<p>Hey...first post and i am going to Northeastern next year and i was just wondering about the computer science classes...I plan on majoring in Biology...but i want to minor in compute science, yet i dont have any experience with computer programs from high school...Will i be at a major disadvantage come the fall? Are these classes difficult to the point that if i do not have prior experience i should not even bother? I want to take this as a useful class so i can get a good grade and learn an interesting subject...thanks!</p>
<p>I took a CS class (CS2500 “Fundamentals of Computer Science 1”) with no prior experience. I will say, most of my class was CS majors with experience, but there were definitively other beginners besides me. The class was taught assuming that you had no programming background. They teach a language that most - even experienced programmers - have never used before; it’s called Racket. On that end, you could sort of be at an advantage, since your brain isn’t yet wired to be “object-oriented” (which Racket is not, but say, Java, is). I took the Honors level section, which was probably a bad idea - a lot of really smart people and a lot of really challenging (realllllly time-consuming) assignments. From what I understand, the normal version isn’t as bad.</p>
<p>It was a really interesting class and I learned a lot. Be aware that this is not a language you will ever need to know in the workplace, ever. It’s an academic programming language that few schools even teach. But Northeastern professors PRAISE it. It did give me a good grasp on basic programming concepts - I was able to pick up VBA in Excel, which is a completely different language, at my co-op pretty easily.</p>
<p>If you want to learn a language that is more commonly used, you will have to progress to Fundamentals of Computer Science 2, which I didn’t take.</p>
<p>As far as a minor, you’ll have to take the first class and see if it feels doable to you. I considered one myself but chickened out after Fundamentals of Computer Science 1 because it was just way too much work to do on top of my major. But Fundamentals of Computer Science 1 will give you the chance to learn to program from a pretty beginner level and work your way up to really challenging work, giving you the opportunity to see if this is something you’re good at or not and whether or not it makes sense for you to continue.</p>
<p>Also, be aware of the class called “Computer Science and Its Applications.” Contrary to what it’s name would suggest, this is not really a “computer science” course. You just learn how to us MS Excel and Access. If you want to learn programming, sign up for CS2500.</p>
<p>I’m a neuroscience major with a CS minor. I didn’t have any programming experience coming in, but one of my other classes touched on programming, so I took Fundies 1 and really liked it. I found that class quite easy, so I decided to minor in it. I took Fundies 2 as the Honors section, which was more work, but I learned a lot more. So if you’re honors, take Fundies 1 as honors if you can.
The requirements for the minor are not too arduous. After the 2 fundamentals classes, you just have to take 3 more of pretty much any of the 2000 level and up CS classes. That means you can also take classes that interest you or relate to your major.</p>