Will remedial classes harm my chances at transferring to a good university.

Hi! I’m Austin, and I am a Computer Science Major I am currently in my first year of community college, and I am taking two classes which are college level, and two which are remedial. At my college they count the remedial classes as part of the GPA. I already know that the remedial classes will not transfer. However, will universities such as Georgia Tech, which is my top choice, look down upon them? I already discussed with my guidance counselor, and she said that they put the remedial classes on the transcript when sending them to a university. Last semester, I took Remedial English 1,Psychology 100,US History, and Introduction to college. According to the college I got a 3.1 GPA with three B’s and 1 A(Intro to College). This semester I am taking Remedial English 2(After this I will be in English 101), Math 098, (Basic Algebra, will be in College Algebra after this), CIS 251 (Computer Logic and Programming) and US History II. Will the B in the previous remedial classes be scrutinized when transferring? Also last thing, I will have 22 credits after this semester, (9 remedial, 1, intro class, 12, College level.)

Thank you

It may take you more than four semesters to become transfer-ready with all of the prerequisites for your intended major complete, if you have to start “behind” by taking remedial courses. This is especially true if you intended to go into a math-based major, since you are probably two or three courses away from being able to take calculus.

ucbalumnus, true, I will have to take College Algebra, then Precalculus Algebra and Precalculus Trig before I can get to Calculus
However, my community colleges does offer mini semester classes where you go to the same class for four days a week, and its typically a 4 hour class then you finish around mid term time, and you start the second class. I am considering that, but it might be to stressful for me. If I did this it it would reduce me from 3 more semesters to get to Calculus to two (if I dont take one in the summer).

The key thing for you is to get into calculus as quickly as possible. I started college at 25, and I was basically in the same situation. I placed right into college level English, so that wasn’t an issue for me. But I placed into Algebra 1. I’m majoring in physics, so this was clearly a problem. I took that class, and then over break before Spring semester I self-studied the stuff from Algebra 2 and geometry, and then retook the placement test and placed into College Algebra. Then I took trig over the summer, and started calculus the following fall. Then I took calculus 2, then differential equations and linear algebra, and now I’m in calculus 3. I’m in my last semester at community college. When I’m done, I will have spent 3 years here. I originally only wanted to be at CC for two years, but it simply didn’t work out that way. I’ve made the best of my time at CC though. I’ve gotten a lot of extra requirements done here, which is going to allow me to more easily do the double major in physics and math that I’d really like to do.

I’m transferring to UIUC in the fall, which is ranked in the top 10 for schools in my major. Acceptances haven’t been released for Fall 2015 yet, but I’m basically 99.9% sure that I’ll be accepted. Hopefully I find out soon.

I think taking the mini-semester courses is a good option to consider. However, that’s a significant time dedication. If it overlaps with other classes that you need, it’s not so appealing.

I think you have your sequences a little messed up though. One doesn’t take college algebra, and then pre-calculus algebra. The typical math sequence usually takes one of these two forms:

Option 1 -
Algebra I
Algebra II
Geometry
College Algebra
Trigonometry
Calculus I
Calculus II
etc.

Option 2 -
Algebra I
Algebra II
Geometry
Pre-Calculus - Includes aspects of both College Algebra and Trigonometry, but with less depth in each
Calculus I
Calculus II
etc.

If you’re doing computer science, you are far better off with option 1. You’ll need to continue in math at least through the calculus sequence, and having a solid background in both algebra and trig is crucial.

If I were in your situation I’d take College Algebra over the summer, and then Trigonometry in the fall. That will prepare you to take Calculus I next spring. If you’ve taken at least calc 1, it will put you in a much better position to transfer. However, if you’re transferring as a junior, many schools will expect a CS major to have completed the calculus sequence already. This is going to vary from school to school though. I applied to transfer for Fall 2014 to UIUC, and I was denied because I had too many credits to qualify as a sophomore transfer, and because I was missing some prerequisites to qualify as a junior transfer. These prerequisites were calc 3, physics 2, and physics 3. I was denied and ended up staying at my CC for this year. I applied to UIUC again for the Fall 2015 semester. I haven’t heard back yet, but I’ve completed these prerequisites now, and I’m confident that I’ll be accepted. Look at the schools and see what they specifically require for transfer admissions. If you need to you can call someone in admissions at the schools in which you are interested.