Which math course should I take?

Student Lounge College Life
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<p>It's happening :)</p>

<p>I'm scheduling my college courses for next fall. Already!</p>

<p>My advisor wants to know which math course I would like to take, in addition to the other courses. I'm really not sure about this one :-/</p>

<p>I'm no genius student and I'm not looking to push myself a whole lot when it comes to Math. I only have to take 1 course my entire 4 years (Government Major) and I don't plan on taking more than 2, if for some reason I feel the need to take 2. </p>

<p>My problem comes with the math courses that I have taken and how I did with them:</p>

<p>Honors Algebra 1 A/A
Honors Geometry A/A
**my transcript says that I took Algebra 2, but technically I didn't. My teach left after the 1st month to have her kid and we had a year-round sub. She just finished off our old geometry textbook. No kidding!</p>

<p>As for how I did in the courses, I feel comfortable with my knowledge from algebra EXCEPT for functions and graphs. I always have done horrible with those for some reason.</p>

<p>Geometry, same thing! I feel more comfortable with how I did in geometry, though, for what that is worth.</p>

<p>And I scored a 25 (28 overall) on the ACT math section. 12/18 on the geometry and trig sections, and 16/18 on the pre-algebra section.
However, I had been out of school for a year when I took the ACT and I did not study for the test.</p>

<p>My ACT math score qualifies me for 104 (finite mathematics), 106 (college algebra), or 150 (liberal arts math). </p>

<p>My advisor is pushing for math 106 (college algebra) but I'm not feeling so hot about it. She says I should take 106 if I plan on going to grad school. I don't plan on going, though I suppose anything is possible. </p>

<p>To fulfill my degree requirements, I only have to take 1 math course total.</p>

<p>If this matters, my school isn't big on academics. We're a sports school, and I was in the top 5% of my applicant pool so I'm not sure how high my expectations should be as for academic toughness. </p>

<p>Would 106 (college algebra) be manageable for a student who's no math hotshot and who never took Algebra 2 in high school? I personally feel more comfortable with 150, but I don't want to pay for a useless math class, either.</p>

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<p>What is your major?</p>

3

<p>Government</p>

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<p>If you trust your advisor, I would go with College Algebra (Algebra II?). Initially I am often doubtful if the classes that my advisor is pushing me to take are a good idea, but I never regretted following his advice. Plus, College Algebra seems like the most natural choice after Algebra 1 and Geometry.</p>

<p>In terms of usefulness, statistics would be the math class most relevant to your major, but I don't know what prerequisites it has at your college or if you have already taken it.</p>

5

<p>Just a warning; at my university, "algebra" is an upper division math class that has nothing to do with the algebra you learn in high school.
In your case, check out the book or read the course description to make sure it looks at least somewhat familiar. I've never even heard of a university offering algebra II, afaik college math begins at precalculus.</p>

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<p>The upper-level algebra course is typically called "abstract algebra" or "modern algebra." "College algebra" on the other hand is usually a (pre-)pre-calculus course. Since college algebra was suggested by the OP's advisor and its course number is below "liberal arts math", I am not too concerned about that.</p>