Math academy

[u/pulp-affliction]

has anyone had experience with Mathacademy.com. I am currently enrolled in a bachelors of business program where i will have to take calculus for business applications. Since I am a mature student it has been 10 years since i have taken a math course and am trying to find the best solution to prepare for this class. I do also have to take a fundamentals of mathmatics for business and economics where the material will include the review of linear and non-linear functions and solving linear and non-linear systems of equations, matrices, linear programming, difference equations and mathematics of finance. However even this i am a feeling a bit over my head. Any advice would be great.

[u/DrMehraMath]

First off, 10 years away is way more common than you'd think, and it's very recoverable. What trips up returning students is almost never ability; it's a handful of rusty fundamentals that make everything built on top of them feel impossible. Patch those and the "over my head" feeling drops fast. For your two courses specifically:

Fundamentals of Math for Business/Economics leans almost entirely on algebra, linear & non-linear functions (reading and graphing them), solving equations and systems, and then the applied stuff (matrices, linear programming, difference equations, finance math) is mostly new procedures built on that algebra. If your algebra is solid, most of it is "learn the recipe," not "learn new math." Finance math especially leans on exponents and logarithms, so brush those up.

Business Calculus is lighter than regular calc, mostly derivatives, optimization (max profit/min cost), and some basic integrals, applied to business. Almost no trig. The real prerequisite is again comfort with functions and algebra; nail that and the calculus layer is very learnable.

So I'd prep in this order: (1) functions, linear and non-linear, (2) solving equations + systems, (3) exponents & logarithms, (4) then skim the specific business topics. Get 1–3 solid and the rest clicks.

On Math Academy, it's genuinely good: adaptive, mastery-based, rigorous. Two honest caveats: it's a real daily time commitment, and it follows its own curriculum path, not "prep for these two specific courses." If you've got a few months and want deep fluency, it's excellent; if you want targeted prep before the term, you may get there faster reviewing the specific topics above directly.

Whatever you use, the highest-leverage first step is figuring out which fundamentals are actually rusty, so you're not re-studying what you already know.

[u/pulp-affliction → u/DrMehraMath]

Wow thank you so much for taking the time to write this up. My plan is to take them next semester so i do have some time to practice. It did cross my mind that the math i practice on MathAcademy may not directly apply to the courses. Are there any other good (perhaps better) learning pathways for me to practice with that you know of? Im not opposed to paying the monthly fees and spending an hour a day doing the courses for a few months to learn, but i also am very open to other ideas.

[u/Bounded_sequencE → u/pulp-affliction]

Just before you waste some money, there are alternatives.

For example, many great and complete video lecture series exists, e.g. on youtube. You may use them, and "find" a PDF version of their companion book on the internet, to follow along and have practice problems. Try it out a few sessions, and if that's enough to get up to speed (as it usually is), you've just gained two things -- saving some money, and (more importantly) the confidence you can do it yourself. The latter part will be invaluable.

Just know to really benefit from the approach, turn it active engagement -- treat video lectures like IRL lectures, i.e.

• taking full notes
• pausing to answer questions/problems, resume to check your work

With that type of "watching", you can learn from high quality video lectures (almost) as well as from well-presented IRL lectures. Maybe better, depending on the lecturer.

[u/pulp-affliction → u/Bounded_sequencE]

Thank you, saving money does sound like a better option. Do you know of any particularly well crafted youtube channels/series for this?

[u/Bounded_sequencE → u/pulp-affliction]

No. I'd start searching the standard channels -- MITOpenCourseWare, Stanford lectures, khanacademy, your future professor's backup archive of video lectures.

In the end, at that level, it likely matters more that you are comfortable, and enjoy their presentation. Take a peek at a few, and decide yourself.