Help: Computer Science Major.. Should I do it?

College Majors Math/Computer Science Majors
1

Hi, I am a senior who is trying to choose my major right now.
Recently I started to become interested in Computer Science.

Ever since I was young, I loved computer, solving puzzles sudoku legos (basically problem solving in general) & was also a pretty creative person (in my opinion).
However, when I moved to different country I got lazy and slacked my grades… However, I got lucky and got in a college with fairly good computer science program, but Im really scared.

Honestly, I’ve never thought about doing computer science except reading couple of books when I was young, I’ve never done programming before, and etc.
I didn’t take Statistics or AP Calc in high school. I did take AP Physics… But like, because I didn’t take these courses, I feel like If I major in Computer Science, I will be completely behind. I can’t even tell if I am a logical thinker lol.

I heard Computer Science is for geniuses… Which scares me a lot. People tell me that everyone who’s majoring in CS already know how to program stuff and everything. and I don’t.

I watched couple of Intro to Computer Science youtube videos, and I fairly enjoyed them, but those are just intros…

Should I really try doing this? Would spending my summer studying help…? I need some advices. Everyone is telling me to not do it, however, I would really like to give it a try. I’ve never really wanted to try something so bad throughout my life. Plus, some people are saying it is only hard in like Ivy, which makes me feel little better, but my fear is going to college without any knowledge really hurting me.

I just don’t know what to do. People are telling me to go to medical field, but I feel like I am more interested in CS.
So give me any advices, and some of the stuff I should be learning before college!

Thank you!

2

@classof2020a The good news is that you don’t really need any CS or coding background to major in CS since the introductory course will usually take care of that for you.

However, being good at math and thinking logically is extremely useful when doing any kind of CS (from writing code, to analyzing the runtime or space complexity of an algorithm, to designing circuits and processors). As a result, many CS departments require some math courses, typically including calculus, linear algebra, and discrete math.

My advice is to try the intro CS course and see if you like it first.

3

I’d suggest you try the intro course as well and see if you like it. You can try Harvard’s CS50 on edX to see if you’d like it and help you make your decision in the next month.

4

Relax, not all CS majors know how to program. My own kid was sure she’d HATE programming and took it right away as it was a requirement for her math major. Obviously, she didn’t hate it, and not having programming experience wasn’t an issue for the major. Sign up for the first course your first semester and see if you like CS. Then move forward (or not) as you see fit.

And, ok, I’m going to talk as a mom here. This summer, get a job. You’ll need the spending $ in college. And when you are not at work, enjoy yourself. The high school summers of doing what you think “colleges” want you to do are over and the scramble for internships has not yet begun (probably after sophomore year). Go out with friends. Spend a little of that money you’re going to make. Take a road trip. Please do not spend the summer studying.

5

Whoever told you CS is for geniuses is full of crap. There are different kind of people. Some people like it and some people don’t. CS is more discrete math and logic than anything. I believe Physics is for geniuses =p

6

There is no such thing as natural geniuses. It took about ten years for Einstein to form his (theory) of relativity. Even though coding is much more than memorization, it’s not something you should know before starting your major. Yes, I have been coding before I started, but the intro classes will usually take care of that.

Keep in mind that CS is not a Disney ride - you will be challenged, even if you have some prior coding experience. You might be able to get away with memorizing in an intro class, but that will have a serious consequence once you take upper level courses that tend to use what you’ve learned and apply it to a new concept.

Also, there’s a lot of math. The calculus sequence and physics sequence is a requirement (i.e. Calculus I - Calculus III and Physics I: Mechanics - Physics II: E&M). Luckily, Linear Algebra is not a requirement here anymore, but some topics are being covered in Discrete Mathematics, which takes care of that, and is required as well. So, there’s quiet a lot of math you need if you want to major in Computer Science, which shouldn’t be surprising.

This is not supposed to be discouraging - this is how my program is, and I’m approaching my senior year.

7

@econcalc Linear Algebra is not a requirement anymore? what? Why luckily? Linear Algebra is the corner stone of machine learning. Linear Algebra is more useful to a Computer Scientists than all of the calculus combined.

Also, studying Math in CS is inevitable. Just study harder and become better at math. In my opinion, you are only bad at math because you think you are bad. It is important that you get a very good math foundation or you are going to struggle later on in life. I been told that a CS PhD is basically a Math PhD, which make senses. I mean, what is the difference between programmers and Computer scientists? The math behind it. If you don’t want to do any Math but still wants to deal with computers, major in IT (Information Technology). Their requirements is a lot of programming courses and technical courses, but very few math courses.

8

If you would have read the sentence after, you’d have found out why. :stuck_out_tongue:

That is completely false, in almost every way.

9

@econcalc

well, my dad is wrong… again… as usual haha.

But he is right in the sense that Math is really what distinguish Computer Scientists from Programmers and IT.

Regarding Linear Algebra, Discrete Mathematics is nothing like Linear Algebra. Idk how weird your curriculum has to be for Discrete Mathematics to cover Linear Algebra.

10

I took Calc 1, but I wanted to take it again in college. Im not bad at it, but I’m not great at it either. But I enjoy it. Should I not do it…? I honestly can’t decide. I like math and science more than english or history, but I wouldn’t say Im amazing at it…