Preparing for University: Math Prep Classes

It feels a little funny that I took 4 years to adjust to the high school life and now it’s over, and I have to start all over again at university. My memories from when I started high school are of me struggling to keep up with the sped-up pace of classes, which, in comparison to middle school, felt like they were on x2 playback speed. But, thankfully, I managed to get my footing and things gradually became easier to deal with. By the end of Grade 12, I felt extremely comfortable in my role as a senior – I knew what was expected of me, what would make a good impression on teachers, what was more important to study from an exam’s perspective etc. To think I have to relearn all of that and more, to be able to thrive at university, is a little overwhelming. Which is why I have been open to any kind of mentorship I can find, provided formally by the university I’ll be attending, or informally by students who will be my seniors when I start.

One example of how I’m preparing for the jump from a high school setting to a university setting is by taking a few prep classes that are supposed to either review the content I should know from high school or teach me something new so I can have a head start before the semester starts. The classes I enrolled in are two Math classes, a chemistry class, a writing workshop and a Life Sciences study group. Since only the Math classes have started, I’ll save my explanation for the other classes for a different post.

Most of the classes offered only had one option, but Math had three: PUMP 1, PUMP 2 and Self-Study (asynchronous). PUMP stands for Preparing for University Math Program and it’s supposed to make the transition to university a bit smoother. The purpose of PUMP 1 is to review Grade 12 Functions and Calculus & Vectors concepts. It’s the easier of the two PUMPs because I know most of the content beforehand. PUMP 1 is meant for students who don’t have Math intensive degrees, like me – I’ve taken Life Sciences, so it’ll be more Biology intensive with a little bit of Chemistry, but nowhere near as much Math as I had in High School. PUMP 2 is the trickier, and harder, course. It’s meant for students taking the harder Math classes in their first year because their degree requires that they do. This class teaches something I’ve barely ever done before: proofs.

My Grade 9 Math teacher used to love teaching us proofs, they were in the syllabus too. But, in all my Math classes in Toronto, we didn’t use a single proof or axiom. So, the idea of proofs is not new to me, but everything else about them makes me feel clueless. The only reason I decided to join PUMP 2 is I want to learn what Math majors learn, without taking a class that’ll affect my GPA. I’m not sure if I’m proud of this decision yet or not, because this class is way harder than I imagined, and the lectures are a lot easier than the homework. It won’t be a terrible idea to drop the course because there isn’t much to gain from taking these prep courses besides getting an idea of what university classes are really like. You do get a certificate of completion if you score 50% or higher but I don’t see that happening for me in PUMP 2.

The classes happen over a video call on Zoom, with all the relevant material being posted on the students’ portal on the university’s website. Each PUMP has 2 2-hour classes a week, along with 2 2-hour tutorials on the same day as the classes. PUMP 1 happens on Tuesdays and Thursdays, while PUMP 2 happens on Mondays and Wednesdays. Although I find PUMP 2 a lot harder, I really like the lecturer. He’s probably only 7-8 years older than us and he’s super relatable. In the first lecture, he told us we could stay back after class was over for some Math memes. He stopped recording the lecture and then we talked about bringing the government down by reversing encryption and how bosses only like your work when it seems super complex, even though the same function could be done by a simpler program.

Honestly, I would enjoy the class more if I didn’t have to do the homework. But again, the class is meant for Computer Science, Engineering and Math students. So, I’ll give myself benefit of the doubt that I would ace this class if I were in any of those streams. For now, I’m going to ace PUMP 1 and the Math classes I’ve enrolled in for my first year.

The reason I decided to make this post is that, while sitting in the first lecture of PUMP 2, I realized that I’m actually no longer in high school. I mean not having a commencement ceremony delayed that realization, but now that it’s dawned on me, I feel like a new path of responsibilities, experiences and memories has formed in front of me. The lectures I’ve had so far have made me realize that some of my professors might actually be the no-nonsense type of people and the questions in my prep textbooks mimic the level of questions in university textbooks and, OH MY GOD, why are they not straight forward anymore? We took up a question in our first tutorial for PUMP 1 and it took over an hour to discuss 4 parts of it. We ran out of time before we could move on to the next two parts. What will I do when it’s time for an exam?

Another thing I’ve realized is that it’s no longer sufficient to do just what’s been assigned. I mean I’ve never been the kind of person to stop once I’d finished the homework questions, but in high school, doing more than what was required got you a better mark in the class. Now, it only gives you hope that you won’t fail. The Math textbook for PUMP 1 is a valuable resource with a lot of good questions to help review concepts that are necessary but have been forgotten.

A funny story about the textbook is it costs $47 to rent and not a lot of students in the class want to pay that much for it because the course only lasts till August 20 and the rental is for 4 months. Surprisingly, no one has been able to find a free version of that specific edition. So, we’ve just been living off of screenshots of the questions and hoping someone will find a free book somehow. I know I called it a valuable resource, but I could buy a whole eyeshadow palette with that money and I’d have more use for it. I kind of wish textbooks weren’t so expensive. But that’s the reality of growing up – that and capitalism.

I’m excited to share my new experiences with you. To stay updated, please join the mailing list; you’ll receive an email every time I upload a new post. You can either reload the home page to sign up when the lightbox appears, or you can enter your email ID in the submission box at the very end of this page.

I look forward to writing about my other prep classes and more, so stay tuned. – Aarushi