By nature, math requires a different way of thinking. In other courses, you simply learn and understand the material. Seldom are you required to apply the materials learned. Math however, requires the student to learn and understand a process and then apply that process by solving a set of problems. Math is a linear process. In other subjects it is possible to skip one chapter and still be able to understand and comprehend the others. Math, on the other hand, requires you to understand each process along every step of the way. For example, in math you cannot skip chapter two and continue onto chapter three without first understanding the concepts from chapter two because chapter three will build upon the concepts missed in chapter two. Math is much like a foreign language. You cannot simply move to another country and expect to be able to communicate with the inhabitants of that country without first learning that country's native language. Mathematics is the same way. You cannot simply expect to know what y = m(x) + b means without first knowing what each variable and symbol stands for. Math, like any other language, must be practiced each day until you become fluent within it's vocabulary. Math, at the college level, is different from what you may have become accustomed to in high school. For example, in high school you attended the same math class every day of the school year until you were completely saturated within the materials taught within that class. At the college level, you are expected to learn that same amount of material, only covered within a shorter amount of time. Effectively, what took a year to learn in high school is now covered in only 15 weeks.

Math is not as scary as it may seem!

Most people of average intelligence are capable of doing math. Whether they realize it or not they actually use math in their daily lives. Every time they make a withdrawal from their bank account, or even drive to work they use math in some form or another.