I have taken (and failed) it 5 times. I engaged tutors, purchased additional course material, etc. but nothing has helped. At this point, I feel like I need to find a major that does not require Algebra. I have been working on my degree for 8+ years by taking 1 class at a time. With the exception of Algebra, I have completed all courses with a B or higher. I don’t want to quit now but I don’t know what else to do. Suggestions?
Does the business major require algebra, or does your college have a math requirement and algebra is where you are? Because the answer determines whether you can avoid it altogether.
Most colleges have a math requirement, where they require you to take at least one semester of college-level math before you graduate. I’ve never seen a college at which algebra satisfies the college-level math requirement; both my parents went to community colleges and I remember they both had to struggle through algebra as remedial courses on the basis of their math placement tests; the algebra was a prerequisite to the actual math requirement, but it did not count as the requirement itself, nor did it actually grant them any credits. (My mom passed it and moved on; I don’t think my dad did.)
So if algebra is required for the college overall, you can’t get out of it by changing majors. But if it’s only required for the business major, there may be something else you can switch to. I’m sure that you have an academic adviser and/or that there is an advising office that you can visit to get a straight answer to this question, as well as some options for majors that don’t have a math requirement if the algebra one isn’t an overall requirement.
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