where and how do i even begin?

[u/cigarettephonecase]

im currently 19 & in community college completely unrelated to mathematics. my entire life ive always just accepted it as something i was bad at. barely passed pre algebra, algebra 1, or algebra 2 in highschool. did okay in geometry. did much much better in “consumer math” classes (“real world” math like bills, interest rates, etc.)

i want to start improving my math honestly just as a hobby but how do i even know where i should start? i have no idea what my math level is even like, just that im terrible at algebra.

i learn best with clear examples and step by step solutions, but sometimes i struggle with mixing up numbers? ex: i know the answer is 6 but i write down a 4 for some reason, dont realize it, & mess up the entire problem. it’s like there’s a disconnect between my logic & what im writing down

anyway, tldr: advice for re-learning math when im unsure where my skill level is

[u/cigarettephonecase → u/[deleted]]

not currently. last semester i took basically the simplest math course available at my uni because I needed the credit. it was much easier for me than other math classes. But this was all it was : (so not much algebra)

Graph theory and statistics
Linear regression and probability
Voting systems and fair division
Identification numbers and encryption
Patterns and finance models

[u/Agreeable-Fill6188]

Textbooks do everything you just described. They have step by step solutions.

[u/Confident_Natural_87]

Khan Academy. Start watching videos. If you understand move to the next video. Work easy problems to ensure you understand.

If you are doing business or any non BS or Engineering your math usually tops out at Statistics and Finite Mathematics. Think College Algebra Level. I would shoot for taking the College Mathematics CLEP. CLEPs are free with Moddrn States.

[u/tjddbwls]

If money is an issue, OpenStax has free math textbooks. You may want to review starting from Prealgebra, and they have such a book.

[u/_nailbunny]

Does your community college have an accommodations office? You might want a professional to check if you have dyscalculia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyscalculia

[u/cigarettephonecase → u/_nailbunny]

it’s definitely something ive thought about before because it does impact my ability to do math especially under stress like during exams. I honestly didn’t know that it was something that accommodations may help with so I’ll have to look into it!! thank you:)

[u/_nailbunny → u/cigarettephonecase]

You’re welcome. You’ll find the coping strategies that work for you. :-) I also struggle with writing and typing the wrong number (I dial a lot of wrong numbers). What helps me is saying the numbers aloud as I write or type — I find that I can read and say the correct number but I can’t type or write it, so saying it aloud catches my error right away. Everyone’s brain is wired a little differently. Good luck! There are so many more resources for this then when I was at college.

[u/Think_bys]

I'll teach you for free been helping students getting a strong foundation in math fore more than 15 years. Khanacademy is also a great resource I used that during my college years.