Hello all,
I just got accepted to Stony Brook and I’m thinking of pursuing a computer science major. The only hesitation I have is I’m not very good at math. I had a horrible middle school algebra teacher and ever since I’ve been quite weak at algebra. I’ve done calculus 1 but it was very demanding for me, yet I worked very hard and slaved away hours with a tutor or online videos to understand the content. The calculus itself was not as much an issue for me as was the underlying algebra. Still, I ended up with an A and felt amazing because the hard work paid off. If I continue to work just as hard in the math courses I’ll have to take for CS, do you guys think i could manage a B average at least in the math classes?
PS: The math courses I’ll need to take now are Calc 2, Applied Linear Algebra, Finite Mathematical Structures and Probability and Statistics.
Any input or advice is appreciated.
If you could muscle through calc 1, you’ll probably be good.
Discrete math and probability are both light on algebra - the first one is more of an intro to proofs class, while probability is simple math but the problem setups can be absolutely brutal. In linear algebra, you will have a lot of matrix reductions and transforms, which is mostly just multiplication and addition. Exams will expect you to do a lot of operations quickly, but you will be fine if you can do accurate head math.
The only potential showstopper would be calc 2, which is a similar format to calc 1 but with more difficult material. I think you can get through it though. Get a Barron’s AP Calculus book this summer and start working through it, you’ll become more comfortable with the material and identify any problem spots you have.
Good luck.
Thanks guys! I will definitely get the Barrons book this summer. @eyemgh are there any specific topics in algebra I should pay particular attention to?
As a non-engineer it’s been so long since I took calculus that I can’t remember. @boneh3ad and @ucbalumnus both gave me advice to pass onto my son when preparing to go directly into Calc III. They (and MANY others here) are far more qualified than I to answer that question.
Hahah got it, thanks anyway!! 
@eyemgh