Fall Semester Review

My grades are final for fall 2010 semester. I ended up getting 2 A, 1 B, and 1 C. My core GPA decreased from 3.44 to 3.38. In the 15 college level courses I've taken, the tally is 9 A, 3 B, and 3 C.

Here's my review of the four courses I took this past semester.

Trigonometry
I made an A in this course. This was part 2 of a set of classes to prepare for Calculus. I had never been exposed to Trig before, only heard of it on occasion. At the onset, I was actually a little flustered by the content, but thanks to a student solutions manual, I was able to comprehend the material smoothly. The class consisted of several quizzes, 4 tests, and a final exam. I did well throughout, never scoring less than a 90 on any grade. My final average was 96. The class lasted more than 2 hours per period, twice a week. I found myself looking at the clock frequently as the material was delivered rapidly from start to finish. However I feel math is my strength, and looked forward to doing homework after each session. I was able to form a study group and that increased the appeal of the class. The course was instructed by a PHd Ivy League graduate, which was quite different from my previous two math courses at community college.

Western Literature
This was a 200 level English course, required for attaining an Associates Degree. The textbook for the course was quite large, and alot of reading was assigned through the semester. I didn't have the book at the beginning, but was able to utilize the net to get the stories. The class covered material starting from the Old Testament, and then through Greek stories like the Illiad and Oedipus. Later we studied medieval works, and also several poems were talked about. The instructor used several historical contexts in her teaching which catered to my taste for history. Most grades were over the readings, and journals were required asking our opinions and analysis of them. We had two writing papers, one covering a sentry character in Antigone, and the other a 4-6 page over Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. The latter I had the most trouble with, as I could not think of anything original to write about. Along with the writings, there were also a mid-term and and final administered. I didn't do great in the course, but alot was due to my lack of enthusiasm, consequently not giving a top notch effort. I was lucky to receive a B in the class, quite different than my expectation of doing really well before the class began. I skipped several classes, totaling 5 throughout. The fact that this was the earliest class I've had so far (8 AM) contributed to that fact.

Spanish II
Again this class was a prerequisite in graduating from community college. My attitude was quite lacking, as I did poorly in Spanish I a year earlier. That C grade had to do with the hybrid nature of the class, and a substandard performance in studying and reviewing on my part. Before Spanish II began, I planned on getting no better than a C, and was wary of failing altogether. As the course began, my fruition was accurate, as I felt deficient compared to my classmates. I did not do homework at the start, and this would cost me points as it was sporadically taken up for grading. Once the quizzes were given, I actually did well on them. I studied using a website which was of great help. Had I utilized it even with the first course, I would have scored higher. The instructor for this course was an American, and actually very fair and competant. I made about a 75 in this class, and I could have gotten a B had I did all the homework and not miss some writing assignments. I also was penalized for missing classes, again 5 in total.

Intro to Computers
This was an interesting class. Showing competancy in computers was required for graduation. I was under the impression that this class could be tested out of, and I planned on doing so. I took the placement test a week into the class thinking it would be no problem, and ended up scoring a 56 out of a 100, needing a 90 to grade out. The material was completely specific and covered details I had never heard of. I was stunned that I would have to attend the class, which made me come to campus on Mondays and Wednesday nights just for it. Towards the end of the semester, I was made aware that a placement test could be taken before the class, which would have negated the need to even register for it. The test I took was an exam for credit, which explained the difficulty of it. Needless to say I was displeased of this new found fact, especially since the course was absolutely the most useless I've taken. It was broken into two sections, lecture and lab, taught by seperate instructors. Both of them were teaching the course outside of their day jobs. The lecture course was simply a powerpoint presentation, and the only interesting part was listening to some classmates talk. However I learned nothing from it. The lab was very basic, and went through the Office applications. The people in the course were not traditional students at all, and overall one of the least brightest of any of my classes. I didn't do too well on my tests, but made good grades on everything else. Amazingly, I was given a 97 on the lab even after bad tests, and my lecture teacher actually ASKED me what I should get! That perfectly typified the amateur nature of the class. I made out with an A regardless of all the nonsense.

Fall 2010 Semester Complete

Well, truthfully, I have to finish up the second half of my degree at a four-year school, but getting the through the first portion is a huge step. That penultimate step before getting my Associate in Arts was completed as of 3 PM Tuesday afternoon.

I completed four classes this fall semester, totaling 14 credit hours. Assuming I passed each class, which isn't official until later this week, I will be sitting on 50 total credits. Again, you must attain roughly 64 credits to earn a two-year degree. That essentially leaves me with 4 classes left for the spring semester.

A few more updates regarding my transition to a four-year university in 9 months. I had to submit an 'graduation application' to my community college so they could review my transcript to make sure I'm on the correct track. Secondly, I officially applied to my first four-year school this past weekend, North Carolina State, and received feedback on Monday. A very quick turnaround than I expected. I am expected to submit both my community college and high school transcripts for review.

I will post my thoughts on the four classes I completed once my grades are posted. The feeling of closure is shortly coming about as I'm heading down the last stretch, two years after I submitted this blog.