I saw references to this math emporium from years ago but was looking for UPDATED information. They didn’t tell us anything about this during our campus tour or during Hokie Focus day. My daughter will need to take two-three semesters of calculus and she struggles with math. From what I have read (from old reviews), these online math classes are TERRIBLE for students who aren’t very strong in math. I’ve also read that you can wait up to an hour during busy times for a “tutor” to come help you and that the online explanations tend to be overly complicated to understand (again, especially for weaker math students). The tutors widely vary in their ability. The reviews I read from a few years ago were about 90% negative with very few people saying they learned well from the format … even though this center is a “model” for other institutions. Any recent insight? Is it mandatory or are there face-to-face classes available? Thanks!
A couple things, from a recent grad
1 - Yes, tutors are human beings and likely do vary in their abilities, though I guarantee that they are more than capable of explaining basic calc to your daughter.
2 - I don’t think I’ve ever waited more than like 10 minutes for a tutor to come respond to a question. I can see the wait getting longer if its like the day right before midterms or something when all the morons who wait until the last minute to suddenly teach themselves weeks worth of math might cause more of a backup in terms of waiting, but I’d hope that your daughter is a proactive person and will put in her time each week to learn at a better pace.
3 - Not every math class is inherently going to be a math empo class.
4 - The empo classes STILL have actual “class time” where you meet with the professor and can go through whatever you want. Professors also have mandated office hours.
5 - At the end of the day, having an essentially all-day place where you can get personal tutors is essentially more help than you will receive in any other class in college. If your daughter has trouble with the empo tutors + class time + online explanations then I would recommend getting an actual, personal tutor, they are really not that expensive.
@KorieBird What is your daughter’s intended major? VT is transitioning from CLE to Pathways general education effective for incoming freshmen this fall. It’s possible the former calculus requirement has changed - I know for instance that for business majors the old 2 semester, 6 credit requirement in 1st year is being replaced by Math 1524, which will be a 4 credit course (3 hours of empo and 1 hour lab w/professor each week).
Thanks for your informative response Hokie_gl32!
ShenVal18, she will be in a CALS major. According to the info we got at Hokie Focus Day last week, she will need Calc 1025, 1026 and 2024.
I don’t have a child at VT but I have friends whose children are there, some of whom are not the best at math and didn’t do well in the Emporium setting. Some of these students dropped the class and took it in the summer at their local CC, then transferred it to VT. If you are in Virginia, it’s a great option, as many of the 100 and 200 level courses are transferable. Good luck!
Great question. My DC is leaning toward to Tech and I flagged this whole Math Emporium thing for him as he’s not a fan of online learning based on his experience in HS.
This isn’t a popular opinion by any means but I actually really liked the Math Emporium! I liked the leeway that it allowed but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t procrasinate too much because I had a quiz or test due each week. To be honest, I never really asked for help from tutors (not that I’m great at math, I’m just incredibly shy) but on the few occasions that I did, they were really helpful and I waited no more than five minutes. You will have to wait a bit longer if it’s the day before a quiz or test but that’s just further motivation to work ahead! If my assignment was due Wednesday, I would have it done the Friday before. Math has never been my best subject but I ended 1526 with an A so I was very happy!