<p>I'm an incoming freshman enrolled in Math 116 (Calc 2, a popular class) for the fall term.
I was a good calc student in high school, but I've heard a lot of people complain dramatically about what a GPA killer this class is and how it's failed so commonly.</p>
<p>I have some questions:
1. What is it that makes this class so hard for some people? (the course material, the tests/curve, bad teachers etc)
2. If you could retake the class, what would you do differently to get a better grade? And what's the key to doing well in the class?
3. Is tutoring in the Math Lab helpful? Are there any other good resources?
4. Is it common to get a GSI who cannot communicate well in English? If it happens to me, what can I do? (This is another rumor I've heard...)
5. Are the Gateway exams stressful or hard to pass? I'm very unfamiliar with these.
6. Does team homework count in the overall grade? Do we get to pick our teams?</p>
<p>That's all I have for now. Thanks for your help.</p>
<p>this class is not bad at all. people who complain are students who dont put the time and energy to read the textbook, understand the underlying concepts and apply them. its a very straight forward way to do well. i pledged and took this class along with other demanding courses. if you do these 3 things u will do well: read the textbook, do the odd questions after the end of each chapter and check them in the back of the book, and finally take all the practice exams.</p>
<p>i agree with boyks.</p>
<p>a lot of students from non-quantitative majors take calc 2 (e.g. premed) and do poorly, so that is a big reason why you hear all those complaints. if those same students took subsequent math courses, you’d hear the same complaints.</p>
<p>The point I would highly recommend is doing the weird problems at the end of chapters. Some people go through the basic hw problems, think there fine, and lo-behold, the average on the final is a 51.</p>
<p>From what I can remember, gateways sucked just because you have to enter in the answers on a computer perfectly. If you f***ed up a bracket, SOL.</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice, guys. I’ll definitely take these into account.
Other responses are definitely welcome.</p>
<p>I’ll try to answer all your questions.
- Calc 2 is a required class for a lot of different majors, and a lot of students that have to take it are not strong quantitatively, or they don’t put the necessary work in, which is why you hear so many complaints. In addition, the averages on the exams is usually around a 60, which is curved to a B-, and if you actually work and study is not difficult to beat. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Tutoring can be hit or miss. I would recommend going to your professor/GSI if you like them. Khanacademy is also a great resource.</p></li>
<li><p>I had a russian GSI but she was fine. Sometimes they have an accent but it is heavily exaggerated in my opinion.</p></li>
<li><p>No they’re not, as long as you do them in advance. You can take them twice a day until you pass, and you have an entire month, so theoretically you could take it 60 times if necessary.</p></li>
<li><p>No I don’t think so, and you don’t get to pick your teams. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Honestly just do lots of practice problems, make sure you understand what you are doing, and if you don’t find someone that does and can explain it to you. If you were a strong student in highschool you should be fine.</p>