<p>Another quarter, another time I do really good in a course and get a grade lower than I expected. I came in as an English major and decided to challenge myself with the CS program, and thus far it's been nothing but disappointment. </p>
<p>I only have 4 more prerecs left, but unless I get at least a B in all of them, my premajor GPA will not be high enough to apply to the full major (2.75)</p>
<p>The thing is, if I felt like I was doing super bad, I wouldn't keep myself doing this. However, I dont feel like that at all. I feel like my classes provide a challenge but I never feel like they're super beyond me. I enjoy my math and CS classes even when they get tough.</p>
<p>The tests usually kill me though, sometimes only vaguely related to what we're learning. I try, but usually I don't do too well.</p>
<p>So what's the point of going on as a CS major. I'm already behind in the cirriculum (Summer school for next two years and maybe after graduation), and my premajor GPA might not even be high enough. </p>
<p>Bleh.</p>
<p>Anyone? (10 characters)</p>
<p>Time to examine where your real talents and interests lie. Do you like CS? That is, could you really see yourself spending a large chunk of your life shoveling code?</p>
<p>If CS is really your passion, then you should do what it takes to finish it, but if you’re just taking it because it seems “challenging” or “impressive” then you’re probably better off doing a bit more exploration until you find the field that “clicks” for you.</p>
<p>You just have to study more, and make a point to ask why everything is the way it is. A question might look a lot different from the homework or in-class examples, but will only require that you thoroughly understand the concepts from the material. For example, in Chemistry you can learn how to do all sorts of calculations regarding buffers. You can learn what happens if you titrate a buffer solution with a strong base. On a test, you might be asked a question that requires that you know why all of this happens, not simply what happens. Lecture is not nearly enough for most classes. You have to not only do the homework and the reading, but reread it, rework homework problems, and do end of chapter problems that are not required, while making a point to learn the concepts behind them. You shouldn’t get tested on things you didn’t learn, although sometimes if you didn’t study adequately it can feel like it. I notice that everything seems very intuitive in class, but when I start reading the chapter I realize that it goes more in-depth and expands on the lecture. You will normally be held responsible for that stuff. To get an A you’re going to need to go well beyond the simplest examples in class, which most people should understand with relative ease.</p>
<p>This may not seem like it applies to CS, but it really does. Look at the test questions and find where the questions were covered in your notes or in your reading. You’ll notice the pattern, and can use that as a guide when studying for future tests.</p>
<p>So you say that you ENJOY Math and CS?..Well…</p>
<p>As usual, I am the “alternative path” poster here on CC. I’ll tell you the work-around to things because almost EVERY PATH has a work-around.</p>
<p>Ever thought about being a Math major and take CS as a dual-major?</p>
<p>You will being able to get the same jobs (if software related) and most Math programs at most schools do NOT have some high GPA just to get admitted. This will give you 2 more years to pull up the GPA.</p>
<p>I was in the EXACT situation at Michigan State. Since CS was in the engineering school, it had a high GPA just for admission. I did not get in but low and behold, MSU started the Computational Math program the very same year. That gave me clearance to at least get 2 or the 4 “core CS” courses. Yeah, I had to lobby to get into Programming Languages and Operating Systems courses, but by that time, the courses only had 10-15 students so there were always openings.</p>
<p>Had a software engineering position right out of school as primarily Math major.</p>
<p>Just throwing that out there.</p>