First College-Credit Mathematics Course
by Mary Parker, Professor of Mathematics, Austin Community College
Depending on your high-school background, there are at least ten different entry-level college-credit mathematics courses for you to choose among. Not all count in all degree plans.
- What courses do you need to meet your educational goal? The Math Department Advising Web pages have quite a lot of useful information. Also I have a discussion of math courses required for various majors that is more "chatty" that the official department flow chart.
- Next you should consider how much time you have available to study for a math course. It takes between two and three hours outside of class for every hour in class in order to succeed in a college math class. Do not even try to take one until you have the time available to succeed!
- Then you need to consider your math background from high school and your scores on various tests.
It is likely that, after having done all of this, the mathematics courses you need to take will be clear. If not, please come by to talk with any of the full-time Mathematics faculty members for additional help.
Go back to the outline of Mary Parker's "Where should I start in college-credit mathematics?"
This page was prepared by Mary Parker, mparker@austincc.edu. It was last updated on April 21, 2001.