Hello All,
I need some serious advice. A little backstory before I ask the question. I used to be in the highest math classes up until seventh grade when I had to drop Algebra 1 accelerated as my 6th grade teacher did a poor job prepping me for the next level. Because of this my math career has taken a downward spiral and I am currently a sophomore in Algebra 2. I really am having an easy time in this class and have an A in it along with an A in AP computer science A. I love computer science and really want to pursue a career in it. My main concern is that once I finish high school I won’t have a rigorous math background to do well in the computer science field and succeed. I am trying to figure out how I can take a summer course to advance my math class to the next level. I am willing to put in a lot of work and money to get this done as taking a math class from my local community college is possibly available. Thanks for any advice.
You’re in high school. You are not even behind in terms of sequencing. Take a deep breath.
Math is good, but there are tons of good programmers who are not huge math nuts. Most programming jobs won’t even require you to use anything beyond Algebra and basic statistics.
Bump up to the advanced class if possible, and keep your pace. If you go to pre-calc next semester followed by Calc AB or BC, you will be just fine. Plenty of people enter CS in college without any calculus at all.
If you really feel antsy, feel free to take a summer course to get ahead, but I feel like a lot could go wrong there if you try to go too quickly. No need to put in a lot of money, either. I would recommend keeping your pace and looking to get into the more advanced versions.
All of this isn’t to say that advanced Math doesn’t have its benefits in CS, but that you have nothing to worry about, even if you aren’t a huge math whiz.
First of all, thanks for the quick reply! Second, I appreciate what you have said and I have changed my approach. I a, really young for my grade so after I graduate I was thinking of taking a summer class at a local community college which would be free for me because they have this program. Thanks again.
Algebra 2 in 10th grade is a year ahead in math. Do not worry about it.
I realize it is a year ahead but I really feel as though getting into higher level math not only helps with the logical aspect of programming but also just getting into a respectable college. I’m a realist so my goals aren’t crazy but I still would like to go somewhere with a good CS program.
There are plenty of schools with good CS programs that do not expect you to be two years advanced in math. Keep your grades up, have at least a few good extracurriculars, and you will be fine.
My son is a CS / Data Science double major. He took Algebra 1H in 8th grade , Geometry 1H in 9th grade, Algebra 2H in 10th, pre cal H in 11th and AP Calc BC in 12 . You are not behind in the math sequence . As @PengsPhils said earlier, many students go into college without Calculus at all. There are many " respectable " CS programs out there . There is no need to stress about this now. Do your best in each class to maintain a good GPA, possibly take available CS classes at your school , and you will be fine.
Thank you everyone for your responses. I appreciate the thoughtful answers and am no longer stressing but just doing my best with where I am right now.