Pith and Vinegar

So, I’ve applied for college, been offered a spot, and accepted. I’m doing “Computer Systems Technician: Software Support,” which is fancy talk for “programming.”

Yesterday I went up to do my assessment at Mohawk College. It’s a mandatory thing, but, they point out, is only for assessing my current level of ability and won’t affect my entry into the course.

There were two general sections: Communications and Technology Math. Communications was broken down into a 500-word essay (timed for one hour) and a multiple-choice reading-comprehension section. Technology Math was also multiple-choice and timed, and featured ten different sections.

No spellcheck, no calculators, nothing.

So how’d I do? Considering I haven’t done any of this stuff in over a decade, quite well, I thought.

My essay was graded 5/6, which my invigilator called “very good.” Reading comprehension was 120/120, which had her excited. She was late showing me my marks because she had to show that part around to the other invigilators. Apparently they don’t see it very often.

Math? Well…. I blew through the first five sections (“Business Math”) with no difficulty. Easy as pie. Then I got to algebra. What is (3x²2y³)/4x³? Damned if I know. Went downhill from there. There were some where I guessed, and some which I left blank because I had no clue whatsoever.

So I got 69% on Math. They’re looking for at least 80%.

They did, however, give me a URL which should help brush up on my skills, and also offered a free tutoring service for the summer.

So things are looking pretty good so far.