Isn’t it strange that, after we’ve taken all the SATs, ACTs and the application process to get into the university, the university makes us take even more tests?
I understand that they want to know where to put us, based on our capabilities, but I find the entire system unfair.
I was lucky that my scores were high enough in English that I didn’t have to take the English Placement Test, but I wasn’t so lucky in the math department and ended up taking the ELM.
I’m bad enough in math as it is, so I was happy when I thought I wouldn’t have to deal with more math tests, until I was actually in a math class. But lo and behold, I was placed in a “pre bacc,” or remedial, math course.
For those with higher math skills, who don’t have to deal with this term, it means that I was put in a below-basic math course that doesn’t count toward my GEs. If I pass the remedial class, I can get into a “real” math class that will count toward graduation.
What really gets me is that they wouldn’t let us use calculators, even though that’s how we were taught math in high school – using calculators. The remedial class has no multiple choice problems and you’re not allowed to use notes.
This may seem reasonable to some, but for students who have depended on the presence calculators, multiple choice questions and formulas, it isn’t an appealing prospect.
What I wasn’t aware of until it was too late was that, if I couldn’t pass the class after two attempts, I would be kicked out of the university I had worked so hard to get into. As I looked around the classroom, I noticed it was mostly minority students. There are lots of Latinas/os in the remedial classes.
One has to wonder if minorities are being placed at a distinct disadvantage. If you take the remedial class and fail, it’s well-known that the student loses the competitive edge for things like scholarships and grants because his or her GPA takes a nose dive. An unfairly lowered GPA essentially can block students from impacted programs.
I didn’t work my ass off in high school to be sent to a community college. Not that there’s anything wrong with community college, but I’ve already been accepted into a great college. Why would I want to leave?
During this first semester, I’m already taking the class for the second time. Although I never found out if the summer course I took really counted as my first try, I didn’t want to stick around to find out.
I had to withdraw from the class to avoid getting an “F,” which would have gotten me kicked out of the university. It’s sort of a Catch-22. If I got booted out I would have had to go through the whole process of re-applying. I’d have to suffer the possibility of not being accepted the second time around.
So it was a lose-lose situation for me if I hadn’t decided to drop the class. Either I would have gotten an “F” and destroyed my GPA, or I would have gotten bounced. neither were appetizing prospects.
I preferred a giant “W” on my transcript than a hideous “F.”
What I’m going to end up doing is taking the math class at a community college in the winter and transferring the units to Cal State Long Beach.
The unfair part is that I could have done that in the first place, but I wasn’t advised of that option before the university took my tuition. This seems like either a disconnect between the K-12 system and the university, or a failure in the university’s assessment process.
Letting incoming freshmen know these predicaments and options coming through the door would make the remedial pill a lot easier to swallow.
Melissa Torres is an undeclared freshman and a contributing writer for the Daily Forty-Niner.
