<p>Tell me if this is a good strategy and what else I could do to "hit the ground running" for my college courses:</p>
<p>I decided that as a potential Computer Science major, I should start my most important courses, like the various mathematics and sciences, with a good introduction on the subject. For example, I purchased the Idiot's Guide to Algebra (Michael W. Kelley) to simultaneously prepare me for the pre-semester exam I have take (in order to register for the class) and to prepare me for the course material. This same award-winning author has material on Pre-Cal, and Calculus which are courses I will have to take. I haven't located similar books on the science courses I plan to take such as Biology and Physics, but I will be looking for them.</p>
<p>I believe getting a good introduction (and perhaps competence) in these vital courses before taking them formally will allow me to "hit the ground running" and perhaps give me a edge over the students who have not given themselves a 'prep' on the subject from a credible source.</p>
<p>Has anyone done this? Anything else I can do to elevate the level of competency in any subject before taking them as a course? My goal is to get an "A" in all my courses from here on out, so any valid advice is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>It depends. Are you a High School senior?</p>
<p>You shouldn’t have to take remedial Algebra as a CS major. You already have precalc and calc I and II to take. </p>
<p>Otherwise, your first year you should take mostly pre-reqs and an intro to programming class. CS isn’t for everyone and there is a high weed-out rate. If you bog yourself down with an intro programming class, then a data structures class and a computer math class, you’re going to waste a lot of time and the odds are you will switch out of CS.</p>
<p>Once you finish your core classes, it’s pretty much all CS classes and programming all day, so you don’t really need to “prepare” for them. Spend the summers and breaks learning, and you’ll be OK. </p>
<p>For your core classes, you’re going to forget all the details, and the professors usually don’t care much about the class, so you definitely don’t need to prepare.</p>
<p>You sound a little anxious about the complexity of college classes. Ease up a bit and the class difficulty level will gradually increase, and as a CS major myself, eventually you’ll have nothing but CS classes.</p>
<p>edit: For algebra, calc, and precalc, no one cares if you have an “edge.” You’re going to use very modest calculus in undergrad CS and probably none after you graduate. If you’re dedicated to having some sort of “edge” and are POSITIVE you are going to stick to CS, you should start becoming proficient in one or two programming languages over the summer. Study C preferably, and pay close attention to memory management and implementing your own standard library functions. You will pick up a handful of languages in college, but your professors will notice if you hand in legible code for labs, and you will start to get noticed around the CS teachers early on.</p>
<p>No, I’m classified as a college freshman, attending community college. Mind you, it’s been five years since I graduated high school and my mathematics do need to be refreshed of course. I’ll graduate with either an Associates in Arts or Science fall of this year.</p>
<p>Yes, I’m aware of the high weed-out rate of computer science, and to my understanding, it’s due mostly to these core courses such as Calculus I and II. Therefore, I thought it would be best for me to bone up on this subjects before I take them, as in preparing for them on my own time and not taking a preparatory class for them.</p>
<p>I would love to take summer/winter breaks, but I’ve wasted enough time with acquiring my degree and at age 23 (nearly 24), things are not getting easier. Therefore, I will be attending school year round until I complete my bachelor’s from SMU - I will be enrolled as a full time students year round, including summer.</p>
<p>And yes, I do plan to get familiar with programming languages before taking the courses. I not only want to have an ‘edge’ over my classmates, but I do need good grades, “A’s” in fact, so I can be a competitive applicant for law school - I want to practice intellectual property law.</p>
<p>Ah, that makes much more sense. In that case, feel free to review Algebra and Precalc. You’ll learn calc well along the way. </p>
<p>The turnover rate is due to Calc I and II along with programming. A lot of people going into CS have no clue what it’s about, fail the 1000 level programming class, and quit. </p>
<p>If you’re going to law school, I am not positive CS is a good major for you. CS tends to be more like a vocational school, and it is usually taught in the expectancy that you will be a developer when you graduate, as a life-long profession. That is, few people major in CS with ambitions other than to be a developer or to take further CS education. A more traditional pre-law major and a CS minor might be a better fit.</p>
<p>^Well, if that’s the “weed out” route and reason why most people quit, then I think I have a good strategy for overcoming that. Not only am I prepping myself for these critical math and science courses, but I’m also doing a lot of logic/analytical ‘training’ before I enroll in the introductory programming class (COSC 1340) here at El Centro College.</p>
<p>I don’t think I want to make a career of being a developer/computer scientist/software engineer. Right now (and my feeling is bound to change later), I think I want to do coding/developing while I’m an evening law school student and then help developers/computer scientists/software engineers with their inventions as a IP/patent attorney. </p>
<p>Not to mention that as a CS major, you learn substantially about logic execution, thinking critically and analytically which are invaluable tools for the LSAT and law school.</p>
<p>The Idiot’s Guide to Algebra (Pre-Calc, Calc, etc) is definetly a good idea. But I don’t know how much of a good idea those books will be for biology and physics because some professors follow the assigned text books very loosely and apply the concepts in different abstract situations not described in the text book, and it’s the lectures you’ll be tested on more so than the text book. While it might not necesarily hurt to buy Idiot’s Guide to Biology or Physics, you’ll want to understand the material as taught in class first. So I think you should just wait until you get to those classes before you get yourself mixed up.</p>
<p>The Idiot’s Guide Algebra has been such a blessing. I wasn’t a good math student in high school, due to lack of focus, bad teachers, etc. I blamed myself entirely and never thought I would be good in math, but this book alone has been an easy read and I really enjoy it. The Algegra, Pre-Cal, and Calculus versions are all written by the same author, and I anticipate having a successful time in these courses with these supplemental books.</p>
<p>Yeah, I see your point about the science courses. I think the best thing to do about those courses I need to take (Biology II, Physics I and II) are to find (from surveying other students) who the best instructors are, talk to them, and find students who were previously successful in those classes and pay money for their notes and talk to them about the classes before I actually take them. I’ll review the student’s notes and get my hands on the textbooks as early as I can. With this, I think I can have an ‘edge’ over the rest of the classmates and better prepare myself to achieve an ‘A’ in the courses.</p>
<p>Do you think the same applies for courses such as Government, American History, Accounting? What’s your (or anyone else’s) take?</p>
<p>That should work. I don’t have to take Government, American History, or Accounting, but for Biology I and Developmental Psychology I had tutors who took the same class or upper level versions of the class (or both) and gave me an idea of what to expect for the exams, and I ended up doing well in both classes.</p>