How to get an A in MATH 1201 College Algebra?
I already have a Bachelor’s degree in Arts. Before that, I studied Computer Science for one year at a traditional university. After realizing it wasn’t for me as I sucked at programming, I transferred to the arts. During my first year in Computer Science, I took Calculus I and II and aced them as I was always good at math. My strong foundation in math did help me somewhat to get an A in College Algebra (MATH 1201) at the UoPeople. However, that doesn’t mean it was all a walk in the park. Nothing in life is achieved without hard work. If you want to do well in College Algebra, then I would suggest you do the following:
- It's better to start reading chapters 1 and 2 of the book during the break before the semester begins. You can access the book in the course repository. Please note that the book shown in the course repository is not the one you would use in the course. It's an older book and the school hasn't updated it to reflect the new book they assign to students. The new book you'll be using in the course can be found HERE.
- Read all the chapters assigned to you. You can't do well if you just skim through and read what you like and skip what you don't.
- Make legible notes you can go back to and revise. This course consumed about 500 pages of my notebook pages during the entire term. My notes included all the formulas, essential definitions, algebraic techniques, homework questions, practice problems, work for Graded, non-Graded Quizzes, and the Final Exam.
- Do all your homework questions and non-Graded Quizzes. Some of the questions on the Graded Quizzes and Final Exam come right out of them.
- Watch all the YouTube videos your instructor suggests to you; they're beneficial. If you don't understand any question, don't hesitate to ask questions from your instructor. Also, research similar problems on YouTube. NancyPi, patrickJMT, Brian McLogan, and The Organic Chemistry Tutor are fantastic YouTube channels to understand the topics you'll learn in the course.
- Give a lot of reasoning in your Discussion posts, even if your answers don't match your classmates' solutions. There is no one right answer, and the questions are pretty vague most of the time. So, you can approach them differently than your classmates would and still get a decent grade. That's what I did, and my grade was mostly in the high 90s in the Discussion posts.
- Always properly cite your work with in-text citations and end references. The UoPeople uses the APA standard. I have seen people cheat so often and never put any in-text citations or end reference, but cry foul when they get caught.
- Lastly, have faith in yourself.
Good luck!
P.S. Check out my more detailed experience of College Algebra here.
Hello. I have read all the blogs you have made here. I must say that it is very helpful. I am also taking the business administration course at Uopeople. I was researching on the College Algebra on the web and came across your blog. I thought the same on Algebra as you did. I wanted to take it right at the beginning and get over with it. It takes a lot of courage and bravery, doesn't it?. I could not find a place for this term as the course was full. I will register it for the next term. I have already downloaded the materials and have started reading and working on it. I was good at Maths in High school. but I must admit that this book scares me a lot. Thanks for suggesting the Youtube videos. Definitely will have a look at it.
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for dropping by and for the kind words! I agree it's better to get over a course you feel could be challenging than to wait and worry about it later in your degree. The book in the course repository is older. Before I took the course, I too read the older book thinking that it would be used in the course. The material you've already read from the older book would still be helpful to you. The new book which was used can be found here: https://openstax.org/details/books/algebra-and-trigonometry (It's better and less boring in my opinion)
DeleteYou're welcome! I'll certainly keep on adding new content about my experience at the UoPeople.
Expect more contents from you on your experience at Uopeople.
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot.