Hi, I have a big problem. I am a fairly smart guy, but when it comes to math, I do not do that well. I barely made it past Algebra 1 and Geometry 1. I am a senior now and am stuggling throught Algebra II. Because of my math problem my GPA is a 2.9. I wish to be a history teacher, and have never gotten anything below a B+ in the four years of history that I have taken (including 2 AP classes) This is really bothering me, because I really want to go to college, but am afraid that I will not be accepted or rejected from the colleges I have been accepted too. (I have been accepted to Northern Michigan University, University of Concordia Mequon)
I am very worried and have been loosing sleep over this. I would really love to hear from an admissions person about this. (Are there any admissions people on the SDMB?(
Thanks alot,
Ben
At our school, 2 years of math is required to graduate. I don’t know how many credits they want for college ( I think it depends on where you wanna go). We can take computer classes in place of one Math credit (speadsheet, programming, maybe you have more). Maybe you can take a summer course or something.
If you’ve been accepted to Northern Michigan University and University of Concordia Mequon, then you’ve been accepted. They’ve obviously looked over your transcripts and said: “renigademaster is our guy.” They’re not going to rescind your acceptance based on your lack of math courses; if you’ve been accepted then you’ve been accepted and that’s all there is to it.
Worst-case scenario: you’ll have to take a math course or two, once you get to college, and you won’t be able to get credit for it. I had to take physics in college because I didn’t take enough hard sciences in high school. No big deal.
A lot of schools will look at what math you had, and then mandate that you meet their requirements based on what your transcript shows. For example, if you finish a complete second year of algebra (which here is “Algebra 3 & 4”) and your school requires 8 semester hours of math, you’ll take those 8 hours. Generally, though, really low level math classes at university aren’t eligible for credit – they’re remedial. Therefore, you may actually complete 2 to 4 hours BEFORE you can take the math classes that will really count.
If you’re going for a history degree, then look at the school’s catalogue to see what they require for math. They’ll generally demand at least algebra or trig, and maybe even calculus.
Also, many schools make you take a placement exam during freshman orientation that will dictate where they allow you to start in math, english or literature, and sometimes foreign languages.
You could just call your school-of-choice’s admissions department and talk to someone there if you really want to put your mind at ease.
Well, I’m not admissions, but I handle a lot of students (and wanna-be students) coming into our program (CompSci), and have seen pre-College (in the sense of High School, or ‘non degree’ courses) classes all over the board. No math, tons of math, lots of history, no history, etc. So while I don’t have a say as to who gets in, I help straighten out the people as to what they need once they get here.
Now to try and say something that hasn’t been covered…
Double check the places you’ve been admitted to: will they say you have a deficiency from high school that you need to make up during your first couple of semesters there? Or is the level of math you have already enough for their admission conditions? If the latter, you’re in the clear, and only have to worry about General Education math requirements. If the former, then you’ll be looking at ‘extra’ work.
For a History major, off the top of my head, I would be surprised if you need more than pre-Calc for your General Education requirements. (Off the top of my head, I think our History students can get by with Alge. & Trig as their highest level of math. Other schools will vary.)
As a reccomendation: take care of those math courses first. You know ahead of time that they’ll be your weak point: you do not want to risk scrambling to get those math courses completed two semesters before you graduate. Take advantage of anything the school has: tutors, self-paced (a bonus only if you are disciplined about getting your work done) courses, study groups, allowing substitutions for the math, etc.
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Heck, my college had student who barely had a 3[sup]rd[/sup] grade reading level. I tutored in computers, but I noticed that we had reading tutors. Seeing one working with her charge was rather sad, since he somehow graduated high school.
On the plus side, he did get straight A’s in Varsity Football. :rolleyes:
I work at Admissions for Cal State Monterey Bay (part of the CSU system). Our basic requirements as to math for freshmen are:
- 3 years of math: Algerbra, Geometry, and Intermediate Algebra
That requirement is absolutely necessary for any incoming freshmen (we do have special assigned slots, but those are for special cases, and are evaluated case by case).
What our evaluator would probably reccomend you do is go to a JC for a semester to make up that final math course that you lack (a semester at a JC equals one year of equivalent HS subjects). After if you pass with a C or better, you submit transcripts and enter as a lower division transfer student.
Also, your GPA would require you to submit SAT I or ACT scores. Depending upon your GPA and SAT I or ACT scores, they would also determine if you are eligible or not to enter (under a 2.0, you are ineligible). For you, since you have a 2.9 GPA you would have to have a 12 for your ACT or a 580 on your SAT’s (if you had a 2.0 you’d need an ACT score of 30, or an SAT score of 1300!).
I also wanted to mention something else.
The CSU System also requires incoming Freshmen to take the ELM (Entry Level Math) and EPT (English Placement Tests). These determine if a student needs to take a remedial math or English course. They are required and manditory (we put holds on student’s records if they dont take them). I’ve noticed quite a few freshmen not taking these tests seriously, and failing the Math one. They dont realize that if they dont pass they have to take a remedial math class that doesn’t count towards credits! The course number isnt even in the hundreds: Math 98/99.
I myself failed this course, but when i entered, they hadnt devised a true remedial course (well, they did…Math 100, but they allowed me to take Math 130 - Precalculus). It SUCKS! AH!
It sucks even worse to supervise these tests (I did this…my bosses wanted me to help out). The most boring 4 hours of my life!
Someone SOMEWHERE will probably take you, heh…I’m horrible at math, but I wanted to go into arts which is on the other end of the spectrum and doesn’t really require math. To get into the college I went to (which wasn’t a big name one or anything, just a small community college that taught what I wanted to learn), I had to have above average marks in English (and had to take some English courses anyway once I got there as a general requirement) and basically just pass math, because it’s not really relevant to the course. I failed my last math course in my last year of high school and had to cram it into the second semester so I’d have it done to be able to graduate that year (or face doing math all summer as a summer course as well).
I basically came out of it with a 52% in the course (50% is passing here, heh) and still got into college.
Basically, while I’m not an administrator or anything and I’m only going by what I’ve experienced, it’s not a big deal unless it’s relevant. If you want to be a history teacher and you’re a great history student but you suck at, say, programming or football, no one’s going to care, because they aren’t relevant. Just at LEAST try to pass the course, even if it’s only by a small amount.
Anyway, don’t lose too much sleep over it, but if there’s any way you can work a math course into your schedule (even taking a summer course, possibly at the college you want to apply at), at least give it a shot because you’ll probably have a lot more places to choose from with that last credit.
- Tsugumo (this is purely my opinion…teaching history may involve a ton of mathematics that I’m totally unaware of, and if that’s the case, then get studying, heh)
Because you come across as smart in non-mathematical areas, everyone probably thinks you should be in your state’s Scholarship Federation, or that you should be a National Merit Scholar, but your math problem keeps you down. I know exactly how it is.
But don’t despair. If your college turns out to be like mine was, you’ll probably find that they have a ‘calculus lite’ for liberal arts majors, which will meet the college
graduation requirements. Typically this type of class requires no previous knowledge of trig, and the work is not mathematically rigorous.
Where I teach, we require very little in the way of high school math competency–just Algebra and Geometry. Of course once we’ve got our mitts on you everyone, regardless of major, must take at least three hours of mathematics which could be anything from algebra to statistics to trig to calculus (depending on your interests and/or abilities).
I would think this to be mostly true, but if you flunk a bunch of classes your senior year, they can rescind your acceptance.
I went to Wake Forest with people that had not know algebra. I wouldn’t lose any more sleep over this. Just remember teh Bigger Idiot Theory and you will be fine.
And remember, there are no doubt mathematically-inclined individuals who are weak in grammar saying “I went to Wake Forest with people that had not know English.”
The funny thing is that me was an english major when me went to kollidje
I got into college without taking Algebra 2. At the time, that was a big deal. But it doesn’t matter because my school’s nonmajor math courses are things like “The History of Mathematical Thought.” Gods willing, I will not touch a calculator for the next four years.
IMHO, the only way they would rescind your acceptance based on your last year/semester is if you exhibited performance distinctly different from your transcript when they accepted you. In other words, if you had a 3.7 and were acing all your math classes, then in your last semester got a 1.7. But if your current academic performance is in line with what was on your transcript when you applied – strong in some areas, weak in others – it is not a cause of concern. Does that make sense?
I also strongly advocate getting any College required math classes out of the way pronto. Not only will you not have them hanging over your head, but you’ll be “fresh” from your high school math classes and won’t have time to forget what you know.
Note: the general subject GRE (for grad school, not that you’re planning that far ahead) doesn’t have any math more advanced than basic trig, geometry and algebra.
All I can say is the more you struggle now with your algebra course, the less you’ll have to struggle with it in college. This also applies to foreign languages. As a history major, I assume you’ll have a foreign language requirement. Looking back, the one thing (as befits this topic) I wish I did in high school was take one more year of foreign language and gotten it over with. Instead I dragged it (and my fear and loathing of it) out through two semesters of college. I wish I was more patient with math, too. I just did the minimum to graduate high school and that was it. Even though I was incompetent at it, I think not sticking with it closed a lot of doors.
Well, my daughter didn’t have four years of HS science. She didn’t have any trouble graduating, but was ineligible for the University of Missouri. One of her early acceptances clearly said it was conditional on the completion of X courses.
It’s all pretty cut and dried, particularly for a state school. Just go to their web site or admissions catalogs and look at the admission requirements for HS seniors.
I only had two years of math in high school, and I was accepted most of the places I applied to. MIT, if I recall correctly, rejected me. 
NMU doesn’t care - NMU will take anything that walks. Trust me. I went there, I knew people with something like .07 gpa’s that got in. That’s not to say it’s a bad school - it’s a solidly middle of the road, decent school. Not MIT, but then again, if ya wanted MIT, I’m guessing you would have taken 4 years of math.