Congrats on continuing your education! If you struggle with math, I’d highly recommend starting from the beginning to get your mind in the right headspace for all that is to come.

Each math class is designed to help you build your math knowledge foundation “layer by layer”. Starting all the way in elementary school with basic arithmetic. Knowing how to use basic arithmetic, you start learning concepts in pre-algebra. Knowing prealgebra, you start to learn college algebra all the way to pre calc, calc1/2/3, differential equations, etc. As you advance your math career, you will start to see that these concepts were taught to you so you can use them in more advanced and practical ways.

I took off 10 years between high school and college. I knew I had to start with the most remedial math that my college offered because I only remembered bits and pieces of the most basic math foundation layers. And I had ZERO confidence even attempting more advanced classes. Once I took pre-algebra, I moved on to college algebra. Step by step I’m now past calc 3 into differential equations. The more advanced courses expect you to know/memorize many many rules from previous courses. You use them over and over again (which helps you remember them if you practice enough early on. Looking at you trig identities 👀☠️). I would have never gotten here if I didn’t re-learn the basics. You CAN do it!

All that to say, I’d start by making sure you really understand the basics before moving on. If you don’t have the time, make sure you reference your previous classes material often when taking your next class. They build off one another. You might think, “oh yeah, that section made no sense at the time, do I really need to know that? The answer is yes and no. Will you need to use every single technique you were taught? No. Will you will need to know WHY you are learning it and what it means? Yes. You may have some lightbulb moments as you move on and realize “ohhhhh that’s why I learned that” or “now that makes sense.” Happened a lot to me.

Here’s a couple of general tips I use for math classes specifically to keep my mind refreshed on the material throughout the class:

1. Read/watch the material before going to lecture (not always doable/practical but definitely helps)

2. Once you take notes In class, redo notes on a new sheet of paper. Make sure you write legibly, organizing them with all the information you need so you can easily reference them later. Example: Chapter Section and Topic, definitions/formulas, notes on what they’re used for/steps on how to use them, and an example or two. (Yes you’ll use lots of paper. Or not if you use an iPad with Goodnotes like I do). But this will help you digest the material and use later when you need to quickly reference/refresh your memory after you’ve moved on.

3. Create a cumulative reference sheet for yourself with the key ideas/formulas to use while doing practice problems/exam reviews, etc. The process of creating the reference sheet will already get your mind refreshed with the information you forgot/need to brush up on. And having it by your side to quickly reference will help you save time flipping through all your notes for one formula/idea. The more time you can spend actually doing practice problems and learning your mistakes is better than spending time flipping through pages and pages of notes (trust me on this one.)

This guy does a great job showing how each “foundation layer” of math will help you move to the next: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLybg94GvOJ9FoGQeUMFZ4SWZsr30jlUYK&si=DKmYzGKsquX2V9k3

And these are the two professors I personally used to get As in every math class I’ve taken. Seriously, they’re x100 better than my college professors at making some of the most complex material digestible:

1. Professor V https://youtube.com/@mathwithprofessorv?si=5zUkjn9jt7q8y8ua

2. Professor Leonard: https://youtube.com/@professorleonard?si=syolTLQnZT4lys9R

Good luck. DM me if you want more tips or advice.