I failed Precalculus

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I'm 22 going on 23, and I think it's the end of the world for me. I passed Trigonometry, but I did not pass Precalc. I'm really depressed. I do not want to take the course over again. I was struggling in my Trig class, so I just put more emphasis on it. I did real bad on my 4th test in my Precalc class because I never studied for it being that I was concern with my Trig class. I hope this isn't the end of the world for me.


I just want to go into calculus and get an A in it.

Has anybody else been in a similar situation?

Precalculus is basic algebra, right? And some graphs?

I took calculus twice because I wasn't well prepared. You'll just have to get prepared before you take the calculus. I suggest figure out how much time you have, get some help, and then get to know the stuff. Then you can always test yourself here -- the precalcus test for a university near me:

http://www.math.sfu.ca/ugrad/calctest/p ... info.shtml

I gather "my life is over" is a figure of speech, and you are feeling shocked by your situation right now.

It's a lot of work, but you can get past this.

Is it too late to negotiate? Take an incomplete and do some extra work over the break?
Are you just a regular student who screwed up, or could some learning disability be a factor?
Your profile says you are "undiagnosed," so I guess there's no excuse there.
Are you diagnosed for anything else?
Do you have a pushy parent or someone who can go with you as a kind of advocate/support person?

Wait, you took Trig and Pre-Calc at the same time? Worry about passing Trig first, then try Pre-Calc. It will be much much much easier.

If I remember my classes correctly, I took precalc and got a D, only because I knew most of the stuff in the beginning. Took Calc 1 the next semester, had to drop it because there was no chance of passing. Luckily, I probably won't need that for my concentration.

I completed trig this semester. I discovered I have a learning disability I did not know I had until we studied the unit circle. Apparently, I cannot find some lines inside of the unit circle. I was trying to hard to memorize the radians and corresponding angles, but I just could not and I could not figure out why. The tutor I found off campus just happened to be dyslexic. She helped me to find the angles in the circle by using color. Different colors for each angle line. It really did help me a lot.

Another thing that helped me a lot was the solutions manual for the trig book. Not many students purchase it because it is an additional cost. But without the solutions manual I would have not been able to earn a strong A on the homework, which really helped my grade.

I also was able to find a tutor who was a retired physics and math professor from the college I attend. I explained to him my visual difficulties. He went to a lot of extra trouble to actually draw the triangles and explain the process so I could "connect" to the math.

The school I attend would not allow you to take trig and precal side-by-side. You have to complete trig before you can advance to precal. I think you should retake trig without any other math classes. Learn it to the very best of your ability and then the following semester take precal again. I think you will be surprised by the difference it will make to have already taken the classes on the next attempt. It would not hurt to purchase a solutions manual to your textbook either.

Don't give up. Keep trying. Think a little ahead and PLAN your strategy for passing. Talk to the professors. Let them know you are an Aspie. Talk to the ADA representative whether you are officially diagnosed or not. They will not be able to do anything to assist you until you are diagnosed. They might still be able to help off the record, so to speak.

After you learn the trig you will LOVE it. It is kind of like computer science in that the patterns repeat and they are amazingly beautiful to play with......try again. Only plan ahead. Don't give up.

Best wishes,
Cyndi

Take the class over. Study this time.

You seem to have described your problem quite succinctly. You were worried about your trigonometry grade, but were able to pass the class by studying for the class. On the other hand, you failed the class for which you did not study. You may want to consider taking a lighter course load in the next semester in order to direct the energy you require toward precalculus. Good luck.