Compass test ! ? Damn
Offline As most of you on here know, I've been off work lately due to an injury (getting better though, alot better).
Well, I've had time to think and made this insane decision, about a month ago, that I was going to go to college.
I always wanted a better level of education than I have received (GED equivalent, 10th grade drop out)
But have just never done it.
People have been urging me to do so for years, since I like to read and study so much in my spare time .
Finally just thought "What the hell do I have to lose ?,". and I applied.
They got a copy of my GED and a written paper from me, explaining why I want to go.
Now, their telling me that in order for me to get in, I have one final step and that is to take the Compass test, which I had never heard of.
I googled it and saw tests involving Algebra, Geometry and even Trigonometry. I was like WHAT ! I never got past pre-algebra and that was 20 years ago. Even then, I used that stuff more for paper wads and pocket pool than anything else.
I know that there are college graduates and college students on here. I was wondering, how does this damn thing work ? Has anyone on here ever had to take one of these ?
The reading and writing sections that were mentioned in my google searches do not bother me. I read and write incessantly. But MATH ! Some webpages stated that students could bring a calculator to the test, but I would have absolutely no idea how to even use a calculator for Algebra. I am not even going to touch such ideas as Trig and Geometry, might as well be speaking Russian to me.
Am I going to be denied the opportunity to finally go to college, because I have not been to a math class in 20 years ? How the hell does this work ? Anyone know ?
“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno
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You really don't have anything to worry about. It is not a pass fail thing. It is to help the school to find out where your skills are on each of the topics. If you hit an area where you just can't do the stuff, then skip it and they will see that you take the classes needed to get you up to speed on that material.
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I've never heard of that before. Is it something that is required by just that one school or any college?
As far as I understand it, all they teach you in HS about Algebra (and maybe Trig too, I dunnow) is how to put the equations into the freaking graphing calculator. What screwed me over was that when it came time to take the SAT they told us we wouldn't need a calculator for the test, so I didn't bring one because I didn't own one (I always just used one of the ones they kept in the classroom for poor kids) and so I couldn't solve half the answers on the math portion because I can't figure sine and cosine and whatever the f*ck else they DIDN'T teach me...
Oh. Sorry about the rant. Umm I'm sure the school ought to have student tutors or can refer you to someone to help you study. They can't expect you to take a test over subject matter you haven't studied in two decades. That's ridiculous.
***EDIT***
I just read Answers In Genetics' post (it took me a while to type mine... >.>
and it makes a lot of sense. I agree that you shouldn't worry about it in that context.
Well, I guess I shouldn't be answering this question about College, because if your not going to be a Lawyer or a Doctor, I think that College in America is the new Bubble, its a SCAM in my humble opinion, take for instance that say College cost on average $ 27,000 dollars a year, if you invest just one year of College cost, in silver, after 5 years you'll be way ahead (financially) of anybody that has a College degree, except for Doctors and Lawyers, with no debt to pay back, and No I have never heard of the Compass test, but as Gene said its just a tool for placement.
Signature ? How ?
If you are really concerned and want a refresher, try Schaum's Outline series.
http://www.amazon.com/Schaums-Outline-Elementary-Algebra-3ed/dp/0071611630/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313448215&sr=1-7
I have found them in used book stores for less than $10 in the past. For basic algebra, if you find one that is 100 years old, it probably is just as up to date as the one printed last year.
You will probably have to take and pass at least a college algebra class to get a Bachelor's Degree. Many majors do not require any more than that. If you are truly freaked by math, choose one of those majors. Also, probably at least one science class with a lab. You will need to be able to read and plot graphs to pass them. Most freshman level science classes require a lot of memorizing, but the math part is usually no more than basic graphing and maybe some simple averages.
Oh, and be sure to look at more advanced classes. Sometimes they sneak in more math within the department curriculum rather than through the math department.
Remember, for many classes, a D is a passing grade. I have met a couple of people who managed to graduate with D's in algebra and a science class but A's otherwise.
I can't remember ever having math anxiety, but I do understand test anxiety. The cure for me is to study and prepare all through the term, not just before the test. If I can tell myself - if I don't know it by now, I never will - I can relax while taking the test. And I usually pass just fine then.
PS: I am NOT talking about physics! Biology or botany. Botany is better - you only have have to dissect plants in the lab, if anything.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
Thanks for all the responses and the advice ! I feel a little more relaxed about it now.
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Yah, the point of the test is designed to make sure that you do not spend money on classes which you are not ready for or that you are past the need of.
One thing I would say is that you should not just go with whatever the test results say. I was there several years ago and I took the class that the test said I should take. Before I registered, I asked the guidance counselor about taking a lower level class and I was told that I did not need it because it was beneath me.
Well, it had been a dozen years since I had been in school and whatever I was technically capable of turned out not to matter. I was not ready for the environment and, while I was probably capable of that specific class, it was just not the right one for me. It was also a math class BTW.
If your gut instinct says to drop back a level so that you can get your chops in on what going to school requires, then go with the gut. You may spend a semester doing stuff that you already know but you will learn much more than the actual class material. You will learn how to do school.
It will cost a few hundred bucks bucks but what you learn there apart from what the guidance councilor tells you is going to be valuable for the rest of your time in school.
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