Advice from past Math 115 students taking this class online in 16-weeks

Dear prospective student,

If you only take away one thing from this letter, take away this: this class requires A LOT of time and patience. I read the syllabus and all of the previous students' letters and honestly thought it was an exaggeration that the class requires 3-4 hours a day. I've taken plenty of online classes that suggest you spend about 4 hours a day on the class material, but I was always able to sneak by with a couple hours every other day or so. This is NOT the case for this class! Sure you can get by only spending a few days working on assignments, but it makes it a lot harder to learn the material and keep up with the assignments. My advice is to keep up with the due dates of the hw. You can complete the homework after the deadline, and it is really tempting to do so, but I warn you it is not easy doing all of the homework and a quiz in a single day (It took me about 12 hours and I work at a relatively fast pace).

I also HIGHLY suggest taking the practice quizzes and practice tests because it makes the real quizzes and tests SO much easier, and I promise you will get a better grade if you put in that extra little effort! Also, make sure you learn and memorize all of the review information because you are going to be coming back to it the entire semester, so if you have any problems with the review material, get help sooner rather than later!

Dear future math students,

Coming from a current math student who is taking this class online I wish I knew couple of things before I started this class. I wish I knew that even though this class is an online class you still have to put in the same amount of effort you would in any other class. If I could go back to prepare myself for this class I would’ve studied more of my basic algebra skills because I didn’t realize how weak my base was from not studying math for about a year or two. FOR YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THIS CLASS is always follow the calendar don’t fall behind because once you do it will become a horrible habit and you will suffer when you have to study everything all at once. NEVER EVER not study for a quiz or test because they’re a big part of your grade and if you don’t study them you will not pass.I hope my advice has helped you understand or helped you do better in this class.

Information I would liked to have known before starting the class would be none. Even before reading the sylabus I knew that this class would absorb most of my free time. I was prepaired for the courseload and it's requirements from the start and you should be too. I feel that I approached this class with the right mindset. I knew this class would need daily attention and commitment. Even though i was mentally ready for the class, I could have brushed up on my Algebra.

To be sucessful in this class you must commit. Know you will be doing math everyday of the semester (including weekends) and embrace that fact. Write down the formulas and rules on sticky notes and post them in your room, car and kitchen. Annoy your friends by telling them the math you learned that day and how it is useful in everyday life. Use the tutors and math lab at school and find a way to love this class. At this point,math lessons become clearly useful. Coumpund interest, cost functions and revenue functions are used all the time in business. Hold on to the fact that the information you are learning is important.

Future students should not get overly-confident in thier math skills. My hardest times in this class came from me being cocky. I would do really well in one section and think future sections would be a breeze. I was sorely mistaken. Some sections are easier than others and wasting time in this class is foolish. Waiting untill the last minute to do work in this class is a BAD idea.You WILL have unexpected troubles in this class and you WILL need to use your time wiseley. Try not to get too far behind in this class. This class is like and endurence race and not a sprint. Take it nice and easy. Take it slow and steady.

Dear Prospective Student,

I want to start this letter by saying that this is a very interesting class and I love the set up of it. I wish I knew before the class started that even though this is an online class, it is still very involved and you aren’t going to get through this class any easier than a class that has on campus classes. I would say that I would have like to prepare times to do my homework and watch lectures before I started this class. An online class should be used if you don’t have a stable schedule and/or you don’t do well in live sessions but you still should have a set time each day that you are able to focus on the class so that you can get a great grade in the class. I would suggest that you ALWAYS do your homework and do it before the due dates of course. The homework is required to do the quizzes and if you wait until the last day of the quiz to do your homework, you’re going to have a hard time completing all of the homework before you can even start the quiz. I would also suggest that you do the practice quizzes at least once to get a good feel on what you are going to experience in the graded quiz and it also has a good feature of letting you go through a question with the program on the questions that you didn’t get right or don’t fully feel comfortable with. Reiterating what I said before, do NOT wait til the last minute to do your homework in order to do the quiz. It is very stressful and you would much had rather done the homework beforehand on the dates that they were due to spread out the problems that you have on your plate. But with all of that said, this class is awesome. The videos that are given are excellent ways to learn the concepts that you need to know and the homework is excellent in explaining how to do all the problems that you are presented with. I wish you luck and if you follow all of the directions provided by the teacher, there is a very good chance that you will do very well in this class and get through it stress free!

Best regards.

Wow!Where do I start?

The syllabus, YES! this is AT LEAST a part time job. I thought that was an exaggeration when I read it, but oh no, very accurate. I was a bit cocky when I started, and still feel that math is a strong point for me, but this class most certainly humbled me. It takes alot of time, going over the videos, doing the practice exercises, and the practice tests. All of them, not just every third question.

The more you do this stuff the better you become at it. You should have a VERY solid grip on the pre-reqs, if not, too much time is spent reviewing...if its been a while since you've had a math class, take a refresher course, or buy a study aid, and run through it BEFORE you take the class.

And you MUST stay ahead of the schedule for the work. Get behind even one assignment, and catching up is a bear. There is just so much work.

But the course work is laid out well, and the videos are great, JMT is the one I preferred. The course video from the book is tedious at best. Khan was pretty good too.

The Prof is ready to listen and send aid via the site. All in all, the class was and is pretty good, even if I am grumping about it. :)

Good Luck

Dear prospective Math 115 student,

Welcome to your new part-time job. If you wish to succeed in this class you must view it as a part-time job. Make sure you schedule a minimum of 3-5 hours a day to spend on this class. Before you start you should make sure that you are familiar with ALL the prerequisite material (Algebra 1&2 and Geometry). Also, if you have never used a graphing calculator before I would suggest familiarizing yourself with that before the class begins. I had never used one and I found myself spending a lot of time just learning the ins and outs of my calculator. Below are a few helpful tips for success:

1.        Stay Ahead – It is easy to fall behind in this class.
2.        Schedule Time for Calculus – If you don’t set time aside for this class you will quickly become overwhelmed.
3.        Watch the Videos – Each section has lecture videos along with text to read. The KAHN ACADEMY videos are superb and really help you grasp the material.
4.        Do the Practice Tests/Quizzes – The practice tests/quizzes are great representations of what you will see on the actual tests/quizzes.
5.        Keep a Positive Attitude!

This class is difficult, but it is not impossible. Stay focused and motivated and you will do just fine. Best wishes.

For future student planning on taking this course I would suggest refreshing your algebra and prepare to have no life. This class requires you to have efficient time management and patience. I suggest you workout every problem thoroughly because if you skip or just copy answers you would fall behind and wont learn the basics in this course. Each exercise should roughly take 1.5-2.5 hours to complete. For time management I recommend writing down all the due dates of homework, quizzes and exams and finish them 1+ day before the due dates. Procrastinating is tough in this class and I highly do not suggest it unless you taken calculus before or have good work ethics. If I get to take this course again I would take it on campus because it is hard for me to focus on the computer but that just me. As for this course itself it is very useful and it is one of the best online I had. The class format and layout is excellent, and you will learn! As for studying I prefer studying practice questions because it has examples and “help me solve this” option in addition those questions will be on the homework, quizzes and exams. At time it can be a handful (a lot of question) but it will benefit in the long term. I wish I have more spare time to study; I work part time and taking a lot of units. If you are working full time and taking a lot of units this class would be hard for you not the course material but time will be your worst enemy. I know this class was going to be tough but it isn’t too bad it’s just calculus and mainly algebra so good luck! What do you wish you had done to prepare for the class before it started? I guess buy a lot of coffee :) If you enjoy puzzles and math this class will be fun for you so enjoy.

The syllabus contains every single information that a student need to know before enrolling into this class. In order to be successful I suggest to read the syllabus a couple times and live by it. Last semester I took math 101 online and now that class seems too easy. In this class time is crucial! To finish a homework it takes 2 hours , to prepare for it is about the same time. If a student has a family and 30 hours of work, this class will be a challenge. Future students should not skip studying problems thoroughly, if one basic knowledge is missing then it will be a problem later on solving problems.Anyone who is thinking to take this class I suggest that check mark the following: time, dedication,self discipline, algebra proficient, thorough. Also don't be afraid to ask for help from the instructor.
I wish I would have taken this course in class, I missed the live instruction, interaction with fellow students and the teacher.
During the semester many times I thought I should ask Mrs A. if an in class instruction would be possible? Now I am sorry I did not asked.

Wishing the best of luck,

This is a 'VERY HARD'class.

If you are a full time employee and have kids to take care and only have 2 - 3 hours to study every day, this class will unforunately be a nightmare, and you will be living in the hell once you choose it. I would say DO NOT take class unless you have a very strong math background and you feel satisfied about the time management and workload. As other students described, this class requires a lot of time to study, do home work and prepare for quizes and exams. I am suffering right now, I put myself under great pressure. After I took this class, my life has totally changed, I can't spend valuable time with my kids, I can't share much house work, I can't sleep very well, I lost a lot of hair....

This math even makes me doubt myself. This is just a math class before the transfer, does it worth that much? I could't image the situation after I physically transfer to university.

However, above all is just my feeling about taking this class. I suggest you to read carefully and understand the work volume and difficulties of this class before your enroll. Keep it in your mind, this class has a lot of homework. Each homework has average 20 questions, in order to take quiz, you have to finish all the homework and exceed 80% scores to become eligible for quizes.

Necessary facts you would need in order to success of this class:
excellent time management
efficient study habit
Good memory
truly love math

If you think you have those facts, and smart enough, then this is right class for you.

To anyone who wants to take this class you really need to have free time as if you have time for a part time job. There are too many hours that need to be put into this class in order to complete and pass it. Considering this class is the combination of 3 Calculus levels in one, this will probably be the hardest lower level class that you will ever take.
I highly recommend that you use each the practice exercises per unit and you use either the "Help me solve this" or "View an example." These two will help out tremendously in understanding the math.
If you had a choice between taking this class online or in person, I would say online would probably be easier because the formulas are laid out for you step-by-step and you have the time to view them. This is as opposed to writing it down fast if you were in class and then you would be completely lost.

I've taken most of my coursework online, and have always found it easy to manage my time and successfully pass the course. Because of this, I thought I'd have a similar experience with this course. Man, was I WRONG! This course actually does require 3-4 hours per day of study/homework time- more if you need time to review or re-learn basic algebra principles.

I wish I would have known that although the homework and quizzes follow the book, the instruction does not. You are guided to watch videos of other instructors teachings, which may not mirror how the book teaches it. If you're having difficult with a topic, watching different instructors can be just as helpful, as it is hurtful. I also wish I would have known that the Practice Tests included problems that were NOT addressed in the homework. Lastly, I wish I would have spent more time taking notes on how to solve problems based on the book, and less time taking notes from the videos.

I wish I would have brushed up on my algebra skills class before class started. I took my last Math class a few years ago and found it difficult to learn new material, while brushing up on the old; particularly because the Study Plan/Homework sometimes make the assumption that you know how to perform certain operations, and therefore steps are omitted when showing you how to solve problems.

Future students should brush up on their basic Algebra, and plan to spend several hours a day on this course if they plan to pass. They should study the Practice Tests way in advance, especially to learn how to solve questions never before seen in homework assignments. Watch all videos

Do not start this course unless you truly have several hours a day to spend on it. Do not dismiss the syllabus and the student feedback of the course.

Even though it had been over 10 years since I last took any type of math class. I had tutored my wife in Pre-Algebra and Algebra in the last year and that helped to get my mind in the right place for this class. I had experience with Math up to Linear Algebra, but never finished those classes. I don't know if I would have been able to grasp the topics in this class if it wasn't for a strong background coming in. Online math can be very difficult without the assistance that you usually can get from a classroom math class.

To be successful in this class you will need to do your homework on time, if not early every time. It bit me twice to be doing my homework the night of the quizzes and not having time to complete the quizzes without being rushed. So, even though the homework can be turned in late, DO NOT turn it in late.

- What do you wish you knew about the class before it started?
a) I wish I knew that the syllabus wasn't joking about the amount of time required daily. If I didn't put enough time in per day, I'd find myself hurting when test time came around as I had to spend several days prior to my test date trying to grasp the material when I should have had it learned already before.

- What do you wish you had done to prepare for the class before it started?
I wish i had a stronger grasp of the prerequisite material, as I did a mediocre job in Math 101 just two semesters ago, and I haven't taken pre-calculus since junior year of high school.

- What are things future students should do in order to be successful in the class?
Again, the prerequisite material is very important. The first test, which was mainly review, ended up being my weakest so far because of how bad I am at algebra. The calculus concepts in this class were actually very manageable for me, the main difficulty I had was recalling all the algebra involved in certain concepts. I had a lot of trouble at first with test 3 because I didn't have enough practice solving for x.

- What are things future students should NOT do in order to be successful?
This class has a lot of soft deadlines, but that doesn't mean you can wait until the last minute. I let some of the deadlines slide but I always made sure to have a section completed before the next was due, otherwise its easy to get behind. If you don't understand a section that you've waited until the day of the quiz to complete the homework for, there's no way you can do well on the quiz.

To all future students of this class, you should know that this class will take a lot of work and be difficult. You are going to be definitely spending many hours on work in this class. I recommend that you find a tutor or someone to help you out with the problems that you don't quite understand. I wish I hired a tutor or had someone I could get one on one assistance with. Being that this is an online class you don't have the pleasure of someone teaching you how to do certain problems. I tried understanding all the different solutions/concepts by myself which cause me to struggle. It's also important to do all the practice quizzes and tests. These help you prepare a lot before the exams and tests. Also, don't wait to the last minute. I tend to procrastinate and that sometimes effected some of my scores, especially with tests.If you do everything the syllabus says you will be fine. Good luck!

If I were getting ready to take this class I would definitely evaluate my schedule. I know that you read the amount of time needed as provided by the professor in the syllabus but you should really evaluate that into your schedule. Also. I would look at the testing dates and schedule in the syllabus prior to beginning the class and make sure that those fit in okay as well. When evaluating this, take into consideration time for unexpected events, illness,... I had a lot of trouble in this class due to the fact that I was sick for several weeks and it got me really far behind and it is not easy to take tests when you do not feel good.

In order to be successful in this class you should be dedicated to studying, be prepared to ask for help when needed, and be prepared to take your time.

Things that you should not do if you want to be successful in this class include having other stressful events occurring at the same time. Also, do not psych yourself out. If you take the time and are willing to ask for help then you will do okay.

Good luck!

If you are considering taking this class in an online setting, I advise you to reconsider. Most college classes are very well suited to an online environment. Not this one. I wish I had taken this class in a traditional classroom lecture form. It's possible, not only to complete this class online, but to get an "A". I just think traditional setting would be easier because you can ask questions as they arise and get an immediate feedback. That's something that is not possible in an online forum.
If you do take it online, be prepared to work just as hard as in a regular class, if not harder. You have to be self-motivated to study just about every day. To prepare effectively, create yourself a good study environment that will allow you to concentrate and work the problems. Thinking that doing some reading and quickly solving some problems is all that it takes to pass this class, is setting yourself up for failure.
Doing the homework,chapter problems, reading the book, and watching the videos is a must to being successful in this class. All of these are very useful tools.
I advise you not to wait until the day the assignment is due to work on it, but to work several days ahead of the due dates. This allow you to post your questions or get some help if you are struggling.
Good luck. I hope you do better than I did.

Do not fall behind. The information builds on top of itself chapter by chapter. If you miss one chapter it makes the following chapters harder. Watch the videos! They'll save your life.

Something i wish i knew more about the class before it started was to make sure i organized my time better.

I wish i would have taken more time to study and review the practice test and quizzes more.

Something future students should know is that you shouldn't be afraid to ask the teacher for some help because shes is there to help you not fail you and to also make sure to take the practice quizzes and tests like an actual test or quiz

Don't waste til the last minuet and don't forget to get all the homework done early so you can spend more time on studying for the quizzes.

Well I came into this class not really knowing what to expect. I have come to realize its pretty intense. As I have never been in an online math course, the format of the material was new to me. My first hurdle was how to get everything I could from the resources provided. To be successful in this course, you MUST watch the videos, overlook the text for specific business related calculus material, and finally: if you are not understanding the process, use the practice exercise's ability to break down problems.

Some advice for before the course starts... As the prerequisite is Intermediate algebra, the use of trigonometry and much geometry knowledge should be attained asap, ex: area of shapes. I personally feel that the prerequisite is not sufficient to this course, as my highschool classes in algebraII and Trig have come to help me greatly.

The thing to not do with this course: not allow enough time. If you are to wait until before a test to really go into the lab or find additional help, learning the way does not always come after one study session. Much time needs to be allocated for this course

Before this course, I suggest that you brush up on the basics of geometry (from Math 820) and make sure that you felt confident in the materials of the prerequisite

Before I started the class I wish I had a better understanding of how to utilize an online textbook. I have taken other online courses before, but never had an online text book. This is an astoundingly different and in my eyes more callenging way of learning the material.

To prepare for this class I wish I had taken more time in learning about all the different things that I can do to utilize the tools within the math lab in order to learn the material quicker.

In order to be successful in the course you should plan ahead. If you have extra time to finish more assingment than what is assinged for that night just do it.

Don't try and cram it all into one night, because you won't learn anything and you won't get a good grade on the test.

I wish I knew how much time this class takes in order to fully understand each concept. I wish I reviewed more on the basic algebra to prepare for this class. In order to be successful in this class you should read the text watch the videos and do all of the practice problems before starting the homework. However, you should not think this class is going to be simple and leave little time to work on the material.

Dear Prospective Math 115 Student,

Math 115 is extremely challenging. If I only knew what to expect for this very demanding semester, I would have brushed up on my algebra. It has been 10 years since I took College Algebra and I had since forgotten most of the rules. A student needs to definitely know their logs, natural logs, and e's, in order to be successful in this class. Logs are not my strong suit and I struggled with questions that included them, so I would definitely know your logs well.

I wish I would have taken Math 101 again or studied algebra on my own. It is absolutely essential to know your algebra like the back of your hand. I actually attempted to enroll in Math 101 again, but since I had taken it previously, the college wouldn't let me re-enroll. Sometimes its better to take a class, where you are forced to do the work, than relying on self-discipline.

However, to be successful in this class you need to be self-disciplined. Make sure to allow at least 3-4 hours a day to study to keep up with the homework. Before a test, study the Practice Tests thoroughly. I would suggests going through Practice Tests at least three times in order to really grasp the material. Also, because the Practice Tests consists of 90 questions, allow yourself a few days of studying to get through all the material.

Repetition is the key to success in this class. Do as many problems as possible. I would also buy a hard copy text. It is much easier to study from a hard copy book than from the e-book. Do the exercises at the end of the sections. Also, watch the videos provided. Brightstorm is the best. Don't waste your time on any of the other videos. Go through the practice exercises before the actual homework. Take the practice quizzes before the actual quiz. Go to the Math lab if you need help. And, allow yourself enough time to study. If you do all these things, you should be successful in this class.

One thing you should not do is procrastinate. Do your homework right away and do not wait until the last minute. This class takes a lot of studying time and waiting until the last minute will kill your chances at getting a good grade.

Good luck!
Don't forget to brush up on your algebra!

Their are so many things I would have done differently to prepare for this class. First of all I would have familarized myself with how to use all the options available with the course compass. I spent so much time writing everything down, when their is a way to print from the site. I also would have gone ahead & finished the homework & quizzes much quicker. It's nice to have moved ahead then spend more time on the practice packets. Really know your alegebra, that helps alot too. The videos are also very important, as I am a visual person & playing the videos helped me understand teh concept. The other thing which is extremely important is the tutoring center. Even though I live far from Mira Costa, I use the tutoring center at my local community college.
The things not to do is take your time thinking you have to follow the advised schedule it's only a suggestion. but get it done & understand it. Don't wait til the last minute to complete it. This has been a difficult class but i'm glad I stuck it out.

Math 115, it was definitely a super challenging class. I don’t have much to add to what everybody else has already said as they covered most of the main important points. One thing though that I believe would have helped me a lot more was dedicating more time to it, but I can’t blame my kids for it, lol lol . For second would be spreading the amount of time that you would spend practicing in more than a day or two before the exam would make your effort for a better grade more worthy. Something else that you got to be very careful about is your pen and paper test. The timing puts a lot of pressure so you tend to go over thing much faster and math tells you, slow down my friend or you will make tans mistakes, even stupid ones. And last but not the list is the impression that I got from this class, with all it challenges it does have some beauty in it. I it just amazing how you can apply the math rules in almost everything that we do in life.

I just want to say this class was much more involved then I ever thought. I wish I knew how to use the graphing calculator before I took this class. It would have been nice to take a class on how to use this calculator. I wish that I would have taken a crash course in Algebra beforehand since it has been a few years since I have.

In order to take this class and do the homework, quizzes and tests, I had to drop one of my other classes, spent less time with friends, and spent many more hours than I had anticipated in front of my computer. When Professor Apalatea explains, in the syllabus, that you will spend 3 hours a day on homework, quizzes, or tests, you better believe it. I didn’t at first but quickly learned the first week that it was true.

This class is extremely intense and requires a lot of attention. It would not be wise to wait to the end of the week to complete the homework for that week or do the quizzes on the day they are due. If you do this you will fall so far behind it may be impossible to keep up. It is really wise to complete each segment’s homework a day or two before it is due, because some homework may take an hour or two to complete. Especially when there are many steps involved for each homework assignment. I would also recommend to get as high a grade on your homework and quizzes as you can, meaning to repeat each one as many as you can to get the top score. Since the tests are a huge percentage of your grade, you need all the extra points you can get.

Also be sure to check the date when Discussion Boards are due. I know I missed a date because I didn’t check CourseCompass for a few days. Think of CourseCompass as email that you need to check each day.

Coming into the class, I knew it was going to be hard, but I had no choice this was the only class I could get at any school in the state.
With the help of math lab tutors it really hasn't been so bad. I still have not used the textbooks, I don't understand how it works, so maybe get help if you don't understand how to use it.
The videos offered are sometimes very useful when I'm completely lost, because in the practice exercises it doesn't always explain where a particular answer came from. Other than that utilize the practice exercises, I would not be staying afloat without them. Sometimes they explain the process in a bit of a complicated way, so it is good to have an outside source help simplify what the exercises are doing. Definitely do every problem on the practice test, it gives you all the options of every possible question on the test, and it made me very well prepared for the tests. Get help when you need it and good luck.