Hi there! I am going to be an incoming freshman this year at college and am torn of which of these two classes to take in the fall. I am in my college’s business school and I am required to take Applied Calculus 1&2 only to satisfy my math credits. My college wants me to jump into Applied calc 1st semester, but I am honestly hesitant to sign up for it given that I am weak in math. However, the only other math course I am allowed to enroll in is college algebra, and I don’t know if it would be a nice refresher course to take before I get into applied calc, or if I would be bored sitting through topics I’m familiar with and ultimately wasting my time and money. I guess what I’m asking is, how challenging is college algebra and/or applied calc 1, what topics does each class cover, and would college algebra actually prepare me for topics I would see in applied calc?
For a little background on my math record, I made A’s in on-level high school algebra classes and in on-level Precalculus as well. I took AP Calculus AB my senior year though I really struggled with it and had to drop it at semester. On my math placement test I made a tad more than the minimum score needed to enroll in applied calc.
How “jam packed” is your schedule overall? If you will have time for office hours and going in for extra help, I’d go with the class you placed into and get your math requirements done. If you barely have time to study, go with the easier math.
College Algebra is like Algebra II and it sounds like you mastered it. Have you had Trig? Applied Calculus will overlap with Calc AB. Check to see if your school offers a math placement test or find one online.
You should take Applied Calculus. You are prepared with Precalc and the little bit of AP Calculus you have taken.
Applied Calc probably won’t be as rigorous as Calc for engineers.
Here are hints on how to do well:
So to do well, consider the following:
GO TO CLASS, BUY THE BOOK, READ THE CHAPTERS, AND DO THE HOMEWORK!
Go to Professor’s office hours early in the semester and Ask this question: “I know this is a really difficult class-- what are some of the common mistakes students make and how can I avoid them?”
If you have problems with the homework, go to Prof’s office hours. If they have any “help sessions” or “study sessions” or “recitations” or any thing extra, go to them.
Form a study group with other kids in your dorm/class.
Don’t do the minimum…for STEM classes do extra problems. You can buy books that just have problems for calculus or physics or whatever. Watch videos on line about the topic you are studying.
Go to the writing center if you need help with papers/math center for math problems (if they have them)
If things still are not going well, get a tutor.
Read this book: How to Become a Straight-A Student: The Unconventional Strategies Real College Students Use to Score High While Studying Less by Cal Newport. It helps you with things like time management and how to figure out what to write about for a paper, etc.
If you feel you need to withdraw from a class, talk to your advisor as to which one might be the best …you may do better when you have less classes to focus on. But some classes may be pre-reqs and will mess your sequence of classes up.
For tests that you didn’t do well on, can you evaluate what went wrong? Did you never read that topic? Did you not do the homework for it? Do you kind of remember it but forgot what to do? Then next time change the way you study…there may be a study skill center at your college.
How much time outside of class do you spend studying/doing homework? It is generally expected that for each hour in class, you spend 2-3 outside doing homework. Treat this like a full time job.
At first, don’t spend too much time other things rather than school work. (sports, partying, rushing fraternities/sororities, video gaming etc etc)
If you run into any social/health/family troubles (you are sick, your parents are sick, someone died, broke up with boy/girlfriend, suddenly depressed/anxiety etcetc) then immediately go to the counseling center and talk to them. Talk to the dean of students about coordinating your classes…e.g. sometimes you can take a medical withdrawal. Or you could withdraw from a particular class to free up tim for the others. Sometimes you can take an incomplete if you are doing well and mostly finished the semester and suddenly get pneumonia/in a car accident (happened to me)…you can heal and take the final first thing the next semester. But talk to your adviser about that too.
At the beginning of the semester, read the syllabus for each class. It tells you what you will be doing and when tests/HW/papers are due. Put all of that in your calendar. The professor may remind you of things, but it is all there for you to see so take initiative and look at it.
Make sure you understand how to use your online class system…Login to it, read what there is for your classes, know how to upload assignments (if that is what the prof wants).
If you get an assignment…make sure to read the instructions and do all the tasks on the assignment. Look at the rubric and make sure you have covered everything.
If you are not sure what to do, go EARLY to the professors office hours…not the day before the assignment is due.
You might think that this is all completely obvious, but I have read many stories on this and other websites where people did not do the above and then are asking for help on academic appeal letters.
I won’t opine on which to take, but I want to remind you that every college has a drop-add period. If you sign up for calculus you can 1) try to find the prof. during office hours during the first week of class to discuss your best placement and/or 2) if you find calculus too difficult you can move down to the algebra class during the first week or two of classes (check your school’s academic calendar to see the drop/add schedule). It would likely be harder for you to move up to calculus if you have missed a few classes.
Consider not only your math placement but your overall schedule in determining which class is the best fit.
Start with calculus. I would guess “applied” calculus is “business” calculus which is easier than the regular calculus. IF you’re feeling overwhelmed within the first week, use the add/drop period to your advantage.