Hi everyone. I’m new to this website, so please excuse me if I posted this in the incorrect place.
I’m a high school senior who recently got accepted to Northeastern with a major in Computer Science and Economics. I have applied to other schools such as Northwestern, Brown, Harvard (just for laughs), NYU, etc., and I have yet to hear back from them, but I don’t anticipate getting accepted. I recently had a change of heart, and on a whim I changed my major from Business and Economics (which is my intended major for all other schools I applied for) to Computer Science and Economics because I am really intrigued by the discipline and impressed with the job prospects in this field. I feel that I would enjoy this major and challenge myself in a positive way.
I’m not certain if I’ll attempt to change my major to Computer Science if any other of the schools I listed accept me.
But here’s the thing- I got a C in Honors Precalculus junior year due to extenuating family circumstances (which I detailed in my application), and I am worried about taking Calculus in college. I didn’t learn much of anything in Precalculus, and I know Computer Science has a lot of math to it, so I am concerned that I will be bogged down by my poor math skills. I have done exceedingly well in all my math classes prior to junior year, and I am taking AP Statistics (not AP Calc) this year, and I have a high A. I am a hardworking student and I don’t want to go into college and feel discouraged, so does anyone have any advice on how I could retake Precalculus and refresh my math skills before pursuing a math-intensive major? Would I need to take a course at a community college as a non-matriculating student? Would Khan Academy be useful?
Thank you all for your help. This has been bugging me lately, but other than that I am so happy I was accepted to Northeastern (1400 SAT 3.9 UW GPA URM) because I have had a tough life, and I come from an extremely low-income family. The fact that I received good aid, along with numerous scholarships, makes me feel at ease as the college application process comes to an end.
Don’t worry, a CS program starts at ground zero, so you’ll learn all the math you need to know. If you’re not good at math, or hate it, then you could always decide to do information Technology, which is a business degree anyway. You could get the best of both worlds. CS only deals with a fairly small subset of programming. Most of it doesn’t even involve math.
For what it’s worth, business majors at NU are required to take at least business calculus, so you’ll end up tackling it whether or not you change majors.
To clarify, you think you have strong math skills and you enjoy math, you’re just worried about calc because you did poorly in pre-calc for unrelated reasons and fear you don’t have the necessary background to do well in calc. Correct? If so, I think you’ll be fine. Calc 1 will go over the basics, albeit quickly. You could try taking it at a local CC over the summer if you’re worried or study with Khan Academy or a tutor. You won’t be the only student who’s never done calc before though so you shouldn’t be “behind.”
I’d just advise against CS if you don’t generally excel in math and/or logical thinking. It will be very difficult otherwise. I’d generally advise a try, but if your alternatives are business/economics, all your peers will have very high GPAs and tanking a few CS classes could put you at a disadvantage applying to co-ops or jobs against them.
@coolguy40 Hi, it’s not that I’m not good at math, it’s just that I did poorly my junior year and am wondering if I will be disadvantaged because of it. I actually quite enjoy math.
@novafan1225 Thanks for the response. I think I am just worrying myself silly. I am pretty good at math, and I learn rather quickly. I think I will sign up to retake the course at a local CC just in case though. If anything, the confidence will help me in tackling such a difficult major.
I think that your concerns about being unprepared are reasonable. You need calm action rather than panic.
You’ve done exceedingly well in all math classes prior to junior year.
Precalculus is important because it covers topics like series, sequences, and functions, which are important in discrete math which is a prerequisite for all of the theory courses. Furthermore, precalculus is important for calculus.
Believe in yourself that you are “good” in math. Use Khan Academy or something else and study precalculus on your own and master it. Make the time. Think of how much future earnings you will make excelling in CS, and consider that your payment. If you can swing the money, it’s more important than a summer job. It’s really important for college that you learn how to teach yourself anyway because lectures only cover a portion of the material anyway. The Barron’s SAT II Math Level II is a pretty good study guide to review the topics. You can get it from the library.
Don’t psyche yourself out before you start. Don’t dig a hole by having a critical unfilled gap. Do your best to be prepared.
You’ve chosen an excellent profession. Do your best to set yourself up to excel.
@ClassicRockerDad Thank you so much for your response. I think I will end up taking a course at my local community college, the cost doesn’t really matter to me. Being prepared and felling prepared will be very important as I make this transition.
@penpal11. I see your point. High schools vary widely on how well they teach math, and a lot of college freshman go for the big classes and don’t realize that their math foundation is weaker than it should be. When they take calculus, they get spanked! If you’re not sure, just take pre-calculus your first semester. That will set you up for success better than anything.
@penpal11, if you can swing the cost, and you think taking a class will provide you with more discipline than just self-studying that may be a reasonable approach. It may be cheaper and more efficient to just get a tutor though. You don’t care about the credit, and you may be able to go faster than the course.
@ClassicRockerDad I hadn’t considered that. Would I need to obtain a Precalculus textbook and use that as a basis for my tutoring, or would the tutor be able to do this?
You are right- I feel that a class would be better in the sense that it is structured and rigid. The fact that I had to shell out my own money would be a great motivator too.
You can often get out of date versions of any text book for a few bucks used on Amazon. But you could ask the tutor. But the class might be better if you can swing it. I don’t know your finances.
@wheatonmom Hello. I live near Providence, Rhode Island, so that is too far from me, but if I have any troubles in university, that’s definitely a route I might take. XD