Stats Prereq

I am taking Stats as well, and like you, math is a weak point for me, and gives me terrible anxiety. The trick to Stats I have found is threefold.

1)Practice, practice, practice! Once you get to the point you know it so well you can do it in your sleep, the anxiety won't get in the way as much.

2) Understanding the concepts is key. If you can understand what a particular result means, it's half the battle won. If you don't understand, find videos online (khan academy and patrickjmt are both great!), ask your teacher, or utilize your schools tutoring center. Be proactive and get help as soon as you need it. If you wait til right before a test, it might be too late to fix the issue.

3) Learn to use your calculator. Most of the difficult and annoying calculations in stats have calculator shortcuts. Use them to save time (and sanity!)

Most of all, try to breathe and stay calm! Good luck!!

Thanks so much for your reply meeep! I really appreciate the advice and the suggestion to find videos online. That will help in the course of my studying for the tests. In the meantime, I will try to keep calm!

My ABSN program required Statistics as a pre-req. I was terrified, since I hate math and definately feel it's my weak spot. One thing I can suggest is to look at the different types of Stats classes available and what your program accepts. For instance, I could choose between "Stats for Social Sciences" at the university where my ABSN is, or they also accepted a Stats class offered by the local Community college. One was geared toward pre-nursing students and the other was geared toward math majors. I had to pay more, but took the pre-nursing one. I did well in the class and feel it helped that it was formatted specifically for pre-nursing.

I had to take Stats as well, and even though I am actually fairly good at math, that class was really hard! I agree with meeep; practice, practice, practice, and get help wherever you can. Also try really hard not to miss any classes; I had to miss one or two classes the semester I took it due to family issues, and it was REALLY hard to catch back up. Don't be afraid to ask questions about anything you don't understand and if you are having a really hard time talk to the professor during his/her office hours.

Stats is all about practicing. I took 1 and 2 in condensed summer classes. I remember spending at least 3 hours each night doing practice problems. Youtube is also a favorite tool of mine for any chemistry or math class. People have made silly songs to help you memorize, walk you through problems, etc. If you get stuck, try you-tubing something. And yes, do all of the practice problems for each chapter.

Learn to love math. In most programs you have to pass a math test with a very high if not a 100 most semesters. I used to hate math. Now I look forward to the easy points on the test.

Stats is a pre-req for the nursing program here, too. Fortunately for me, I had already taken it for my BA. But I still remember how tricky that class was for me. Statistics is the only class in my whole time in college, where I actually didn't have time to finish an exam or two. It was a challenge. But I managed to get a B. *wipes forehead in relief* It's been a while but if I recall correctly, practice is key as has been said by others before me.

I am also currently taking stats (along with college algebra) and math is not a strong point for me. I do every practice problem that I can. I also make sure I know how to do the functions on my calculator. I spend a lot of time working on understanding the concepts, which helps when it comes to problem solving. I might be crazy, but I am really enjoying stats this semester (way more than algebra, that is for sure!) Just keep working at it!

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all your help!!