Hello. A few years ago, I did Algebra 1 HN in 7th Grade (A-) and then Geometry in 8th grade. Geometry was the HARDEST subject (till today) for me, and I have better grades in Calc AB than Geometry back in 8th grade. I got a final grade of C+, and it is on my HS transcript. It is pulling down my unweighted GPA, since that class was a 2.5 +0.5 (honors). I’m applying to a few Math/CS (Temple/Boston Uni/AUP) and Op. Research (Princeton (im not going to get in)/UC Davis) programs, and will the colleges look down that I got a C+ in 8th grade math, or will it be minor? Thank you.
What about geometry was hard? If it was the high school level introduction to logic and proofs, there will be lots more of that (and much harder) in math and CS in college.
Colleges do not use 8th grade classes in the GPA computation.
It was ALL proofs (proofs SUCK. I never EVER got the hang of them. Ever. not till today!) and truth tables (not p → ~q type logic. Just tables, no other struggles in logic). I excelled at Algebra 2 HN, and I am much better at applying something I know than just memorizing a bunch of postulates. I took Precalc/Trig (one course in our HS) over summer too.
@vonlost That’s not necessarily so. In our district Algebra, Earth Science, Spanish I, and Art History all carry over from 8th grade to the HS and appear on both the transcript and are used in GPA calculation. So do the NY Regents exams for Algebra and Earth Science.
Which GPA calculation? The one appearing on the HS transcript? Colleges ignore that one, calculating their own for standardization.
Our county does include my Algebra 1 A- and Geometry HN C+ in the grade calculation, but they are added +.5 for weighted because they’re honors.
If you major in CS, you will have to do proofs in discrete math and CS theory courses. And you will have to think of all possible cases in program logic to make your computer programs work properly.
If you major in math, most upper level math courses (e.g. abstract algebra, real analysis) will be proof based.
What about engineering (CompE or CSE)? Will the proofs be worse in a Computer Engineering degree vs. a CS degree?
If it is more hardware oriented, you would still take discrete math, but perhaps not CS theory. But you may find truth tables in digital logic courses.
So, if I enter a more theoretical CS course (like Rutgers) vs. a more coding oriented course or CompE, there will be less logic and proofs involved?
You will have to look at how many CS theory courses are required for each major and each school.
But you may find that skipping those courses can be disadvantageous later if your programs are unable to scale to large inputs because they become too slow or consume too much space because you do not have enough CS theory knowledge.