<p>I want to attend the Summer Session at UCSC for incoming freshmen as it seems to be an excellent way of getting the feel of UCSC and college life. The email suggested 3 classes that may be of interest for fall admits which were Applied Math and Statistics 2 (Pre-Statistics), Chemistry 1P (Chemistry Essentials) and Math 3 (Precalculus).
I was wondering:</p>
<p>-Which of these classes will benefit someone who is going to major in Computer Science Game Design the most?</p>
<p>-I know that it says those receiving financial aid will not have to pay the fees, but does that include housing, dining, etc? (Bit confused)</p>
<p>-What should I bring? (Everything that one will normally bring during the normal school year?)</p>
<p>Math 3 MIGHT might might benefit you. It depends on what math you did in high school. If you have taken any kind of calculus then no, it is likely a waste of time. You can almost definitely place into college calculus either with the math placement exam or an AP score.</p>
<p>Instead you should be taking:
Computer Science 5J: Intro to Programming with Java. If you have never programmed before in your life, this is the class to go for. I will warn you that it’s being taught by a so-so professor when it comes to lower division material. But is is an 8-week course so it shouldn’t be too stressful on you. </p>
<p>Sorry, I don’t know much about the fees. But yeah, for summer you’ll need to bring everything that you’d need for the normal school year. Plus some extra food, the dining halls have very limited hours.</p>
<p>I will certainly try to take CS5J now. From what I gathered, Econ 1 is micro and Econ 2 is macro. I have taken macroecon already so taking econ1 will be more helpful, yes? Also, in the summer courses list there is CMPS 10 Intro to Computer Science which seems a bit interesting even though it is not in the CSGD curriculum. Is this an unnecessary class? BTW, how many units does a summer class count for?</p>
<p>Once again, I must thank you very much, Liesel, for being so helpful. :)</p>
<p>Still wondering if an incoming freshman will definitely get financial aid for summer if they already have financial aid approved for the upcoming fall semester.</p>
<p>I hear micro econ is the easier course anyhow. Summer classes count for the normal number of units- usually 5. </p>
<p>But, let me explain my thought process here. The intent is that if you take ANY type of programming during the summer, you’ll be able to jump right into 12A during fall and 12B during winter. That way you won’t be doubling up 12B and 80K (foundations of game design!) in the same quarter, which is a recipe for disaster.</p>
<p>So, CS10 would give you some programming prep, but it is not at all the focus of the class. It would not be in Java (standard for lower div classes), and the projects would have a smaller scope. However, it might teach you program building techniques better. CS5J would give you a more comprehensive intro. It also works mostly in Processing (simpler Java with graphical output), which is an extremely fun language to program in. Instead of doing sorting programs, you get to program a sunset, or a jellyfish swimming, or even a small rocket landing game. </p>
<p>I think either class would be enough prep. If you want to get a better feel for the content of the courses, you can google the course code (ex: CMPS 5J) to find some previous class websites.</p>
<p>Taking CS5J during the summer and then moving on to 12A during the fall sounds like a really great idea but I may not be able to do it this summer. </p>
<p>Anyways if I do not take CS5J during the summer then will this mean that I will be taking it during the winter and 12A during the fall or will I be doing something else? Also, that means i will be taking 12B and 80K which, by the way you describe it, seem like two very demanding courses, or is it some other problem?</p>
<p>Since you have never programmed before, you’ll likely take 5J in the winter, and then 11 in spring. 5J + 11 are the equivalent of 12A, and less demanding because the content is more spread out. You’d be doing 12B your fall quarter second year, which by no means is any kind of setback. </p>
<p>12B is known as the first true weeder course within Comp Sci. 80K is demanding time-wise but not a weeder, it’s just plain fun because you spend a lot of time developing a game. It requires no programming, FYI. So, just for time reasons they probably shouldn’t be taken together.</p>
<p>I think those that go to orientation get to choose around July while the rest have to wait until August. I have also heard that they deduct the fees for summer from your financial aid package. Need confirmation.</p>
Summer classes count for the normal number of units- usually 5. </p>
</p>
So, just for time reasons they probably shouldn’t be taken together.</p>