Pima Math - What could it hurt?

I'm having second thoughts about my approach to Math. Until this morning I've been resisting the thought of taking the Pima Math course and wanted instead to retake the UA Math Placement Exam, but maybe that's the wrong approach. While I dislike taking a semester-long math class that won't really count towards my degree, what's the harm in getting Math off to a really solid start?

As I may have said before, I'm enrolled in two courses for the Fall semester: English 101, and MIS 111. And I'm still working full time. And it will take some time to get into the "college groove". In other words, it's already going to be a very busy five months and adding Intermediate Algebra on top of everything isn't my idea of a day at the beach.

But -- think through this with me -- I only need a "C" to get credit. I think I can manage a "B" but, since that grade won't count against my GPA at the UA, I won't have to kill myself with homework, if it comes to that. Plus, I'll have a classroom setting and a real prof (not just a book) to help me with any struggles I might encounter. And Juan might want to take it with me (for "fun"! ).

I found two accelerated Pima classes that could work very nicely. One meets 6-8:30p two nights a week out near our house. Starts late August and ends mid-October. The second possibility meets 4-7p two nights a week on the UA campus and doesn't start until mid-October. It ends in December. The second choice would mostly be after I have retired so maybe that's the best choice. I'll talk it over with Juan and see.

That's a LOT of information!

New Student Orientation was fun! But it was long and they crammed a whole lot of information into just a day and a half! I admire the parents who came in from out of town and stuck with it to the end. I was familiar with a lot of the info from being an employee, so I can only imagine it's a bit overwhelming for someone brand new to campus. I didn't hear a count, but there were likely around 500 students plus their parents -- a big crowd which was, of course, divided into smaller groups most of the time.

While us students were doing our thing, they had separate sessions for the parents. In retrospect, I should have signed Juan up as my "parent" because then I could have found out what they were telling the other group. A lot of the parents seemed younger than me, and most of the students, of course, looked like 12-year-olds!

As I anticipated, Math Placement didn't go well! The test was a bit easier than the practice ones online, but I still didn't score high enough to get placed into Math 110 (entry level at UA). Right now my placement is Pima Math 122 which I would take at our local community college. They said it would count as elective credit when I pass, but I'm not thrilled about using an elective on an additional Math course. So I plan to retake the exam on August 13 and try to get better placement.

What DID go well was my Language Proficiency Exam. I took mine in French and placed high enough that I don't have to take a single semester in foreign language! I tested straight into French 202 which is higher than my major requires. So, unless I choose to minor in French, or decide to do it as an elective for kicks, I don't ever have to write a five-page double spaced paper in French! Whew! That's more of a relief than you know. When I learned French, it was the speaking kind; I can't write worth a dilly.

While I was very impressed with how efficiently orientation was run, I still have some bureaucratic snags to clear up. My Student ID was supposed to be converted from my SSN -- and it was -- just not to the number I was told it would be! And it turns out while I was ACCEPTED into the summer session, I wasn't actually REGISTERED in it so I have to visit the Admissions office tomorrow in person as they don't do that stuff over the phone or by email.

But by 4pm tomorrow I should be all set with my two summer session courses which I will take on the web, and two classroom courses for the Fall. With a Winter and/or Summer session or two in the future, I'll be right back on track with the rest of the kiddies!

I think I'm gonna need Plan B

Well, I've been studying College Algebra nearly every day for three weeks but I don't think it's going to be enough to pass the Math Readiness Test tomorrow. I haven't totally given up, but I need to be ready with Plan B as it's likely to be needed.

I just took the practice test and scored 32%! That's 13 correct out of 40. And I was "sure" about more than 13 answers, so I'm still not "getting it" on some of them. In the book I haven't begun logarithms, radicals, or much geometry, and I only started with graphs last night, so it makes sense those are my weakest topics, but I'll need to brush up on polynomials, quadratic equations, and all the linear stuff, too, before tomorrow.

Here's the test link if you want to try your hand:

California Mathematics Diagnostic Testing Project

It's free and I don't think they send anyone to your house with a ruler to rap your knuckles if you fail!

So Plan A is still to scrape by and get placed in Math 101 (or whatever the equivalent is these days). But if I score below that threshold, I can retake the test in November for a better placement. That will give me almost 5 months to keep plugging at the book. I'm genuinely enjoying it, for the most part, and want to get it nailed down. I'd relish the opportunity to take some time to do that before jumping on the math roller coaster. I'll be behind soon enough!

However, I'm REALLY looking forward to tomorrow's all-day orientation (and Wednesday's). I even get a tour of the campus! I know practically every building inside and out, but this time it will be from a student's perspective so that will be fun. Plus I know nothing of the academic side of the bursar's office and other departments we'll visit. Gonna need those comfortable walking shoes!

Interesting links

While browsing the internet today, I found some really important web links you might find interesting.

Here is a sample 4-year plan for someone with an accounting major:

Sample Four Year Plan

Mine will look slightly different, of course, since I will take a light load that first semester, but I hope to make up the gap by taking as many summer and winter sessions as I can find that fit within my major. From what I can tell, there are very few courses offered during those abbreviated sessions, but I'll do what I can.

I'm glad I found this before meeting with an advisor. Gives me a better idea what the whole picture is going to look like.

It looks like a l-o-n-g road, and one that will stretch me in ways I can't even imagine, but I'm up for it!

I also took a look at what it takes to be an Honors student. Turns out some incoming freshmen are automatically designated the Honors status based on their high school grades and other factors. I wasn't (go figure! :-), but I can apply for consideration after I've taken 12 units and IF I have achieved a 3.5 GPA (or above).

Being an Honors student is, of course, a very nice sounding accolade, but the main reason I hope to achieve it is to gain access to a bunch of good stuff including priority registration. If I can register for class earlier than the non-honor students, I'm more likely to get the classes I want when I want them.

Here's a link to the Honors College.

Waiting is the hard part

I'm sure other "hard parts" will surface forthwith, but right now I'm very anxious to get started. I can't register for classes until I attend orientation and that isn't until a week from Tuesday!

Scouring the class schedule, I plan to be prepared with a list of possible classes and can register in a flash when the time comes. Of course I'll meet with an academic advisor (already started a list of questions for him/her), but when you're just starting out, it looks pretty hard to go wrong with class selection.

"Tier One" subjects include Individuals & Societies (INDV), Natural Sciences (NATS), and Traditions & Cultures (TRAD). I've picked out two Web-Delivered courses I'd like to take concurrently during Summer Session II; Money, Consumers & the Family, and Plants and Our World. I'll eventually need two courses in each Tier One group.

Summer Session is an accelerated timeframe where a whole semester is crammed into around five weeks. If I took a traditional classroom course, I'd have to find one that meets after 3:30 pm (when I get off work) or get my boss's permission to cut work for a couple hours every day for over a month! (Hmmm, doesn't sound too bad!)

But there's another problem with that because Juan and I have been planning a week-long trip to Mexico and it falls smack dab in the middle of the summer semester. Missing five consecutive class sessions just won't work. With web-delivered, I can get the homework done early for that week. I'll be back in town to take the finals in the comfort of my own home.

Six units in an accelerated semester might be a lot when I'm still working full time, so I'll take the advice of my advisor on that, but I'd sure like to get those out of the way sooner rather than later. I've already bought the books for the Money class since I plan to take it -- now or in the Fall. I'm hoping to put off any Math classes until Spring 2008 when I don't have the full time job to contend with.

Those of you who can remember college (!), do you have any "must take" subjects to recommend? Any UA professors to suggest (or avoid!)?