High school students should be aware that "College" Algebra (essentially high school Algebra II) is no longer taught at the University of Georgia. If you think you may major in Business or Science, or any major that requires Calculus, you will need to be prepared to take at least Precalculus when you arrive at UGA. During Freshman Orientation you will take a Mathematics Placement Test (see below). You will want to do your best on this test to avoid being placed in a lower-level course that might delay completion of your degree. (For instance, some students who have already had Calculus end up re-taking Precalculus because they have forgotten much of what they knew!) So it is strongly recommended that you keep your skills sharpened by taking a Mathematics course in your senior year of high school, even if you have already completed the Math requirements for graduation.
During Orientation in the summer before your freshman year (or before transfering to UGA from another college), you will be given a Mathematics Placement Test. Based on the results of this test and your expected major, you will be placed into either Calculus, Precalculus, Mathematical Modeling, or Academic Enhancement. (Note that Mathematical Modeling does not prepare students for the Calculus stream, although it does satisfy the Mathematical Skills component of the Regents' Core Requirements for non-science majors.) The Placement Test is multiple-choice format, and includes a variety of problems at different levels to help determine your current preparation.
WARNING: Calculators are not permitted on the Placement Test. On the one hand, this means that you won't encounter any numerical computations that are too complicated. On the other hand, you will be expected to do simple computations (such as adding two fractions) in your head or on paper.
To give you an idea of what to expect on the Placement Test, and
to help you prepare for it, here is a list of topics covered on the
test.
If you place out of Math Modeling or
Precalculus and want (need) to take more mathematics
Here is a guide to various core-level math classes, and here is a more detailed guide to the various lower-division options.
Each term, MATH 1113 is also offered in an intensive format, with extra lectures each week. Some of the extra time in these sections is spent reviewing the following topics: real numbers and interval notation, definition of and working with absolute value, order of operations and laws of exponents, operations involving exponents: radicals and fractional exponents, definition of polynomials, factoring polynomials, solving linear, quadratic, and rational equations.
Most of these concepts are introduced as needed within the context of the content studied in the individual units of the precalculus course.
The full course syllabus for MATH 1113 is found at the website http://www.math.uga.edu/undergraduate/Math1113DepartmentalSyllabus_08_09.pdf
You may take a course in College Algebra at another institution before enrolling in Precalculus at UGA.
You may register for an elective-credit course through the Division of Academic Enhancement. UNIV 1110 provides a slightly more detailed review of algebra than the intensive precalculus course; it also treats some topics in trigonometry. Visit the Division of Academic Enhancement web page for further information.