Which Mathematics course is easier? Plus, what are my chances of getting into Rice University?

Salvete omnes! (Latin for Hello all!)

New here. And as the title of this thread implies, which math course is easier:

MATH 1414- College Algebra
MATH 1332- Contemporary Mathematics
MATH 1324- Mathematics for Business and Social Sciences

Does each math course get harder as the course number goes higher? So does that mean that College Algebra is the hardest on this list and Math for B & SS is the easiest (what a genius am I for asking that if that turns out to be true).

A little background on myself:
I am a returning student and want to study Economics. MATH 1324 is the math course that I need for my major but I just wanted to know what math course is harder out of curiosity. I am not a math person but a language person (as the greeting at the top of this post implies), but I want to make good money after graduation and what job could I get with a Classics degree other than as a Latin teacher at some private Catholic school (not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s just not what I’m looking forward to doing for the rest of my life). So instead I choose to study Economics at school and I teach myself Latin and Ancient Greek (haven’t started Greek yet though; I’m yet to finish Latin).

As for my plans for the future:
My dream is to go to Rice University. But my gpa is abysmal (really low in case you don’t understand that). So I’ll have to take two semesters, the first at the local college, then the second at the local university, to increase my gpa before I can even think of fulfilling that dream. Does anyone think that I have a chance at fulfilling this dream? I want your genuine honesty. Be harsh if you have to. But please, just tell me the truth on my chances of being able to get into Rice University.

Thank you.

 

What exactly is your GPA? How many credits have you already completed?

Rice is a pretty elite school. Your chances of getting in with a low GPA are not very high. You could always make a multi-million dollar donation to the school, however. That would probably do it.

 

That’s why I was going to go to my local college and university first. I was going to take a few classes there to pick up my GPA. And if I had that much money why would I even be posting here about wanting to go to a school, from which if I were to get accepted and graduate, I could probably get a job that would make me millions of dollars? But my question is do I have a chance at redeeming myself? Please be harsh with your honesty if you have to. Being stoic is one of my best qualities. As for my GPA: it’s below a 1.0. But that’s why I was going to go to my local college and unversity to pick it up.

 

You still haven't mentioned how many credits you have.

Look, if you just have a few credits that you took years ago, you may be able to redeem yourself. Just explain in your application that you were young and immature but have since come to value the importance of having an education. And it's also important to take those courses over again and earn high grades in them to prove that you've changed. It's unlikely that Rice (and most other schools) will accept your original credits in transfer because your GPA is so low.

 

I only have three credits and I got a C in that class. As for the other classes, they are unrelated to Economics and it says on the Rice University website that they will only accept credits that are related to the major I’m going for. So do I really have to retake those classes that have nothing to do with Economics? I was going to take four classes this Fall and four more next year in the Spring. Couldn’t those eight classes make up for the other classes I didn’t do good in? Like you said, couldn’t I write in my application that those classes were from my young years when I didn’t put any value to having an education, and as they’re unrelated to my major, is there really a need to have to retake them?

 

If you retook those classes you failed and earned A's in them, it would show Rice that you are now a serious student. It kind of looks like you are trying to find some easy-peasy courses to take to bring your GPA up before applying to Rice. I doubt that this would work. Rice has a bunch of really smart people working for it, and they are probably going to see this as an attempt to game the admissions system.

Why are you so intent on going to Rice? What are your goals?

 

If you want to convince Rice that you belong at Rice then the best thing is to take some Rice courses

http://online.rice.edu/

 

Actually I was going to take the courses I needed for an economics degree at my local university, so no, I wasn’t going to take easy classes. In the spring semester I was going to take Calculus for Business and Social Sciences, but only after I make it past Mathematics for B & SS this Fall. The other classes I was going to take this semester are Social Problems, Federal Government, and Principles of Economics I - Macro. I don’t think those are easy classes iff you ask me. And as I said, I may not be a math-oriented person yet I am willing to work hard at it (at least now I am unlike when I was younger). As for why I want to go to Rice? I want the best, and there is no better school in my home state of Texas (according to the ratings I looked up). My goals? Business or banking, I’m undecided as of yet.

 

By the way, I know I couldn’t “game the admissions system” as you say to get into Rice by taking easy courses at my local college and university. I would only be causing harm to myself like that because let’s say for some reason I were to get into Rice with easy credits (crazy hypothetical situation, I know), yet what would happen after I was in Rice? I would be lost! I understand that Rice is the big leagues and that I have to work hard to make it there, but first of all I have to work hard to get there.

P.S. I meant to add this to my reply. I thought I had hit the edit button. Repy to this post.

 

Let me ask this again: What are your career goals?

 

Why should the OP take rice courses when he might already know how to cook rice?

 

Hard and easy are relative words. What's easy or hard for me may not be easy or hard for you. Those are all 1000 level courses so their difficulty level should be the same. If one was a 2000 level course, then that would be a different story.

 

I th

I thought I had answered this? Couldn’t I find a good job at a bank or business with a degree in economics? Is this not a good enough answered. To be honest though, I’ve kind of been second-thinking my decision to student economics. I took another look at the classes I need and all those Calculus classes look far more daunting the more I go back and look at them. Are you a Classicist yourself, Marcus Aurelius? Do you think I should just go for my passion and study Classics instead? Sorry for making you my advisor by asking you all these questions but I appreciate your responses and you’ve been good help.

 

Okay, let me ask this again: for someone that’s not a math-oriented person, which of those classes would be easiest? Contemporary math perhaps?

 

Well, just saying "business and banking" is pretty vague.

My honest opinion: You don't need a degree from Rice to succeed in business and banking. Rice is uber-expensive. You can save yourself a big future headache by going to a more affordable state school. I also think that you need to consider changing majors. For "business and banking" I would recommend majoring in either accounting or finance. I would avoid management or general business because they are too broad.

Regarding studying classics, can you see a clear career path in that field? If not, you probably already know what the answer is.

I think there's a philosophy factory in Denver, but it's not doing as well as it used to.

 

I actually heard about that philosophy factory. You’re right. I probably shouldn’t study Classics. And the reason I’m choosing Economics is because I read Economics majors make more money than those other majors you mentioned. By the way, you didn’t answer my question. Are you a Classicist, Marcus Aurelius? I’m asking for obvious reasons.

 

Don't pay any attention to those career and earnings rankings. I have always found them to be more than a little off.

If by classicist you mean "one who studies the Greco-Roman world," then no. I am a Stoic. I am of the school of thought that believes that virtue is the highest good. I also like a good ham sandwich.

A ham sandwich is better than nothing. Nothing is better that eternal happiness. Therefore, a ham sandwich is better than eternal happiness.

 

You want to attend Rice University to study economics correct? Take the most challenging courses you can to show them you are serious are following through with your education. GPA boosting courses are good and all but they are not idiots...they will also want to know you can complete challenging courses and will actually complete their program.

 

I will say, I am an Assistant Vice President at a bank and did so while pursuing my MBA in Management. My philosophy: without a business background I needed something that was broad before I dove into something that was specialized. The MBA gave me phenomenal management information that I would not have got in a specialized program. Now on to the MS in Finance!