Math help learning programs?

[Famine]

I know several of you guys are well schooled, and have various degrees and other certificates, and I know those are hard to get. Part of the reason I haven't pursued any form of school is because every degree I've had my eye on requires me to take courses in Math, and if high school was any indication, (failed Math 2 times, and scraped by the regents exam with a grade of 69) it's going to be a real problem for me, and probably embarrassing for me to go into a class with very limited math knowledge.

My question for you is if anyone here has as much trouble with Math, and has found a solution, be it an online program or a book, or some other thing to help me? I'm starting to seriously consider "growing up" and some sort of school (as unwanted as it is for me) will help in the process.

Thanks for your time guys,

Kevin

[Matt]

(failed Math 2 times, and scraped by the regents exam with a grade of 69)

[Matt_Fury]

Kevin,

I have my Bachelor's in Math and the best advice I could give you is when you are in a class, work every problem in the book.  If you are having trouble with any of them, talk to your professor. Universities also have counselors and labs dedicated to help you learn math...take advantage of that.

Just remember, the rules never really change.

[Nathan]

Well, I took my first two years of college at a community college, and I recall they offered remedial basic math classes. If your school does not offer math that suits you, you could always take something separately at your community college/vo-tech/etc. Even if the credit does not transfer towards your degree, at least it will be good prep before you tackle the required math.

Also, do like Matt said and take advantage of other "extras". Your school may offer one-on-one peer tutoring, or at minimum they will have group sessions, study areas with lab assistants waiting for your questions, etc.

Take heart that many degrees and most majors just require a couple of courses in math, a relatively small fraction of the whole. (Unless you want a technical/business degree, in which case I'm not the guy to ask for advice.)

Good luck!

[Jesse James]

A lot of people think they'll "avoid" difficult Mathematics by venturing into business...  They think this because they figure Accounting isn't complex mathematics as much as it is tedious work and set patterns and such...  I can safely tell you, they're wrong.  I didn't even go into accounting, but Business Administration/Management, and I have a TON of accounting under my belt because of it...  The cool thing about it is it's eye-opening and practical math you can learn and use...  The higher-level courses of Accounting in your undergrad stuff (Cost Accounting, Managerial, etc.) are pretty cool concepts you maybe didn't think of...  kind of abstract, especially Managerial.  They're also difficult, and not simple in the slightest if you're not geared to that way of thinking.  But they're learnable with good profs...

I'm just giving what practical advice I can since I float in and out of school still at the ripe age of 29 to get a little further ahead in my education beyond what I already have...  It's difficult for me though for a number of reasons.  All I know though is a lot of the "kids" I was in classes with my last stint of learnin' had these ideas about business being an "easy" out on college level math courses, and they were usually slapped with reality about it.

That's not to say you can't do it though either...  I think the advice of checking out your local CC's course list is sound advice.  I know a lot who have done this, and while there's some stigma there people place on CC's it's really not true and doesn't affect if you get a good paying job or not which is all that's important (well, to most anyway).

I suck at Math by the way...  In my area I graduated from a class of 52 people, I kid you not.  NOt that I live in the middle of nowhere, just that my town has active steel mills yet so the taxation of those allows us to keep a small school district while other towns merged for support and things...  Anyway though, in my "high school years" which pretty much meant 7th to 12th grade in my school district (you were in the same building all those years, so middle/high blur together) I did poorly at Math...  I did poorly before too though, but not nearly as bad as I did in my last years, and I struggled through in some classes because of missing a lot and things...  I too have a fear of any college-level math course like Calculus and things, so I know where you're coming from...  There is help out there for you though at any college, and a lot of it.  A lot more than most high schools ever offered for sure.

[Paul]

I would agree with the guys about getting your Math at a local Community College or Junior College.  Just make sure the University you want to ultimately get your degree from will accept the credits (even if they don't accept the GPA).  It is cheaper too.

My best advice for Math classes in college is to take them on the Monday/ Wednesday /Friday classes instead of Tues/Thursday (if they still break up the classes that way)....

With 3 days a week, it gives you more instances of insturction per week (although the same clock time).  And it will break the process down a bit, slowing the pace and allow you interaction with the Professor or TA.

Not Math related, but take English/Lit classes on Tues/Thursday so you have 4 1/2 days to get the reading/writing done between classes.

[name]

My best advice for Math classes in college is to take them on the Monday/ Wednesday /Friday classes instead of Tues/Thursday (if they still break up the classes that way)....

That's very good advice.  I'd also echo what others have said about looking for Comm College classes for math.  I isolated all my math for my bachelor's in a summer session so I wasn't distracted.  If you're looking at a public University, too, they'll likely offer developmental math classes.

I have a meeting today, actually, and one the committee members is a developmental math teacher.  I'll ask him if he has any suggestions for you.

[name]

Here you go bud

Richard,
Here are some links for people who want to prepare and know what is covered in the developmental math classes (or perhaps want to test out of them).

http://www.etsu.edu/advisement/DevStudy/CourseDesc.asp -- Scroll down to Mathematics (DSPM), where you'll find copies of practice final exams along with answer keys.

www.etsu.edu/devstudy/compass.pdf -- a short practice COMPASS exam that gives some information about that exam which is used for students who don't have ACT scores less than three years old. Taking the COMPASS test is free the first time; if a student wishes to take the test again, there is a $20 fee for each subsequent attempt.

If that's not enough information, I'll be glad to pass along one of the sample textbooks I get from various publishers and make a list of which chapters correspond to what we currently teach in our DSPM courses. Feel free to pass on my contact information.

[Nathan]

My best advice for Math classes in college is to take them on the Monday/ Wednesday /Friday classes instead of Tues/Thursday (if they still break up the classes that way)....

With 3 days a week, it gives you more instances of insturction per week (although the same clock time).  And it will break the process down a bit, slowing the pace and allow you interaction with the Professor or TA.

Not Math related, but take English/Lit classes on Tues/Thursday so you have 4 1/2 days to get the reading/writing done between classes.

Great advice on both counts.

[Sprry75]

Bah.

Just go to law school. 

I sucked at math in junior high and high school.  I had to take pre-algebra three times.  I never failed it, per se, but always got Cs, and I had to get an A or a B to advance.  That taught me to hate math.  In retrospect, the problem was just that I was really lazy.  Math requires dedicated effort, and procrastination equals death.  Well, I was on the high school football team, had a rep to maintain as a world class Street Fighter II champion on SNES, and just didn't like math, so I was not dedicated and procrastinated.  Plus I was a little lazy.  And it crippled me mathematically.  Thankfully, one of my football coaches was a math teacher, and he scooted me through both pre-algebra and algebra I, or I probably wouldn't have graduated.

When I got to college, I chose a degree that could end in either a Bachelor of Science or a Bachelor of Arts.  The BS route required two quasi-math classes, while the BA path required four foreign language courses.  I didn't want to do either (although in hindsight, I should have learned Spanish), but bit the bullet and took the shorter way to the BS degree.  I found two classes that were really "quantitative reasoning" classes, but filled the credits, and got out of college with only having to take one class where I even had to solve numerical problems.  I had to figure out how to calculate amortization rates and stuff that had practical applications, but I still hated it.

Then I went to law school and, except for a stupid antitrust class that I never should have taken in the first place, never even had to think about numbers.

Just do what I did: marry a chick who is good at math so she can do your taxes and help your kids with their homework, and then hire an assistant who is good at math to do any math-related work at work. 

Or better yet, marry a chick who is good at math and then have her be your assistant at work so you can sexually harass her without reprisal.  I'm still working on that phase of my master plan.