Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    orio71191's Avatar
    orio71191 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #1

    Dec 30, 2007, 08:17 PM
    To take math or not to take math? Warning:long
    Hey I need some advice. I'm currently a high school junior, and I am HOPELESS at mathematics. I've always managed to scrape by with 65s, and trust me its not lack of effort, I try really hard. All my other grades are over 90s, with the exception of sciences which are in the high 80s. Last year I flunked geometry, and I made it up over the summer and passed, but needless to say my math avg. is like a 68. My overall . Though, is an 89.5. I have to choose my classes for next year, and math has really pulled me down the last 3 years. Should I even bother taking it next year since its not required? Will colleges care that I don't have a math senior year, even though I'm doubling up my sciences? Would they rather see me take precalc and get a 65, or drop it completely and continue to work my butt off in other classes.
    Thanks so much!
    vingogly's Avatar
    vingogly Posts: 718, Reputation: 105
    Senior Member
     
    #2

    Jan 1, 2008, 08:34 AM
    Short answer: it depends on your college major, and what you plan to do post-college.

    There are a number of majors and careers that will be closed to you if you absolutely can't do math. For example, you're probably not going to get into engineering school and probably wouldn't be happy with an engineering career in any case if you hate math. However, other majors require math: you'll have a hard time pursuing any of the sciences without math; psychology requires statistics courses; business requires business math including some rather difficult math like linear programming.

    You might consider a liberal arts program as an undergraduate; this will minimize the amount of math you'll have to take. My guess is you'll have a hard time finding a college where you don't have to take at least one math course; however, there's often a course called something like "mathematics for liberal arts majors" provided which wouldn't be too hard to get through. A BA in liberal arts will be about as useful as a BA in business when you go out to apply for entry-level jobs in my experience; employers are looking for people who can think and communicate and many won't care if your undergrad degree was in business or liberal arts.

    Down the road, if you decide to go to graduate school, you won't need any math if you pursue a degree in English or Art. However, you'll have to come to grips with this if you someday decide to get an MBA; math is absolutely required for an MBA. Since you mention "doubling up in the sciences", I assume you're interested in a degree in the sciences? Physics is a lot of math at the college level; chemistry less so; biology not so much. But you'll have to take some math at the college level if you're going into any of the sciences.

    If you do decide you need math, you can consider obtaining some tutoring. If you Google "math tutors" you'll find a lot of links. Plenty of people get tutoring in subjects they find difficult at the college level.
    Fr_Chuck's Avatar
    Fr_Chuck Posts: 81,301, Reputation: 7692
    Expert
     
    #3

    Jan 1, 2008, 11:00 AM
    You may want to talk to your school couselor about what college classes will be needed. There are required classes in college just like high school, so a number of math classes will be required, I am not sure how hard these may be at the college you go to.

    But you have a problem, have you discussed this with your parents, perhaps get a private insturctor, or even one of the professional programs to help students learn. Instead ot running, perhaps extra help into it.

    Without math, there are a lot of majorsin college that will be restricted to you.
    orio71191's Avatar
    orio71191 Posts: 3, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #4

    Jan 1, 2008, 12:36 PM
    Since you mention "doubling up in the sciences", I assume you're interested in a degree in the sciences? Physics is a lot of math at the college level; chemistry less so; biology not so much. But you'll have to take some math at the college level if you're going into any of the sciences.

    I'm only doubling up in science because my high school requires it if you drop math-i hate science. I hate math.
    s_cianci's Avatar
    s_cianci Posts: 5,472, Reputation: 760
    Uber Member
     
    #5

    Jan 1, 2008, 03:44 PM
    There's several things to be considered. For one, I will say that dropping a class mid-year never looks good so don't consider the option of starting something then throwing in the towel if it gets rough. Having a low grade in one particular course isn't so bad as long as your other grades make up for it, especially if your intended program isn't mathematically or scientifically oriented. Have you taken the SAT yet? How well did you do, especially on the math section? That'll probably be more important then whether you take math your senior year and the grade you get with it. If you plan on attending a liberal-arts college then you can probably get away with omitting math your seņor year and substituting another academic course instead.
    HAMAYUN's Avatar
    HAMAYUN Posts: 11, Reputation: 1
    New Member
     
    #6

    Nov 4, 2009, 04:47 PM

    Man I hate math
    Its your choice
    morgaine300's Avatar
    morgaine300 Posts: 6,561, Reputation: 276
    Uber Member
     
    #7

    Nov 18, 2009, 10:51 PM

    No, it's your choice.

    I'm going to add something totally off the rest of these posts, which is to address your hatred of math, because as you know, I've been watching your posts on the math forum and see what you do. I've repeated numerous times that you cannot just keep coming on with problem after problem, and not making some attempt to work through these problems and learn the concepts behind them, so that you can apply them to other problems. You know I've said this to you before.

    When I don't even see you coming back and asking questions about the stuff you don't understand, and instead see you come back and post yet another of the same type of problem, I'm not really seeing all this "effort" you're talking about. You don't post your attempts. You don't ask questions. You just post another of the same problem. Maybe you're making more effort than I'm seeing, but I'm certainly not seeing it here.

    In other words, I don't see you trying to learn the concepts and ideas behind stuff.

    You need to get more help. A private in-person tutor would have course be useful. You need someone who doesn't teach plug n chug, because you're not learning from that. You need someone to show you what you're doing and why you're doing it.

    If you can't get a private tutor and have to rely on places like this, then post one problem. Look at what people are answering. Come back and ask questions. I am perfectly happy to post details about how it is worked out, but I haven't done much because I never see you attempt to work out anything for yourself, or ask what you aren't understanding. I see you just post yet another problem like the one before it. If you don't post your efforts or ask questions, we don't know what you aren't understanding, nor how to help you further.

    It would also be useful if you'd talk in complete sentences. If English is a second language for you, I can understand mistakes in spelling and grammar and vocabulary, but that is not an excuse for texting and lack of punctuation, etc like I see coming from you.

    Basically, you just make it more difficult for us to help you. You ignore suggestions that myself and others have made to you. Under those circumstances, it's a little hard to swallow that it's only cause you're lousy at it, and that you are trying really hard.

    Unless you're going into liberal arts or something (which it doesn't sound like), then you're pretty stuck with math. There are people here who are willing to take the time to help, and who can patiently work you through the problems, but we're pretty much stuck until we see something coming from your end, even if it's just questions about what you don't understand. Yet another problem is not a "question." If you can go this route, perhaps we can discover together where you're really getting stuck.

    A lot of people do hate math. But less people would hate it if it weren't taught so badly in so many places. And you're going to have to find a way to be more open-minded about learning it.
    Mika123's Avatar
    Mika123 Posts: 1, Reputation: 2
    New Member
     
    #8

    Jan 5, 2011, 02:06 PM
    Have you considered the "Dummy" books? Mary Jane Sterling wrote "Algebra 1 for Dummies", as well as "Algebra 2 for Dummies", "Trigonometry for Dummies", "Business Math for Dummies", and "Linear Algebra for Dummies". She explains the concepts of Algebra, and you can always go online and find free problems to work out to see if you really get it.

    I'm a BFA, math isn't my strongest area, but I found "Algebra 1 for Dummies" to be pretty helpful. Best of luck to you.

Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions

 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search

Add your answer here.


Check out some similar questions!

I need math skills on this math problems [ 6 Answers ]

81 divided by 3726.83 divided by 3158

Math help please [ 6 Answers ]

I just wanted some helf to know the difference between factors and multiples and there similarities

Math [ 1 Answers ]

20 children on basket ball court 3 wearing white shirts what fraction are wearing white shirts? What fraction are not?

Math [ 2 Answers ]

Building a model out of legos the top level is a 1 by 2 rectangle level directly underneath is a 2by 3 rectangle the level underneath is a 3 by4 rectangle how many legos will be need to build a 12 level high

Math [ 1 Answers ]

What is a proof


View more questions Search