I'm in trouble

[Hanyuye]

This is a repeating cycle and I keep getting washed by the waves.

 

I got a D, C and D in Vector Cal, Cal 3 and Cal 2 respectively. My Cal 2 grade was understandable as it was my first semester of college and I had enormous domestic issues at home and also couldn't afford the textbooks/calculators for the course. 

 

However, with my Cal 3 and Vector Cal grades, my test performances have been terrible. It takes me 2 months to understand the material and then it's too late to rectify the poor performance. I have intense test anxiety which I never had before ever since coming back to school. I excelled in math my whole life until college, then I switched my major because I was highly discouraged(terrible faculty and advisors were the main ones)  and a million other factors. I am applying for grad school as we speak and I know I can do better in those classes. Will retaking these classes in the spring semester or summer do me any good?

 

All-in-all, I believe my studying habits are completely insufficient in my math classes. I only feel satisfied studying with groups now and doubt everything I do by myself.

 

I'm not looking to get into top tier schools, fyi, more like second/third tier schools. 

I'd greatly appreciate the help, especially from school faculty. 

[cyberwulf]

I generally tell people that there's not much point in retaking classes, but in your situation it might be a reasonable option. Doing well the second time around will at least show adcoms that you have mastered the relevant material, a fact which they might doubt given your grades.

Edited December 29, 2012 by cyberwulf

[Hanyuye]

I suppose that if I take a class the second time, I MUST get an A or A+ this time around? Meaning, if I receive a B the second time around, how will that seem?

Edited December 29, 2012 by Hanyuye

[emmm]

If you are applying now, retaking won't help with admissions for this year -- the grades won't be back in time, I think. In my opinion, you are facing an uphill battle, unless the rest of your grades are excellent and you have great LORs. The area you are applying to is very competitive. Since retaking probably won't help your applications, you need to decide if you know the material well enough now, or if you need to get a strong foundation still. That should determine whether you retake these classes or go on to more advanced ones. Good luck!

[vertices]

Try to visit your school's health services and counseling center. They may be able to offer help with regards to your anxiety and/or lingering issues with your domestic situation. I know you're probably feeling pretty busy, but in the grand scheme of things the first visit isn't that long and from there you can decide whether they can do anything for you in terms of prescribing medication (sometimes via a referral) or offering face time.

 

Do the people writing letters for you know about the hardship you've gone through? Can you address it in your SOP?

 

I agree that you should have a strong foundation in the material considering your goals. If it ends up taking an extra year or so and re-applying, it will be well-worth it in the long run.

[Hanyuye]

Vertices, I had counseling before during my first undergrad. It helped a lot as I was extremely depressed about domestic issues. I was a Literature major back then and did well on exams. I will go back regarding this test anxieties which I can't shake off, thanks for the suggestion.

 

Only one professor knows about my hardships, I've yet to tell the other 3. Will tell one or two of them to address it in their recommendations. 

I'm not hesitant in retaking the courses, just that I HAVE to go through much, much red tape just to do so. CUNY policies are extremely backward in this sense where I need permission from the department and professor. 

 

As for applying for grad school, I'm still going to apply and very much notify them that I'm retaking classes and will continue do so. Thank you all for the suggestions, please continue to do so because it will help tremendously!

[Matt W]

Which other math courses have you taken and how did you perform?

[Shostakovich]

Yeah, agree with the above posters merely just telling the adcoms you will be retaking prerequisite courses probably won't help for this year's admissions. Even at second/third tier schools, satisfactory performance in the Calculus sequence seems to be sort of the bare minimum to be considered for admissions (and also what you need to be able to keep up with the work). Not sure what your situation is so I can't comment further, but I personally don't think there's shame in taking an extra year or two to build stronger foundations before applying.

As for study habits and test anxiety, there are many tools available at the Calculus level such as the instructor's office hours, tutoring center ran by the Math department (maybe not available at all schools), and even online forums like the mathhelpforum where you could ask questions. That way you would have correct scratch work and solutions to work off of for the exams, and persistently quizzing yourself on the definitions, theorems, and homework/lecture problems will be very helpful as well.

Good luck!

Edited December 31, 2012 by Shostakovich

[Hanyuye]

Hi Shostakovich, I actually have no problems catching/keeping up or the sorts. I understand all the material, it's my test taking skills that are lacking. My grades reflect my test taking, I completely blackout during the test- my studying and all I have remembered are voided and  there goes my grade and precious time and money!

As for the professor hours, I have only been taught by one professor out of 8 classes, the rest are adjuncts on their way to PHD or Masters and have no office hours(except one), I can only reach them via email and this trend during my second undergrad is INCREDIBLY inconvenient. I just have an extreme case to fight the uphill battle and it keeps getting steeper. I do seek online forums and tutoring as they are my only help. 

As for my other classes, I have taken Graph Theory (A), Matrix Algebra (A+), Discrete Math , ODE , Math Proofs , Geology 102(A) since I'm applying for petroleum engineering programs, Physics II (A).

I will retake Vector Cal this spring along with PDE and maybe number theory. In summer, Linear Algebra and Number Theory if I don't take it in the spring. 

Edited December 31, 2012 by Hanyuye

[Shostakovich]

Hi Shostakovich, I actually have no problems catching/keeping up or the sorts. I understand all the material, it's my test taking skills that are lacking. My grades reflect my test taking, I completely blackout during the test- my studying and all I have remembered are voided and  there goes my grade and precious time and money!

As for the professor hours, I have only been taught by one professor out of 8 classes, the rest are adjuncts on their way to PHD or Masters and have no office hours(except one), I can only reach them via email and this trend during my second undergrad is INCREDIBLY inconvenient. I just have an extreme case to fight the uphill battle and it keeps getting steeper. I do seek online forums and tutoring as they are my only help. 

As for my other classes, I have taken Graph Theory (A), Matrix Algebra (A+), Discrete Math , ODE , Math Proofs , Geology 102(A) since I'm applying for petroleum engineering programs, Physics II (A).

I will retake Vector Cal this spring along with PDE and maybe number theory. In summer, Linear Algebra and Number Theory if I don't take it in the spring. 

 

Ah okay, so you have taken other math classes and did reasonably well on them. Those grades look a lot more competitive so seems like just a matter of making up the "hole" in Calculus.

 

Also I'm not sure how relevant Number Theory will be, I'd personally go with something more relevant to Applied Math/Stats like Real Analysis, Probability, or Numerical Analysis.

[Hanyuye]

I would take Real Analysis but Hunter/Baruch nor City offers it this spring and if they do, it's in a horrible time according to my work schedule. I already have the requirements for my math major for a stat course and if I get into the Probability Course, I'll take it. Numerical analysis is being taught by an infamous professor, so I won't tread there.

 

What about PDE in an engineering sense? I enjoyed ODE very much.

[iExcelAtMicrosoftPuns]

 couldn't afford the textbooks/calculators for the course. 

Man I feel ya. My first few semesters of college I paid for myself and didn't have money for any books. It was miserable, I got all C's and B's and lost all my confidence.

Chin up, chap!

[Hanyuye]

Thanks MisterMister, that's very encouraging of you.

 

Also a question, as I round up my recommendations for graduate school, I had a mentor (French Literature Professor) who mentored me for 5 years. Will adcomms see it as a negative that he isn't a math/science/engineering professor? Or as a positive that he has known me during my troubling years of my first undergrad when I had severe domestic issues and was there during my dramatic improvement?

[ANDS!]

Number Theory is crazy pointless for what you want to do.  I mean it'd make you a better thinker, but I struggle (beyond Algebra) to remember where I used it.

 

Also, those Calculus grades are going to be your Achilles heel - they are basically the get in ticket for these programs.  I'm curious how you were allowed to continue to Calc II.  Also there is no shame in retaking a course.  You would hardly be the first person in the history of mathematics to hit a roadblock.

 

Depending on how much of a hurry you are in to get to graduate school, you'd probably be well served retaking those course (especially if you want to give RA a go).

 

In regards to LOR's, unless your other LOR's are incredibly stellar and are only allowed 3 (the norm) I wouldn't go the out of subject area route.

[Hanyuye]

Number Theory is crazy pointless for what you want to do.  I mean it'd make you a better thinker, but I struggle (beyond Algebra) to remember where I used it.

 

Also, those Calculus grades are going to be your Achilles heel - they are basically the get in ticket for these programs.  I'm curious how you were allowed to continue to Calc II.  Also there is no shame in retaking a course.  You would hardly be the first person in the history of mathematics to hit a roadblock.

 

Depending on how much of a hurry you are in to get to graduate school, you'd probably be well served retaking those course (especially if you want to give RA a go).

 

In regards to LOR's, unless your other LOR's are incredibly stellar and are only allowed 3 (the norm) I wouldn't go the out of subject area route.

I took Cal 1 in high school, AP cal got a 4/5 score. Cal 2 took my first semester of college and like I  mentioned before, it was hell since I didn't have the resources and trouble of not studying at home and domestic issues. I took Cal 3 six years later at another college so they took the credit for Cal 2. LIke I mentioned before in my other posts, I was perfectly fine with math until senior year of high school when my life at home negatively affected everything. I was thinking Number theory was pointless too and just take Probability Theory but the timing for that course is horrible and can't take it with my PDE class.