<p>Hey;) So I am an incoming freshman and my major is Comp Engineering. Due to a lot of workloads and, therefore, units (16.5), my adviser recommended me to drop ECS 010 and take it in winter. I think this will hold me back. Is it possible to learn the course on my own? With the course textbook and other sources/books? I have basic knowledge of Python if that helps.</p>
<p>ECS 10 really isn’t necessary unless you have absolutely no programming experience. Its main purpose is to teach the bare basics of programming concepts to either non-computer majors or intended computer-related majors who have never been exposed to programming. I’m a CS major and went straight to ECS 30 with no programming experience and did just fine…so long as you have the right mindset (and it helps if you’ve already learned another language, even the basics), you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>So to directly answer your question, yeah you could study ECS 10 content on your own if you wanted.</p>
<p>Thank you very much, PhantomVirgo!
I took a look at the textbook and the syllabus and realized it’s to easy for me, so I will take ECS 30. Can I ask you one more question, please?
The thing is, if I take ECS 30 this quarter I’ll have 16.5 units. Will it be too difficult for my first quarter?
If it’s too difficult, will taking ECS 30 in winter hold me back? Is taking it in fall and then dropping it if it’s too difficult a good idea? (My classes right now: WLD41c, WLD57S, MAT21A (never took calculus before) and EEC 001. </p>
<p>ECS 30 in winter quarter won’t set you back much. That’s what I did and I’m on track with everyone else in my year except the people who doubled up to jump ahead.</p>
<p>Personally I didn’t think MAT 21A was difficult at all, and ECS 30 wasn’t too bad except for the amount of time it took, but I had an instructor that’s known for really time-consuming classes regardless of what class he’s teaching. The professor that’s teaching it in the fall isn’t as heavy a workload. I don’t know much about the workload classes or EEC 1. I would probably say to push ECS 30 off to winter just so you have time to adjust to college. If you do decide to try it out in the fall, definitely keep in mind the drop deadline in case it looks like it’ll be too much.</p>