- #1
Cosmophile
- 111
- 2
Hey, everyone. First and foremost, I assume you clicked on this out of willingness to offer some insight, so thank you for that. This will be a bit long, and for that I apologize.
I am currently 22 years old and I am wanting to double major in physics and mathematics. I am currently attending a community college to get my Associate's Degree so that I can transfer to a university for my undergrad career. This is my second attempt at community college. When I first started college, I placed out of precalculus and into Calculus I. My first community college was not a good one; the instructors weren't able to answer detailed questions and my needs as a student weren't met. During my first semester, I experienced some medical issues and was in the hospital for some time. My teachers agreed to allow me to do an independent study, but upon the semester's completion, I was marked as failing Calculus (this is the day I learned to get such agreements in writing).
The next semester, I took Calculus I again with the same instructor (this college only had two Calculus instructors). I kept record of all of my grades, the lowest of which was a 96. When I tried to register for Calc II the next semester, I was told I couldn't do so because I made a D in Calculus I. I figured this was simply an issue with entering grades, so I requested that my instructor and I go over the grades, and she declined.
So, the next semester, I took Calculus I again with a different instructor. Because I had taken the class twice before, I had to fill out surveys asking what my weak points as a student are and if I would like to consider additional assistance to overcome any learning obstacles I may have. While I understand that these systems are good to have, it was unsettling to be subjected to them. My father died right before the semester began and I became responsible for all of the legalities involving his property, debts, etc. These external stressors, as well as an overall lack of satisfaction for that school, caused me to withdraw from the school altogether.
I took a year off to handle my father's estate and other issues, and re-enrolled at my community college. This semester is my fourth semester taking Calc I. My final grade will most likely be a C. My current instructor is much better than previous instructors in the sense that he knows mathematics to a much higher degree (no pun intended). That being said, he's a bit ridiculous when it comes to grading. For instance, I made a 69 on my first exam even though no answer was wrong; his issue was that my method of showing my work didn't match his exactly (he has notations that he made up and prefers that we use those). If our work isn't a mirror copy of what his would be, points are deducted. I've always worked for an understanding of material, so mimicry isn't my strong suit. Anyway, this has resulted in quite a few point deductions. When I try discussing my grades with him, he simply says "when you have 20 years of experience, we can discuss the grade I've given you."
That being said, I definitely have some responsibility for my grade's not reflecting my knowledge. Throughout high school, I was a poor student; I always aced my exams but never did the homework and often missed days (I averaged roughly 15 absences per semester in high school). As a result, I never developed good homework habits. My calculus homework is all online (MyMathLab, if you are familiar with it) and points are deducted if the system doesn't agree with the way we put answers in. Being online work, I have had a difficult time remembering to do the work and have missed a few assignments. I accept full responsibility for those instances. The labs that we turn in would easily make up for it, but he invokes the same grading mentality on the labs as he does for tests. For instance, when I had to minimize the distance between two points, I opted to minimize the square of the distance for the sake of simplicity and clarity. I received zero points for doing so and made a C on the lab.
So, here's my question: Am I screwed? I've taken Calculus I four times and won't have an A in the class (unless, for whatever reason, I make a D and have to retake it. I don't want to think about that). I love mathematics and physics. I want to go to a good school and be surrounded by like-minded people, but I'm extremely worried that my bumpy road has doomed me to mediocrity. When I think of applying to schools, all I can think of is admissions seeing my history in Calc I and rolling their eyes, even if I make all A's in the rest of my math courses.
What insights can you all give?
I am currently 22 years old and I am wanting to double major in physics and mathematics. I am currently attending a community college to get my Associate's Degree so that I can transfer to a university for my undergrad career. This is my second attempt at community college. When I first started college, I placed out of precalculus and into Calculus I. My first community college was not a good one; the instructors weren't able to answer detailed questions and my needs as a student weren't met. During my first semester, I experienced some medical issues and was in the hospital for some time. My teachers agreed to allow me to do an independent study, but upon the semester's completion, I was marked as failing Calculus (this is the day I learned to get such agreements in writing).
The next semester, I took Calculus I again with the same instructor (this college only had two Calculus instructors). I kept record of all of my grades, the lowest of which was a 96. When I tried to register for Calc II the next semester, I was told I couldn't do so because I made a D in Calculus I. I figured this was simply an issue with entering grades, so I requested that my instructor and I go over the grades, and she declined.
So, the next semester, I took Calculus I again with a different instructor. Because I had taken the class twice before, I had to fill out surveys asking what my weak points as a student are and if I would like to consider additional assistance to overcome any learning obstacles I may have. While I understand that these systems are good to have, it was unsettling to be subjected to them. My father died right before the semester began and I became responsible for all of the legalities involving his property, debts, etc. These external stressors, as well as an overall lack of satisfaction for that school, caused me to withdraw from the school altogether.
I took a year off to handle my father's estate and other issues, and re-enrolled at my community college. This semester is my fourth semester taking Calc I. My final grade will most likely be a C. My current instructor is much better than previous instructors in the sense that he knows mathematics to a much higher degree (no pun intended). That being said, he's a bit ridiculous when it comes to grading. For instance, I made a 69 on my first exam even though no answer was wrong; his issue was that my method of showing my work didn't match his exactly (he has notations that he made up and prefers that we use those). If our work isn't a mirror copy of what his would be, points are deducted. I've always worked for an understanding of material, so mimicry isn't my strong suit. Anyway, this has resulted in quite a few point deductions. When I try discussing my grades with him, he simply says "when you have 20 years of experience, we can discuss the grade I've given you."
That being said, I definitely have some responsibility for my grade's not reflecting my knowledge. Throughout high school, I was a poor student; I always aced my exams but never did the homework and often missed days (I averaged roughly 15 absences per semester in high school). As a result, I never developed good homework habits. My calculus homework is all online (MyMathLab, if you are familiar with it) and points are deducted if the system doesn't agree with the way we put answers in. Being online work, I have had a difficult time remembering to do the work and have missed a few assignments. I accept full responsibility for those instances. The labs that we turn in would easily make up for it, but he invokes the same grading mentality on the labs as he does for tests. For instance, when I had to minimize the distance between two points, I opted to minimize the square of the distance for the sake of simplicity and clarity. I received zero points for doing so and made a C on the lab.
So, here's my question: Am I screwed? I've taken Calculus I four times and won't have an A in the class (unless, for whatever reason, I make a D and have to retake it. I don't want to think about that). I love mathematics and physics. I want to go to a good school and be surrounded by like-minded people, but I'm extremely worried that my bumpy road has doomed me to mediocrity. When I think of applying to schools, all I can think of is admissions seeing my history in Calc I and rolling their eyes, even if I make all A's in the rest of my math courses.
What insights can you all give?