Hey all! I’m currently a freshman at USC and I was originally just a Physics major that wanted to double major in astronomy but I realized I couldn’t do that because the 2 are very similar. So I decided that if they are that similar, then I should probably have another discipline too (or skill if you will) to be competitive in the job market (I eventually want to work for NASA or just any aerospace company). Therefore, I decided to try out Physics/Computer Science majored offer here next semester. I’m pretty excited for it especially since I do like technology and computers, so it would be nice to have a better understanding of them especially cause my family always looks to me when they have tech problems. Only problem is that I hear CSCI 103 is pretty fast paced and the only real computer programming/science experience I’ve had was in my senior year of high school in my Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) class (I got an A both semesters if that helps). Basically, I transferred my junior year so I didn’t take the programming class that helped with CIM like everyone else did and I had to learn the PLTW RobotC program on my own with some help by the teacher. I mean the codes came out pretty good considering the robots all worked well. Oh and I also tried learning Java one summer but never finished. So my question is: am I setting up for failure for taking a class CSCI 103? I mean I tried taking Chem 105a and I wasn’t doing too well (especially since a lot of the topics that Chem 105a expanded upon from High School Chem i didn’t learn in high school) so I dropped out of it. I just don’t want to make the mistakes I did in when I decided to take Chem even though I did everything I could to do well in the class, it was practically my life this semester (I did suprisingly understand quantum mechanics pretty well though lol).
Bottom line: Am I making the right choice taking CSCI 103 with little programming experience and should I pursue this degree further? Thanks for any insight and fight on!
I had prior programming experience (4 community college C++ classes) and I still didn’t do as well as I would have liked in CSCI 103. I wound up with a C+. I aced the first midterm, but I bombed one homework assignment as well as the programming midterm. Even messing up on one homework assignment can have a drastic result on your grade. It’s true that the class is fast-paced - they covered every topic in my intro to C++ course from community college by the 6th week of class. There is a lot of help available to you, but I didn’t really utilize it because I didn’t live on-campus and I honestly just wanted to get home when my classes were done. Also, some of the work was pretty heavy in math. I believe the second or third lab had something to do with trig and I was so lost. I went to seek help from a course producer and when I didn’t understand something, he just said “that’s the way it is” when referring to a mathematical proof. I honestly feel like not having a strong mathematics foundation put me at a disadvantage because I considered myself a relatively competent coder.
TLDR; I think coming from a physics background, you’d be able to do pretty well. You might have a harder time at first, but by the middle of the semester, it’s pretty much an even playing field and those with prior experience aren’t necessarily at an advantage anymore. However, sometimes there are some really smart students and the dreaded curve is set to an impossible standard. I had a kid in my section that had already developed several iOS apps! I definitely think it’s worth testing things out. If you like it, that’s swell. If not, at least you know you gave it a try. Also, things did eventually get better for me despite my rocky start. I had an A- in CSCI 368 and a B+ in CSCI 201. The latter course is one that many students have complained about in years past, so I was really dreading it. There’s also CSCI 102 if you’re really concerned about not having any prior programming experience.
@zettasyntax yeah i consider myself pretty good at math and i definitely will take 102 if i like it but find 103 too hard! Thanks for your input! And i commute too and have similar feelings about classes, but I’m trying to love on campus next year