<p>So I'll be a freshman CompSci major this fall, right now I'm about 50% sure I want to switch to CompE and I want to knock out the clark school requirements to be an internal transfer so If I decide to switch it would be no problem. I won't finish that until next semester when I take Math141 and PHYS161. My question is about Chem135 for this fall, I took one regular chem class in H.S. didn't struggle in it but didn't excel or learn much in it either due to my part from my lax effort in it, does this class require a stronger background in chem like AP chem or something like that. Also could I take chem 131/132 and have that satisfy the requirement? It has it listed you can take chem 135, 113, or 271. From what I see chem 113 got switched to chem 131 and chem 271 requires prereq of Ochem which I'm not interested in.</p>
<p>Sorry for the wall of text for a simple question lol</p>
<p>My son did not take AP Chem in high school, just the first year Chem and still managed to get an A in CHEM135. Not his favorite subject and prob required more effort than he would like, but it was manageable…the key for 135 is to stay away from Dixon(my son did not take her - go for Verdinikov). From all accounts she is a nice person/good teacher but does a lot of unnecessary Organic and is pretty tough…</p>
<p>However, if Chem131 is acceptable for transfer…don’t know how much easier that is, but worth asking about at orientation. The bigger question is what is potentially prompting you to change to CompE? Two different animals from what I understand. Compsci is more about programming/software v CompE which is more hardware and electronics. Take a look at the coursework required for each to get a better sense of the differences…</p>
<p>Here is 4 year plan for CompSci <a href=“http://www.chembio.umd.edu/sites/default/4yr/CMSC.pdf”>http://www.chembio.umd.edu/sites/default/4yr/CMSC.pdf</a></p>
<p>Here is 4 year plan for CompE <a href=“http://www.eng.umd.edu/sites/default/files/images/current/forms/4yrplan/2013-2014/comp-4yrplan-gep2013-2014.pdf”>http://www.eng.umd.edu/sites/default/files/images/current/forms/4yrplan/2013-2014/comp-4yrplan-gep2013-2014.pdf</a></p>
<p>Awesome thanks! That class shouldn’t be too much of a problem then, and I’ll still bring up the chem 131 at orientation in a few weeks. Ive been reading teacher reiviews on Dixon, from what I see she’s more fond to chem majors and the worst thing ive seen on Verdinikov was that people couldn’t understand him lol</p>
<p>and yea I’m aware of the differences between the two, my goal is to do something in AI or Robotics and I know with CompSci I would have no problem getting into either of those fields with that degree. But there something about the Engineering aspect working with other disciplines and designing and building something that you can physically see and manipulate with your hands and not just solely with lines of code. My brother is a CompE at Rit and reading the syllabuses of the classes that hes taken seem really cool. Ive still got time to decide while I take the foundation CompSci classes and the pre reqs for Clark so If I decide to switch I wouldn’t be too far behind I would pretty much be on point with the compSci portion of the compE degree.</p>
<p>If you are interested in AI, for your first semester you should def sign up for
CMSC289I Rise of the Machines: Artificial Intelligence Comes of Age
It’s only offered in the fall and is restricted to students with less than 60 credits, so this is likely your only shot to take it if you are coming in with a lot of AP credit. If you don’t have a lot of AP credit, then your only other chance to take it is next fall.</p>
<p>It was one of my son’s favorite classes. Note that this is not a programming class but the material is very interesting and the prof is a great guy all around.</p>
<p>You should also look into the Maryland Robotics Club - they work with an underwater robot that is pretty cool so you can work on any aspect - start with what you know (programming) and observe the other aspects of design/build to see what interests you most. There are a lot of EE students involved in it so you can get a lot of good input from them since EE and CompE share the same initial course tracking.</p>