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Next year I'm going to be a sophomore in college and I'm currently undeclared. I sort of fell into computer science in high school, my senior year I was removed from a class because of the intense bullying I was experiencing and the only class open was a computer programming course. My guidance teacher told me there was a lot of algebra so I was incredibly worried, but I went ahead with it anyways. I ended up being a few weeks behind everyone else, but I caught on quickly and actually enjoyed it and left the class with an A+ which was one of the highest grades in the class and one of the highest grades I had received in high school period.
Now I'm looking at my options for next term and I'm again thinking of computer science. The only thing holding me back is the math requirements. This is what my college wants for math (the CS program is apart of the school of engineering btw):
Calculus I
Calculus II
Discrete Structures I
Discrete Structures II
Probability
For my science credits I have a choice between Physics, Chem(with lab), and Bio(with lab). I know this is a case of me not being confident, but is this math 'a lot' to handle? My math SAT score for example is horrific, and I've never been good at math all my life. The only math I could do in high school was geometry so that's why I was so surprised I did well in my computer class, since my skills with algebra aren't the hottest.
I've never even done Calc before, so if I decide to go through with it, should I take a pre Calc class first in order to get the basics? Thanks for the help.
The bad news is that algebra is the basis for calculus and necessary for the others as well. The good news is it's quite possible you're not actually bad at it, just had a class that didn't teach you well. There's any number of free online algebra courses; try a few of them and see if you can get it.
Whether a pre-calculus course is necessary would depend on the knowledge assumed by the calculus course. Might be in the course description.
The bad news is that algebra is the basis for calculus and necessary for the others as well. The good news is it's quite possible you're not actually bad at it, just had a class that didn't teach you well. There's any number of free online algebra courses; try a few of them and see if you can get it.
Whether a pre-calculus course is necessary would depend on the knowledge assumed by the calculus course. Might be in the course description.
This! I thought I was bad at math until I took a course with a professor that knew what the hell he was doing. I even used formulas that the book recommended, but he did not teach in order to solve problems. Other students didn't know how because they went strictly off the lecture notes. Reading the textbook and doing more than the required odd/even problems were the keys to my success. I found them to be more useful than lecture notes. I think most teachers dumb math down so much that anything that looks like a curve ball will immediately confuse the unprepared student.
...Now I'm looking at my options for next term and I'm again thinking of computer science. The only thing holding me back is the math requirements. This is what my college wants for math (the CS program is apart of the school of engineering btw):
Calculus I
Calculus II
Discrete Structures I
Discrete Structures II
Probability
For my science credits I have a choice between Physics, Chem(with lab), and Bio(with lab). I know this is a case of me not being confident, but is this math 'a lot' to handle?...
I think a Math minor AND four semesters of a foreign language should be required for a CS degree.
Last edited by Dirt Grinder; 05-09-2016 at 01:03 AM..
I think a Math minor AND four semesters of a foreign language should be required for a CS degree.
At my school the only students that need four semester of a language are the people in the school of Arts of and Sciences. And I'll be honest when I first looked at the math requirements I said to myself "that's it?" I was expected a lot more. Maybe it's better though since math is not second nature.
I think you should talk to an advisor about what level of college is math is best for you. There probably is at least once course you should be taking before calculus. Perhaps you could even take it this summer. During your first calculus class, you will have more insight into whether you are likely to be able to complete the requirements for the CS degree. Does your college offer any other computer-related degrees, like MIS?
I think you should talk to an advisor about what level of college is math is best for you. There probably is at least once course you should be taking before calculus. Perhaps you could even take it this summer. During your first calculus class, you will have more insight into whether you are likely to be able to complete the requirements for the CS degree. Does your college offer any other computer-related degrees, like MIS?
Yeah I plan to go to the advising center very soon, hopefully they can guide me. I know when I first started they told me I could either take AQR or Stats as a math course, I think I placed out of Algebra because they never mentioned it.
Management Information Systems? They do but it's under the school of business.
Let me just mention that Discrete Structures I and II are very different from calculus. More proof based, less computation-based, and in my opinion much more fun. I assume you'll do some number theory, symbolic logic, graph theory, combinatorics.
Computation-wise, I think they're actually easier than say Calculus III. However, some people find them difficult just because it's a different way of thinking. But if you're into Computer Science, it's closer to the logic you do in coding (albeit in a more abstract setting) than most math classes you've taken before.
You need to take a Precalculus Algebra course and/or a Precalculus Trig course before taking Calculus 1 as both lay the groundwork for Calculus. You'll struggle mightily with Calculus if your algebra skills are not up to par.
My recommendation is to take the aforementioned courses and see if you can do well in them with maximum effort. If you do then continue on, if not then choose a different major.
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