Elementary Statistics for people who aren't good at math

[mmcc01]

Hi everyone,

I've posted this question in the past but the majority of responses I got were from people who love math and compared this particular subject to calculus. This wasn't much help to me, as I'm great with basic algebra, but intimidated by/not great at math beyond that point.

For those of us who aren't particularly fans of math, how was your experience with statistics?

When I read things like "well it was easier than calculus," it terrifies me because by no means would I ever attempt to take calculus.

I'm not expecting my class to be easy, and I'm willing to seek some tutoring to try to get as high of a grade as possible, but I would just like to know what the experience was for people like myself who aren't great with advanced math.

Thanks in advance!

[ThirdGen]

Well, I'm taking stats right now; it's my last prerequisite for nursing school and I'm waiting to hear back from nursing schools right now. I've never been great at math, but not terrible either, and I'm on the A-B border in the class right now. It's getting hairy now, so I may start using the school's free tutoring center. Does your school have free tutoring?

If you're decent at English and algebra, I think you'll be fine. For me, it's easier than physiology and anatomy, but challenging, although everyone is different. :)

Good luck to you!

[THELIVINGWORST, ASN, RN]

Stats wasn't easy but it wasn't hard. I am just okay a math but stats is simple plug in the numbers and analyze the data.

[TexRN, BSN, RN]

The hardest part for me was the greek alphabet. That screwed me up big time. Remember the formulas. Write notes for every single process. I ended up with an A, but was teetering on the A-B border. I did mine online, and in 9 weeks. It's doable for sure. I suck at math, hate it too. So. You can do it! Knock it out!

[meeep, BSN, RN]

I am terrible with Math! I had to take a year of remedial pre-algebra before taking my prereqs, if that tells you how bad I was at math when I first returned to school. Stats was not nearly as difficult as algebra, in my opinion. If I can get an A in stats, anyone can. You just have to be willing to put in the work required.

[mmcc01]

Thanks so much everyone! Your replies made me so much more confident! :)

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

I've taken both Stats and Calculus. Stats is definitely easier. Personally, I found Stats to be easier than College Algebra. However, you need a good understanding of graphing under the curve to "get" Stats. But, even if that's a foreign concept, you can make it through Stats.

Every unit builds upon what you previously learned, so you need to make sure you thoroughly understand the chapter before moving on to the next.

Having a good professor makes all the difference! Make sure you pick one that has good reviews.

[GoodnessFlows]

I went into Stats with a bit of dread, but found that I LOVED it so much! I was fortunate to have an awesome professor, and he explained that statistics searches for the truth of things. He explained that because we are not all knowing, we will never fully know the whole truth, however statistics manages to get us closer to the truth. That being said, you may find that you enjoy the class as well.

By the way, I never considered myself a math lover, however following stats, I've learned to appreciate math so much more! Good luck.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Make sure you are taking a "live" class with a good instructor. There is a ton of evidence that online classes are NOT recommended for anyone who does not have a good background in higher-level math. The real key to success is an instructor who makes the class come alive - using real-life examples to make it relevant for students.

[meeep, BSN, RN]

That's not necessarily true. I had no experience in high level math and made an A in online stats. I will say the instructor definitely matters. My instructor was amazing. She posted videos that went over concepts and problems and was available for live sessions if you had questions or trouble understanding something. A classmate from my on campus classes was taking it in person and was struggling because the teacher was terrible. A live class is not always a better education than an online one. In this case, the opposite was true.

[PaulBaxter]

While I'm one of those folks that enjoy math, I hope my advice is still helpful for you.

First of all, I consider statistics to be a basic and critical foundation for working in modern medicine, just like Chemistry or Anatomy, so I would advise you to take the class very seriously and to think about how it might apply to nursing. Things like normal distributions and standard deviations are very helpful concepts to have.

Second, there are LOTS of great resources out there to help with learning basic statistics. One of the best, and one I used just before taking my required stats class, is the open course offered through Carnegie Mellon. Here's the link:

https://oli.cmu.edu/learn-with-oli/see-our-free-open-courses/

I found this course to be far superior to the class I actually had through my school in termsof how clearly things are explained. I highly recommend it.

Another GREAT resource is Khan Academy. You just have to find the particular topic you need explanation on. Mr Khan gives extremely clear explanations of how the math works.

Best of luck to you!

[Sizzline]

I am definitely not what you would consider "good at math." I have a month left of Elementary Statistics and have an A-, maybe an A. I am working really, really hard to get it, though. I spend 3x as much time on that class as I do on my other 3 classes combined. A 7 question homework assignment took me over 3 hours. I have definitely found YouTube to be very helpful; there are a lot of videos that explain how to do things better than my book or professor can.