- #1
n.schwab
- 5
- 0
I'm warning you, this might be a long read.
I'm a senior in high school, and I've had a history of occasionally being subpar in math, but I've always been a bit of a scientific thinker and am fascinated by space.
The majors I'm primarily interested in fall into Biology, Physics, Astronomy, or Engineering, but I'll leave Bio out of this one.
I'm taking physics and calculus this year, and I'm already in love with my physics class, and doing quite well despite my claims of being bad or usually mediocre in math.
The scoop is I literally failed a semester of Pre-IB Algebra II in my sophomore year and had to retake it. It was pretty degrading, and I felt terrible about myself. But when I dropped out of IB/MYP at the beginning of junior year and went into Honors, I tended to do much better and got A's in Trigonometry. I should mention the fact that I'm a lazy student, but I'm not using this as a total excuse for my faults.
My Trig teacher claimed that I was lying when I said I'm awful at math and I found it laughable-- she wanted to put me in AP Calc rather than honors, to which I obviously refused.
Basically I'm afraid of not having enough competence in math to pursue what interests me, and how my weakness in math [which I've known about for a long, long time] will be damaging to how well I'll do in majors like these, because I know that it would eat up nearly my entire schedule.
I love math when it's applicable and I know the exact purpose behind it, it's just that I've seemed to hate it all of my life because I've always had trouble with it until recently.
Math appeals to me in the sense that it's problem-solving, and it solves both real and hypothetical questions, I just don't have the natural 'knack' for it like some people do-- and that's what frustrates me.
Do you have any advice for someone like me who is fearful of the heavy advanced math that may be in my future?
How can I have a chance of surviving advanced courses?
Also, if you know which colleges in Florida have the strongest reputations with physics and/or other sciences, that'd be great.
I'm a senior in high school, and I've had a history of occasionally being subpar in math, but I've always been a bit of a scientific thinker and am fascinated by space.
The majors I'm primarily interested in fall into Biology, Physics, Astronomy, or Engineering, but I'll leave Bio out of this one.
I'm taking physics and calculus this year, and I'm already in love with my physics class, and doing quite well despite my claims of being bad or usually mediocre in math.
The scoop is I literally failed a semester of Pre-IB Algebra II in my sophomore year and had to retake it. It was pretty degrading, and I felt terrible about myself. But when I dropped out of IB/MYP at the beginning of junior year and went into Honors, I tended to do much better and got A's in Trigonometry. I should mention the fact that I'm a lazy student, but I'm not using this as a total excuse for my faults.
My Trig teacher claimed that I was lying when I said I'm awful at math and I found it laughable-- she wanted to put me in AP Calc rather than honors, to which I obviously refused.
Basically I'm afraid of not having enough competence in math to pursue what interests me, and how my weakness in math [which I've known about for a long, long time] will be damaging to how well I'll do in majors like these, because I know that it would eat up nearly my entire schedule.
I love math when it's applicable and I know the exact purpose behind it, it's just that I've seemed to hate it all of my life because I've always had trouble with it until recently.
Math appeals to me in the sense that it's problem-solving, and it solves both real and hypothetical questions, I just don't have the natural 'knack' for it like some people do-- and that's what frustrates me.
Do you have any advice for someone like me who is fearful of the heavy advanced math that may be in my future?
How can I have a chance of surviving advanced courses?
Also, if you know which colleges in Florida have the strongest reputations with physics and/or other sciences, that'd be great.