CS61A with absolutely no programming or comp sci experience...

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Berkeley
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<p>I'm looking into Cog Sci, and I see that CS61A is a prerequisite.</p>

<p>Are there any entry-level CS courses I could take? Do many people take 61A with no past experience? It doesn't seem like it.</p>

2

<p>Some people take CS3 before CS61A. CS3 teaches scheme, the programming language used in CS61A. However, it won’t count towards your degree requirements.</p>

<p>CS61A is laid out in a way which does not <em>require</em> CS3. If you have confidence in your abilities and are generally good with discrete math and logic (or have some programming experience) you can skip to CS61A directly. If you are not so sure about your abilities and never did any programming before, CS3 is probably the way to go.</p>

<p>Oh, on a side node: When I took 61A there were quite a few cogsci majors in my class. Some of them did just fine even though they hadn’t taken CS3 and had no prior programming experience while others failed miserably :wink: So, it really depends on the person. No one knows better than you.</p>

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<p>^But I feel like in this case, I’m not the best judge of my own abilities, because I have absolutely NO IDEA what comp sci entails. I know literally nothing about what kind of math is involved, etc. I mean, I’m somewhat good at math (got a 5 on Calc AB)…pretty good at all of the sciences that have nothing to do with comp sci (i.e. I’ve never taken a physics course in my life. stupid high school scheduling conflicts)…but none of that is comp sci so I don’t really know what to expect.</p>

<p>Also, looking at the spring schedule, I only see CS3S…I guess it’s self-paced and variable units? How exactly does that work?</p>

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<p>You don’t need CS3S. I took CS61A without programming experience and it was fine. Math isn’t that important for CS61A. Math1A is a co-requisite, but taking Calc AB should be enough. If you know how to take a limit of a function, and understand asymptotic analysis, then you’ll be fine.</p>

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<p>If you have no idea you could take a look at previous lectures of 61A. They are available at [Weiner</a> Lecture Archives](<a href=“http://wla.berkeley.edu/]Weiner”>http://wla.berkeley.edu/). Another strategy is to enroll in both CS61A and CS3 and then drop one of those depending on how you are doing in 61A.</p>

<p>Compsci is pretty much different from other sciences as a lot of it does not require calculus-based math. It requires logical thinking ability and discrete math. Like I said, some people are naturally good at it (i.e. they don’t need CS3) and others are not. You gotta find out yourself.</p>

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<p>^It’s not that one needs to know math for CS61A, but rather, it’s the style of thinking required. People who have a mathematically oriented mind can usually understand CS better.</p>

<p>There are lectures on youtube and webcasted. Maybe watch the first one and see if you’re completely lost. Or over a few weeks learn the basics of programming. There’s a lot of guides online.</p>

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<p>I didn’t take 3 and took 61a and did fine :)</p>

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<p>lol. i was originally cog sci coming in to cal. i took cs3s with the intent of taking cs 61a later…yeah lol.</p>

<p>just dont take cs 3s. take 3l with garcia instead. i swear the tutors at the self-help center think you are a moron unless you already know scheme anyway. and those projects and quizzes get tiresome by the end with 3s-i think 61a without any prior experience and the pace its set to go at would be a piece of hell.</p>

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<p>What “experience” do most people have coming into Berkeley, anyways? Just AP Comp Sci?</p>

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<p>A lot of people have none</p>

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<p>Some people program for fun, on the side; they usually end up being EECS or CS majors here. AP Comp Sci is generally regarded as “programming experience.” </p>

<p>CS3L isn’t offered anymore, unfortunately, and has been replaced by CS10, which doesn’t use scheme. While it will still be good preparation (I happen to know members of the staff, who are very intelligent) it won’t directly impact your success in CS61A the way CS3L would have. CS3S is good, if you can keep up with the material, but if you can do the work on your own in your free time, then I would do it over winter break.</p>

<p>The material in CS3S isn’t too difficult until you have to wrap your head around tree recursion, and possibly recursion in general. I feel like anyone could learn the CS3 material, at least to an elementary level, on their own given a few weeks of free time and some dedication to the task. In summer’s version of CS61A, you essentially learn all of CS3 in two weeks. So it’s definitely possible to do so. And on top of the two weeks of self-teaching, you’ll re-learn it in CS61A up until the first midterm.</p>

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<p>So if I decide to tackle CS61A at some point, what should I take beforehand in preparation?</p>

<p>CS10, CS3S, or nothing? Or are there ways I could prepare outside of class?</p>

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<p>I didn’t know about CS10 and that it has replaced CS3L. If you want to take a class in preparation for CS61A then CS10 is probably the way to go. I just looked at the syllabus and it seems like it covers everything necessary.</p>

<p>If you don’t want to take an extra class you could:

<p>If you don’t have any problems understanding the first or second chapters you are most likely more than fine for 61A. The level of 61A is generally below the SICP book level.</p>

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<p>^I’d argue the homework is at the level of the 61A book (since it’s selected exercises) but of course the midterm problems are significantly easier. If they weren’t, most would probably fail.</p>

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<p>Cognitive Science doesn’t require CS61A anymore. You can take Engineering 7 instead which is supposed to be much easier.</p>

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<p>E7 might be a good choice. Most engineers who take it have zero experience. But, I think E7 might be more work than CS61A from what I saw from my engineering room mates.</p>

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<p>I don’t know…CourseRank (which I know should only be taken with a grain of salt) sort of made it seem like E7 is harder.</p>

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<p>The general consensus from all of my friends is that E7 is easier than CS61A. However I have only taken CS61A, so I can’t speak from personal experience. But realize that the types of people taking CS61A are usually much better at computer science than the people taking E7. And the grading distributions are roughly the same. That tells me that it’ll be more difficult to get a good grade in CS61A.</p>

<p>CS61A is one of the best classes that I have taken, but I do not suggest it for someone with no programming background. Theoretically you can take it without a background, but the material comes by so fast that I doubt you’ll be able to get into the programmer’s mindset and pick up everything they are teaching. But as others have said, you know yourself better than I do. [url=&lt;a href=“http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html]Here[/url”&gt;http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html]Here[/url</a>] is a link to the textbook for CS61A. If you can pick up on that sort of material quickly, then maybe it would be okay for you to take CS61A.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the replies everyone. Looking even further down the line, what do you think is easier: CS70 or Math 55? Both seem pretty brutal…</p>