<p>Hi everyone,
I'm entering senior year and I hope to attend a 4 year university to major in computer science. I have always had B's in math (when i study i get easy A's) however they have been standard classes. I know that CS requires a lot of math classes but I would really like to major in it, I just don't know if i'll be able to handle the math. Just looking for opinions from people who are average in math who have taken college math courses like these.
Thanks</p>
<p>Hmm, sounds like you just need to study a bit more and you’ll be fine. Don’t worry too much about it.
There’s math in CS, but you should manage if you’re decent at it.</p>
<p>I’m mostly worried because after i graduate I will have taken Algebra, Geometry, Algebra II, and Trigonometry but i haven’t even touched calculus! I’m also reading about Linear Algebra and discrete math which worry me.
Thanks a lot for the reply!</p>
<p>Calculus is mostly straightforward if you did well in Algebra II. Linear Algebra may be a little tedious, but it’s quite mathematically simple (opposite of DiffEqs, a pretty difficult math class that you might have to take).
As for the rest, if you’re willing to put in the work, you’ll manage. Difficult or not, they’re pretty doable.</p>
<p>I’m sure someone will disagree with me but I think if you can handle any math then you can handle all math. The challenge isn’t so much being able to survive so much as finishing on time because of the prerequisite sequence structure of college-level math classes. Worst case scenario you’ll overload, have to drop a class, and extend your college career by a few semesters, which is more common than you think in CS/Engineering majors and why some people consider them 5-year bachelor’s degrees.</p>
<p>CS itself is IMO “harder” than math. You don’t just brand a formula into your brain by doing it 1,000 times in CS then know it for the rest of your life. You constantly run into problems there’s no established formula for and have to decide which slapped-together combination of formulas to “plug in” and achieve your objective. It’s also much more fun though so most people probably don’t notice.</p>
<p>Perhaps the most important math course in college for CS majors is the discrete math course (and/or related courses like abstract algebra, number theory, combinatorics, graph theory, etc.), which is usually required and listed as a prerequisite for the CS theory courses (e.g. algorithms and complexity). It is somewhat different from “continuous” math like calculus, so even if calculus is not your thing, you may still like the type of math used in CS. But it is usually more proof oriented than typical calculus courses.</p>