I’m a senior in high school and I’m planning on going to community college. I definitely am interested in Computer Science or Business. I did very bad in high school and I really regret not trying harder in school. I go to a very competitive high school and being demotivated as well as bad study habits didn’t help my case. My plan, as of current, is to transfer to USC as a sophomore and if that doesn’t work out, stay one more year and transfer to UC’s. I was wondering if this is a realistic goal since I’m not really good at math. I’m currently in Algebra 2 so that’s saying something about how proficient I am at it… UCLA requires taking Calculus 1, Calculus 2, Calculus 3, Differential Equations, and Linear Algebra. I was wondering how difficult these courses are. I’m also wondering if I should change my major? (I’m pretty scared that I’ll take Computer Science and learn in the middle of the semester that it’s too difficult/disinterested and I’ll have to restart) Please help!
It may take you more than four semesters to become transfer-ready for CS if you need to take precalculus after starting college. But community college is not that expensive, so extra semesters there won’t cost as much as extra semesters at a four year school.
Remember that college requires you to keep up on your own – there is much less hand holding than in high school.
Hmm, I was looking up USC admissions as a sophomore in college and they require Calculus 1 and recommended Calc 2. I was planning on taking trigonometry over the summer so I can land pre - calculus when I start. I also plan on getting a private tutor to help me specifically in math since that’s the only subject I’m struggling in. If I start Pre - calculus, I’ll be done with Calculus 1 by the end of freshman year - would that give me a good chance to be accepted to USC or not?
http://catalogue.usc.edu/schools/engineering/computer-science/undergraduate/ indicates that you need calculus 1, calculus 2, calculus 3, and linear algebra and differential equations, all of which are normally complete by the end of sophomore year. You may be able to double up on calculus 3 and LA/DE in your last semester before transfer if you have to start in precalculus, but that may reduce schedule space for other courses you need to take.