Where should I start in college-credit mathematics?

by Mary Parker, Professor of Mathematics, Austin Community College

Most of my conversations with students about this subject start from one of the following questions. To have a conversation about your specific needs, please feel free to come and talk with me or with any of the other full-time mathematics teachers.

Specific Questions

• "I'm ready for college-level math. That means College Algebra. Right?"
  Answer: NO! Not necessarily!
• "So I passed the TASP test. For what college-credit math courses am I ready?"
• "I am exempt from the TASP requirement. Does that mean I am eligible to take whatever college-credit math course I want?"
  Answer: NO! All college-credit math courses use skills from the mathematics courses you have had before. More details about this are available from the Math Dept. Web pages. There are several categories of advice here, reflecting the different ways in which people can be exempt from the TASP test.
• "I need to take calculus. It doesn't matter which calculus course I take does it?" Answer: It does matter!
• "Why are there two different possible prerequisites for Business Calculus? Does it matter which I take?"
  Answer: Yes, it does matter!
• "I just want to take the first college-credit math course. What is it? "
• "I'm currently in high school, but I want to get ahead in math by taking some college-credit courses. What are my options?"

The Mathematics Department Advising Information provides a good general overview of the various mathematics courses that are available and the various requirements.

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