I have to go to stats class today and I am scared.

[coloradodem2005]

Mainly because of that test. I hope the teacher does not suggest that I drop the class.

[BlueHandDuo]

1. So what do you think...

...the probability of that happening is?

Please express your answer as both a percent and a ratio.

[coloradodem2005]

3. Not funny.

n/t

[jpgray]

2. How much is the test worth?

Unless it's over 20%, what are you worrying about? You can't have done so poorly you missed all the points, and therefore a B is still in reach.

[coloradodem2005]

4. It is about 14 %.

Quite frankly, if I didn't miss all the points I came pretty close.

[jpgray]

7. 86% left? You're fine

I once utterly failed a midterm (I think I got a 39/100) worth 20% in a college history class and managed a B+ for the semester. If it's a disaster, talk with your instructor, put forward the effort and squeak by. It's the thrill my family lives by. :D

[tjdee]

5. Sorry--it's still early in the semester, right?

I should talk--I've fallen behind a bit in my work and am freaking out that I've already earned a C in one of my classes...which basically means I've flunked out because a)it's grad school, and b)I'm on financial aid.

:shudder:

But back to you :) it's only one test.
Try not to worry--maybe you did better than you think you did?

[coloradodem2005]

6. I did not do better than I think I did.

What makes you think that you have already earned a C in one of your classes?

[tjdee]

13. Well, class participation for the first six weeks is 25% of my grade.

So half of that, about 14%, has passed. I have done very little participation. So I'm starting from here with an 85/86. If I lose seven points (which I will, we've not even had a paper or a test), I'll have a 79, which is a C. I suspect I'll lose more than seven points...unluckily for me I am taking classes where grading is more subjective than in the sciences.

Eww...sorry for the pity party. It's my own fault. :)

on edit:
HEY! Jpgray has cheered me up. I think we should both have a drink.
Come, I make you tea.
Do you feel like you understand it more than before? Are you getting help?

[captainjack]

9. i miss the days of worrying about tests and grades...

you can't worry about it now, so guzzle down a beer or two and make sure to study the next time!

i do hope that you did well tho!

[coloradodem2005]

11. I didn't do well.

I did miss the days of worrying about tests and grades. Until last week.

[grannylib]

8. Hey, coloradodem - keep the faith! I passed my college stats class and

I FLUNKED al-gee-bra and never had any calc or pre-calc, and have math anxiety up the ASS...
But if I can do it, babe, ANYONE can.
We have faith in you!
You CAN do it!!

[grannylib]

10. Goofy story about sadistics...um, I mean, statistics:

One night, very late, I was working on my $*#^&#^% homework for stats, and struggling mightily, as usual. I took a stretch break, went pee, then came back to finish the blasted crap. Picked up my calculator, and...nothing. No readout, no response...nada. SHIT! The thing is brand new (and EXPENSIVE!) - new batteries, the works! WTF???? I pulled the batteries out, replaced them, wiggled 'em...still nothing. Crap-ola! It's about 2am and I have 6 problems left and class is at 8-fucking-AM and I am SUNK without that calculator!
All of a sudden, it penetrates my foggy brain that the TV is going on and off in the background....


The calculator had fallen between the couch cushions, and I was trying to do my homework using the TV remote control!!
No wonder the LED readout was black...there ISN'T ONE!!!
(Not to mention a whole lot of other nifty little buttons were missing...)

What a moron.
But I passed!

[IronLionZion]

12. oh yeah, well I'm going to Computer System Security class in 10 minutes

it's been a month and I still don't have the book! Thank God (or Gore) for the Internet!

[tjdee]

14. I don't have the book for my one class either!

Whooooo Hoo!

Why the hell are textbooks so expensive? Geez!

[SheilaT]

15. Have you gotten a tutor yet?

Statistics really isn't all that hard. But you're so terrified of it you're making it seem overwhelmingly difficult. A tutor will make all the difference in the world. Get. One. Now.

[carpetbagger]

16. It's a statistics course. There will be a curve.

At least I think there would be. There was in my college stat class, as well as both of my medical school stat classes.

It's entirely likely that you're merely competing against your classmates. If it is, suck it up and move forward, if in the next week you can figure out why you got the questions wrong. If you can't figure out by the end of the weekend how you should have answered most of those questions, drop the class and spend the next few months reading the text and one or two easy-type guides to statistics.

[Lisa]

17. just remember one thing about statistics ...

Statistics, as a discipline, was invented for people like us -- people who want to question authority, and who don't take things at face value. One of my stats profs once commented that he'd rather teach when NOT to use stats, than just go through all the different applications. I've taken stats courses a half-dozen times and have taught it on a couple of occasions. Particularly if it's an intro course, stats lecturers usually know better than to judge a student's performance based on a single test (especially if it's at the beginning of term). It may be that the prof is going to use that test as a benchmark, to see how much people improve during the semester. In that case, the marks will be weighted towards the end of the course (that is, based more on what you learn as you go on).

In terms of value -- taking a stats course, and getting a B or a C, is actually preferable than not taking one at all. (That's why the subject is required for so many degrees.) You're going to learn some valuable stuff for later (keep the long-term perspective in mind!). Also, there are different facets of statistics -- it may be that you don't do well at a classic "setting up the null hypothesis" situation, but excel at problem solving (what to do when you're getting weird p-values). I've known people who can do a regression with error bars by hand, but went to bits when it came to non-parametric stats. There's bound to be something in there which suits you!

If the instructor suggests you drop the course (and it's not because you're carrying a class overload and have the option of taking stats in the spring instead) -- if you explain that you want to learn how to think critically, and get some experience handling data sets (as opposed to just needing the course in order to take something else) -- that might help.

Good luck!

p.s. if you're scared about taking the course -- just imagine how terrified I am when I have to teach (not knowing whether somebody's going to ask a question which I cannot answer)!