Math troubles

[abmuk]

Greetings,

I have already been excepted to an excellent four-year undergrad institution. I am a second year Pre-Med student at a junior college and I keep running into Math issues. Our Math department isn't so great. I have (after consulting with my parents and advisor) decided to withdraw from my Trigonometry class. My exam grades put me below a C average. I worked very hard to acheive a 3.56 GPA and I don't want this class to disaffect it.
Does anyone know how "W" are viewed by universities, medical schools?

I plan to retake it this summer, preferably at a different Junior College; but I would really love to place out of the course altogether.

I have been asked to take Calculus 1 before I start at the new school that I have been excepeted and I can't until the Trig is out of the way.

Any suggestions about how to go about this situation?

Thanks!

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[notdeadyet]

Does anyone know how "W" are viewed by universities, medical schools?

I have bunches of them, and they've never been an issue while interviewing, but I had good explanations. A "W" in a course at one JC which you then repeat at another JC might paint a picture that you found it too hard at one school, so you shopped around for an easier school.

I plan to retake it this summer, preferably at a different Junior College; but I would really love to place out of the course altogether.

If you're having trouble with trig at one JC, you probably won't place out of it.

I have been asked to take Calculus 1 before I start at the new school that I have been excepeted and I can't until the Trig is out of the way.

The nice (and tough) thing about mathematics, is that it's the least subjective subject you will ever study. What this means, is even if you have a bad professor, you can still succeed if you get outside help. Look around for tutors. If your school doesn't provide them for free, you shouldn't have trouble finding them.

With a good enough tutor in math, overcoming a bad professor usually isn't a problem.

 

[DrMidlife]

If you search this forum, you'll see a vast array of comments about how W's aren't particularly harmful within reason.

Now would be a good time to give up the habit, forever, of blaming anybody other than yourself for poor academic performance.

If you're struggling in trig, that's not a good sign. You could be in for a heap of misery if university-level math and science aren't your strong suit. The majority of your competition took trig in high school.

My recommendation would be for you to get a tutor, and work your heinie off.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Anka]

If you're having a problem with trig, you're going to have a really hard time making the transition to calculus. Calculus is a bit different from the math you're doing now, in that it becomes a lot less algorithmic -- you're going to learn a set of tricks, if you will, and have to figure out what trick to apply to the integral. Trig is the easy part. Not to mention, the knowledge you're getting in trig is necessary to learning calculus.

I'd step back and figure out why you're having a hard time with trig. You're teachers being bad really isn't a good enough reason -- you should be able to sit down with a book and teach it to yourself. If you can't (that's okay... you just need to recognize that it's your problem and not your school's), you need to figure out why. Most people have a problem because they aren't doing enough problems on their own, i.e., they're just doing the problems assigned rather than extra problems from the book. If your book doesn't have answers in it, you may need to get a problem book that does have answers. These books often include a lot of worked problems, too, so you can see where you're going astray.

That said, you should definitly withdraw -- a W looks a lot better than a C on your transcript. As long as you don't have a long string of them, they'll probably be overlooked.

Anka

 

[Tired Pigeon]

Is it only trig that's giving you trouble, or is it math in general?

With regard to the W, one W is not generally a problem (a pattern of W's is a different story entirely). It is optimal if you retake the course at a later point and do well, of course - this supports an argument that there was some temporary circumstance (personal issue, bad teaching, whatever) that hindered your performance the first time around and not an innate lack of ability in the subject at hand. It seems unlikely you will place out of trig, and it is likely in your best interest to retake if anyway.

 

[notdeadyet]

If you're having a problem with trig, you're going to have a really hard time making the transition to calculus.

Disagree with this. I took Trig in high school and hardly paid any attention. I took Calculus a whole 15 years later and didn't have a problem. I didn't know any trig but the amount used in Calculus is not hard to master.

If the OP is just having trouble with math, that's one thing. But I wouldn't take evidence that he's having a problem with trig to be a sign that he'll have problems with Calculus.

 

[Anka]

Disagree with this. I took Trig in high school and hardly paid any attention. I took Calculus a whole 15 years later and didn't have a problem. I didn't know any trig but the amount used in Calculus is not hard to master.

If the OP is just having trouble with math, that's one thing. But I wouldn't take evidence that he's having a problem with trig to be a sign that he'll have problems with Calculus.

By 15 years later you were an adult learner and probably were willing to sit and stare at your book. My guess is, had you stared at your book you would have done fine in trig, too. Math at the level required of a premedical student doesn't require genious, you just have to sit there and stare and do problems.

I think he's going to have a problem because he expects to be spoon fed -- calculus just doesn't lend itself to that. That's why I said trig is the easy part. It really is. If I remember correctly, there are about six formulae, which can be applied alogrithmically to any of the problems. Most people (though not all) who have "math problems" just don't do enough problems.

Anka

 

[Falco2525]

Greetings,

I have already been excepted to an excellent four-year undergrad institution. I am a second year Pre-Med student at a junior college and I keep running into Math issues. Our Math department isn't so great. I have (after consulting with my parents and advisor) decided to withdraw from my Trigonometry class. My exam grades put me below a C average. I worked very hard to acheive a 3.56 GPA and I don't want this class to disaffect it.
Does anyone know how "W" are viewed by universities, medical schools?

I plan to retake it this summer, preferably at a different Junior College; but I would really love to place out of the course altogether.

I have been asked to take Calculus 1 before I start at the new school that I have been excepeted and I can't until the Trig is out of the way.

Any suggestions about how to go about this situation?

Thanks!

It is accepted not excepted...sorry that was bothering me...as for the math troubles you need to get a basic handle on trig becuase it does show up in a minor way in calculus...but it is there...you need to do well in math in order to be able to go to medical school there is no doubt about that...almost all schools require some kind of math...be it calculus or stats...you need to do better than a C in trig unless you somehow blow away calculus...a W will not destry your chances as long as you do not have a bunch of them by the time you apply

 

[abmuk]

If you search this forum, you'll see a vast array of comments about how W's aren't particularly harmful within reason.

Now would be a good time to give up the habit, forever, of blaming anybody other than yourself for poor academic performance.

If you're struggling in trig, that's not a good sign. You could be in for a heap of misery if university-level math and science aren't your strong suit. The majority of your competition took trig in high school.

My recommendation would be for you to get a tutor, and work your heinie off.

Best of luck to you.

Thank you all for all of your insightful feedback. I also have a very helpful tutor.
However, I never blame anyone for flaws in my academic performance. I took College Algebra at my school as well, and over 75 percent of our class suffered due to the exam format (also the instructor was not so wonderful either).
My own advisor is sad to say how messed up or Math department is.

The sad part is I actually am understanding Trig, and if my grade was just based on Quizes, Homework and Projects I'd have an "A."

Sincerely,
Abmuk

 

[AnEyeLikeMars]

However, I never blame anyone for flaws in my academic performance. I took College Algebra at my school as well, and over 75 percent of our class suffered due to the exam format (also the instructor was not so wonderful either).

Really? That seems like exactly what you're doing...

The sad part is I actually am understanding Trig, and if my grade was just based on Quizes, Homework and Projects I'd have an "A."

If you understanding it, why are you doing so poorly on the exams?

 

[DrMidlife]

...over 75 percent of our class suffered due to the exam format (also the instructor was not so wonderful either). My own advisor is sad to say how messed up or Math department is.

This is that blaming I was talking about. The people who get into med school are in the 25% who can succeed despite a messed up math department. They're called "the people who get A's and B's in hard classes."

...if my grade was just based on Quizes, Homework and Projects I'd have an "A."

...and this is whining. Even less valid/appealing than blaming. A syllabus isn't a lunch buffet. You have to eat the stuff you don't like, too.

 

[NonTradMed]

You can't place out of trig if you are struggling in a class so suck it up and get to work!

I would drop your current trig class since you're getting a C in it. Better W than a C- which would really screw with your BCPM come med school application time. Just remember that math is all logic and requires lots of practice. It's not something you can look at an example of and understand. Good luck.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

The sad part is I actually am understanding Trig, and if my grade was just based on Quizes, Homework and Projects I'd have an "A."

Good grief Charlie Brown.

 

[FemalesCANTDriv]

This thread makes me giggle.

Edit: I agree with AnEyeLikeMars