<p>Has anyone taken this course along with M-118. My son has difficulty with math but needs M-118 prior to applying to Kelley. It was suggested (by ODS) that this class would be helpful in this class and future math related classes. The course description (EDUC X101 - Strategies for Math) looks just about right. However, my son is very resistant and said he talked to another student taking this class and he was told it was a waste of time and more stress. Thanks.</p>
<p>I would suggest that your son take M118 without X101. While he will most likely do better in M118 while supplementing X101, I can't recommend those 2 additional credit hours on a regular semester schedule when he has general education requirements to meet. A good idea is to pick a M118 professor fluent in English (meaning one who doesn't have a foreign name in the registration panel) or a graduate student (meaning that the panel won't list a professor) and attend office hours, show up to every class, and go to all the review sessions (whether they are optional or not). Another good strategy is to do the webwork (which is basically online homework) for the class within a day of learning the material- if your son does this, he has a very good chance of retaining the information. Beyond the above, I might suggest that he find a study group for M118, so he can teach others and learn from his peers.</p>
<p>For the record, I am taking M118 this semester and I have an A in the class thus far. Because tests are the large majority of the grade in the class, I would advise your son to sharpen up on his test-taking skills, which in itself may be more beneficial than being fluent in the material.</p>
<p>I would be happy to answer any additional questions.</p>
<p>My son (a sophomore) is also taking M118 this semester. He is taking it with McKinley who many say is the "king of Finite Math". My son enjoys the class immensely and is getting an A also. (however my son did get a 700 on his SAT I math test)</p>
<p>One thing that is fairly unique about McKinley's website is that he has a link to a show he did a few years ago entitled "The Finite Show". </p>
<p>As described on the website:
"The Finite Show was a call-in television show with a humorous (but serious nonetheless) take on M118. Each episode was devoted to a section of the Finite Mathematics textbook by D. Maki and M. Thompson. Each episode began with a brief mini-lecture about the section. After the mini-lecture, the host (Steve McKinley) solved homework problems from the textbook that were requested by students who called-in requests live."</p>
<p>Then if you want to see streaming videos of these programs, you take the link to the list of episodes. </p>
<p>Here's the link: <a href="http://estudy0.iu.edu:8080/%7Eestudy2/m118/TFS/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://estudy0.iu.edu:8080/~estudy2/m118/TFS/index.html</a></p>
<p>He also has regular departmental help sessions each and every day--here is the days and times for this year:</p>
<p>Departmental Help Sessions
Mondays 4:40-6:35 PM Swain West 220<br>
Tuesdays 4:40-6:35 PM Kirkwood Hall 203<br>
Wednesdays 4:40-6:35 PM Swain West 220<br>
Thursdays 4:40-6:35 PM Kirkwood Hall 203 </p>
<p>Since you son doesn't even have to be in the class to attend the help sessions, he could go to a session and see how tough it is or isn't to solve some of the problems. He could also go to the link and watch one of the shows. Lastly, he can write to Waverian (above) and discuss the class and its difficulty. Then he can decide if he feels it is necessary for him to take X101 or not.</p>
<p>Has anyone taken K. Polly? My son has been trying to decide between McKinley (who many think is great) and Polly who has great reviews on RateMyProfessors (clear, helpful, organized) and a higher grade distribution than McKinley. Since math is a struggle, it is likely he won't be at the top of the curve but really needs to earn a B. I also thought X101 might be worthwhile if it does what it purports to do e.g. over 50% of students (most of whom I assume would struggle with finite) earn A or B in Finite with this class; teaches math strategies he can use in future math related classes (calc, accounting). I guess we need to find out if he is on schedule to meet all requirements.
Currently he is taking
A100
Intro to Business
Business Presentations
Psychology (Intro)
Geology
Adv Basketball</p>
<p>Spring tentative schedule is:
K-201 Comp in Bus
W-131 Eng
M-118 Finite
X-101 Strat for Math
P-211 Intro to Sports Management
1 credit fitness class</p>
<p>Is he behind on getting required classes?
Thanks for the advice.</p>
<p>I would take Steve McKinley. He's a great teacher on the Finite Show and I suspect he's even better in person. One of my floormates is taking M118 with Polly and absolutely hates the class.</p>
<p>The courses you son should or shouldn't take (as a business major) largely depend upon four things:</p>
<p>(1) Does he plan to apply for the IB (investment banking) program?, and
(2) How critical is it to him to take I-Core the first semester of his junior year?,
(3) What is his major? and
(4) How many years does he plan to take to get his degree?</p>
<p>If your son plans to apply for the IB program, then he needs to take all of the required Kelley courses (in order to apply and be admitted) by the end of his freshman year. The reason for this is that you have to apply for the IB program by September 15th of the sophomore year, and he is unlikely to get admitted to the IB program unless he has already been admitted to Kelley and has already taken the K201 class (which teaches usage of spreadsheets--which is critical for IB). Take a look at the form required (it's on the website: <a href="http://kelley.iu.edu/ibw/%5B/url%5D">http://kelley.iu.edu/ibw/</a> ) and here's the requirements for getting into the Kelley school, if he's not already admitted: <a href="http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/admissions/prospective.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/admissions/prospective.cfm</a>
(Note: Only 70 students or so get into the IB program--so it's not a requirement. And this program is only for the "elite" students. But it is a program that really helps with career placement and getting a high-paying, though very stressful, job after graduation)</p>
<p>Lots of students like to get their I-Core classes done by the first semester of junior year (which is also something you have to do to be in the IB program). This allows them to then not stress out about being able to get all the other upper level classes done on time (some upper-level business requirements mandate that you have already taken I-Core). In order to take I-Core you have to complete the 15 "foundation" courses prior, which are listed here:
<a href="http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/academics/curriculum/foundation.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/academics/curriculum/foundation.cfm</a></p>
<p>Since there are 15 of them, this means your son would have to take about 4 of these each semester to take I-Core in the Fall of Junior year--or 3 each semester to take I-Core in the Spring of Junior Year. This presumes that your son is planning to graduate in 4 years. (about 50% of Indiana students take four years, about 50% take longer).</p>
<p>Also, the major plays a part. Certain majors require more upper-level classes than others. Finance, for example, requires 9 upper-level classes, while business law requires only 5. Here are the links to the requirements for each major:
<a href="http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/academics/majors.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/academics/majors.cfm</a></p>
<p>One last point about the foundation classes. Some of these are prerequisites for other ones. For example A100 has to be taken before A201 or A202, the K201 course is a prerequisite for the X201 Technology course, and the Finite course is a prerequisite for the E370 Statistics course. So keep this in mind when figuring out which classes to take first.</p>
<p>Some people have complained about the counseling (myself included) at Indiana, but as you can see, it's a fairly tricky process--and I'm only mentioning the business courses here. It's also tricky to balance courses on the liberal arts side--and to balance the liberal arts courses that the business majors have to take (which are not so clear either--there is a 31 page document that tells which classes count for which distribution requirement)--and you have to have some of each one--or all of a single one. (see the website below for this):
<a href="http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/academics/curriculum/general.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/academics/curriculum/general.cfm</a></p>
<p>Then you also have to finish an international requirement as well--and there are four different ways to do that. (listed at the website below):
<a href="http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/academics/curriculum/international.cfm%5B/url%5D">http://www.kelley.iu.edu/ugrad/academics/curriculum/international.cfm</a></p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Since the link to the majors above is not working for all majors (new website means some problems obviously), here is an alternate link to use:</p>
<p>Calcruzer
Thank you for taking the time for such a through reply it is very helpful. I have a question on the field specialization option vs the Distribution Option-Do most students seem to select one over the other as being less demanding, or having less science or math required? Do you have a better chance of getting higher grades in one option over the other or does it just depend on the student? Also as to the international requirement, do most students just take the six class hours if they are not good at a language? Do many students go away for the study overseas option instead? Any thoughts will be helpful.</p>
<p>I believe most students choose the Distribution Option rather than the Specialization option--but it depends upon the student. I think the reason they do this is because of the wide choice of classes that satisfies the requirements. As I said earlier, there are 31 pages of choices to choose from.
Here's the link to that:
<a href="http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ebulletin/iub/coas/2006-2008/appendix2.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.indiana.edu/~bulletin/iub/coas/2006-2008/appendix2.shtml</a>
Also, at this site:
<a href="http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ecoas2/undergrad/distribution.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.indiana.edu/~coas2/undergrad/distribution.shtml</a>
you can link to the courses being offered during the current semester that meets each of the options. (I'm hoping they change this soon to showing which courses meet the options for the upcoming semester;--the one students will soon be enrolling for). </p>
<p>As for the International Option, I have no statistics, nor do I have a "feel" for what most students choose. My own son is considering taking the two "area studies" courses, but we don't know what you have to do to get them "approved".</p>
<p>Lastly, let me include a form I found that is used by the Advising department at IUB to counsel the students who are thinking of going overseas to meet the International studies:
<a href="http://www.indiana.edu/%7Eoverseas/forms/AdvisingSheetKSB.doc%5B/url%5D">http://www.indiana.edu/~overseas/forms/AdvisingSheetKSB.doc</a></p>
<p>As you can tell, it is designed to make sure students don't take classes they don't need (unless they have extra open time) both when going overseas and after returning from their overseas studies.</p>
<p>Thanks for info & links. This could be my evening entertainment for the next several weeks. I'm certain that my son is not going into IB. His brother has a degree in finance, is working for a private equity firm and doing very well. However, it wouldn't fit well with our younger son's interests or skill set. He is looking at management with a strong sports management component. He would like to apply to Kelley this Spring and we would like to have him finish in 4 years (OS tuition).
He was just given authorization for registration now so he needs to make some good choices now.<br>
He has decided not to take X-101 (Strats for Math). The majority of students don't finish it and the grade distribution is poor. He is tentatively planning to take Interpersonal Communication CMCL 122 instead. He is still struggling with McKinley vs Polly for Finite. McKinley would likely be more engaging, entertaining, and has good almost daily support sessions. (Also has a class of 80 vs 250 for one section - would this make a difference?)However, his grade distribution is not much better than several other profs. Polly has a reputation for being very clear (maybe boring?), having good lecture notes, and giving opportunities to improve grades. Her grade distribution is higher and much closer to students grades overall.<br>
I have been recommending that my son take Kinser for K-201. However, I just realized that this is only for lecture and the lab instuctor (who I assume gives the grade) is a crapshoot. Is there any way of knowing who will be teaching these sections? Although he has very competent keyboarding skills, he has visual-spatial deficits which make understanding and producing novel visual information difficult.
He has not had a real opportunity to review this carefully with his advisor yet. Her appointments for advising were all full until walk-in times next week. She did approve him to register.
Any advice?
Thanks.</p>
<p>I don't know why, but they don't put assign any of the teachers to K201 until after all the students are enrolled.</p>
<p>I suppose you can try to switch classes during the first week of the new semester, but from what I've seen, all the K201 classes are full at that point.
Which means, therefore, that who you end up with is entirely random.</p>