How hard is Statistics?

[soko2002]

I am starting my ADN program this Fall. After that I am going to go directly into an RN-BSN program. I need Statistics as a pre-req so I'm going to take it during this summer quarter. I have not taken any college math since my senior year in high school, which I took pre-calc at the local community college. That qualifies me for Statistics, there is no time limit on the math at my school. I do not like math but it was the only subject I got A's in back then, but it was a struggle. I have all 4.0's in my pre-req's now, but had a 2.9 cum with my first BA. I have to say that having finished A&P and Micro both with a 99% average, am I being silly to be this scared about Statistics. I have been putting this class off because my math in the ADN program is considered higher than Statistics so I only have to take it for BSN and Master's level. Why am I so scared? Should I be? Will the math part be like riding a bike? Whenever there have been math, like dilutions, and converstions in Chemistry I was able to do them once I sat down at home but if I thought about it in class it was way over my head.

[sealford]

I took honors math classes in high school and passed them all with an A. However, once I entered my new university 10 years later, I took stats over the summer and got a D. We have to have at least a C in all classes to apply for nursing school, so I am scheduled to retake it next semester. Try to look on the rate your professor website, and it usually tells you which teachers are good and how they teach certain classes. Also, there are several sites that can help you learn stats in a fun and easy way. I will try to post more once I'm in the new class. I think one of the hardest things to do in math is to actually focus; with all the numbers flying around, it can get overwhelming. Search for some websites that deal with math anxiety, and that may help. Once you get the hang of it, it won't be too terribly bad. I don't know how it is at your school, but we have a free math lab that we can go to, and the professors often give extra credit if we attend. Oftentimes, I think professors are more apt to help you as long as they know you are trying. Most of our math professors have heavy accents, so it's hard to understand them. However, they will insert little analogies into their lessons to help you understand concepts. Last but not least, you might want to check out the Livescribe pen. I bought mine my first semester back in college, and it helps a lot to be able to go back and listen to my classes, because the pen records both audio and the notes you take. The set I bought was about 200 bucks, but it was well worth it. I'm in my 3rd semester now, and I still swear by it.