Im not admitted yet, but since i love this school and possibly its engineering program, what classes should I take over the summer for electrical/computer engieneering. I know they dont combine it, but i will focus on the computer aspect.
I havent taken cs in high school. My mistake, i know. I hope to make that up during the summer.
Any specific languages? Some say c++ to have a better understanding, but some say python bc its the best for beginners.
what should i do for cs?
Im in calc ab right now, and its too easy. I need a challenge so i will take bc in the summer. Will ucla let me skip that class? If not, better for me.
If you are planning to take these extra classes for the sake of UCLA, alone, I recommend you not to do that! Do not invest emotionally (and materially) too much on something which is far from certain. If taking those classes would have increased your chances of admision, I would have said to you “go ahead”! But taking them now, only makes you emotionally more attached, which could hurt you at the end!
I agree with above, do not do this if it is just for UCLA. However, wherever you go I think it’s a positive thing to try and get ahead.
If you end up going to UCLA you don’t need to worry too much about never being introduced to CS. The professor who teaches it in the fall goes VERY slowly. I know many people who were never introduced to CS and still did well in the classes and even changed their major to CS. ( I am an EE who had no previous experience with CS, did well in CS31 (the first CS class at UCLA) and then got overly confident and didn’t do so well in CS32.) Of course if you get some previous experience things will be simpler. (I also knew people who had no previous experience and did poorly, depends on the person). I even know people who did poorly even though they had previous experience. Because the professor goes so slow, some people think they know everything, start skipping/spacing out during lectures, and eventually fall behind because they didn’t realize prof. Started talking about things they didn’t know.
Lesson learned: whatever university you go to, don’t get overly confident with CS lol
As for which language you study, Python or Java tend to be easiest for beginers. At UCLA as an EE you would be required to take C++, (I believe at most universities they have engineering students take C++, but of course check whever you decide to go) so in my personal opinion I think it would be best to start there. You can start building good habits for the classes you’d be taking. In addition, if you end up going to a different university, going from C++ to java or Python is an easier jump to make than from Java or Python to c++. I also agree that C++ would give you a better understanding. With C++, the computer doesn’t make assumptions about the code you give it. It does exactly what you tell it to do.
If you take an equivalent to Calc BC/ math 31B UCLA would let you skip it and go to the next class in the series. Make sure that the class is equivalent first.
Thanks! @uclaparent9 and @person415 This isnt only for ucla. I didnt know where to post these questions, so i chose this one just because. I think taking these classes would help me nevertheless? I think its better to at least get an overview of what Im taking in college.
And @person415 , i appreciate it! Im doing ee as well, as for cs, i have no experience so im worried that will make it harder. I guess not! And i will probably take c++ since it is better even though its considered harder than python.
As for math, will they still let me skip the class even though I take it in the upcoming summer? Again, im perfectly fine with taking it in the summer and “repeating” it in the fall. I did this every summer for math and science, which was a breeze come the school year.
I wouldn’t recommend C or C++ to be your very first introduction to programming. You’ll get hung up on syntax without learning the more important fundamentals such as program structure, procedures, functions, objects, data structures, etc.
Look up the class info for whatever UCLA’s CS 101 class is to see what language they’re using. You might even be able to buy the book and work through it. Otherwise if the language is python or java you can just go buy an introductory book like “Java in 21 Days” (I made that up) and work through it on your own over the summer. If colleges still teach Pascal that’s a pretty gentle introduction to procedural programming that’ll set you up well to learn C/C++ later.
Alternatively, you could do something fun like learn web design. That would get you introduced to scripting and such, and would be something fun and practical to learn. Anything where you get your hands dirty with some code will help.
@ikim16 I just want to clarify that of course not having experience in CS before taking the class will make it harder. But the thing to take away from what I said is that if you have limited time and aren’t able to take CS in the summer, don’t worry about it too much. You can do well with or without previous experience as long as you put an ample amount of effort into it and don’t neglect little things.
I think that anomander has a point, if you learn Python or Java you’d be able to get to the more important ideas faster. Also there are many more resources for Python and Java vs. C++. Do what you think is best for you at the time.
Yes, it doesn’t matter when you take the math. If you take something equivalent and pass they will let you enroll in the next class. They won’t make you repeat it. The main thing to make sure of is that the course is UC - transferable. Another thing to keep in mind though is that you sign up for your classes during the summer, and because you won’t have completed the class yet perhaps they will have you sign up for the same thing. Then later after you know you’ve passed you can sign up for the next course in the series, but you will get last pick at what professor/time you want.
I vaguely recall reading that UCLA has a rule against taking college-level classes for credit after being accepted as a freshman. Best to read their policy carefully or call admissions just to be safe. Of course you could take a class at a CC and just not try to transfer the credit.
@anomander thanks so much!! I was confused what to do, but now i do! With my acceptance or rejection from ucla, i still think briefing myself to cs is worthwhile. Do you still recommend self learning it or going to a cc? Im not asking you to make the decision. I know everyone’s different, but is it bad to learn cs at two different schools? I think i will learn python and see how it relates to c++ in terms of actually learning what my code is, and i ll be good.
And @person415 im just going to take some of the course to familiarize myself with calc so that i dont have too much trouble with my fav subject–math.
If you take any college courses after high school, some colleges will consider you a transfer and you’ll be ineligible for freshman grants. Check their policies carefully.
@austinmshauri even if my credits dont transfer? My goal isnt to skip classes in college anymore, but to learn a little before going in freshman year blind. Thanks for the input!!
@ikim16, Yes. You have to let colleges know you took classes elsewhere. Policies differ (some may allow a few classes with prior permission); some allow none. Check college websites carefully so you know where you stand.
@ikim16 A hundred years ago when I started college and majored in CS, I didn’t have much experience with programming either. I think I had done a little fortran and cobol, but really nothing too formal. I might have learned Pascal but honestly can’t remember if that was in high school or that first CS 101 class.
I had no troubles at all with my first real CS programming classes. They’re designed for beginners, and designed to introduce you to programming methodology moreso than programming languages. At least, I would hope so at most decent schools (my school was pretty rigorous). It wasn’t until junior/senior year that we were expected to be able to learn a new language on our own. I still remember the first day of my class in operating systems - the teacher said, “The first assignment is due in two weeks. It’s in C. If you don’t know it, now would be a good time to learn it.” But that didn’t come until after two years of learning a variety of other languages.
So I would say don’t sweat it too much. Buy a random book on introduction to programming and have at it. Or go create your own website and do some java scripting or whatever for it. Anything to dip your toes in the water and see how you like it. Other than that, I’d say relax and enjoy your upcoming summer.
Just from my experience it would be very helpful to be familiar to relevant languages.
Case in point: My daughter is struggling somewhat (if staying up until 4:30 AM, a couple of nights ago means that!) right now with a math class in UCLA with assignments in python which she is not familiar with. And believe me she is as competitive as it gets (if being a Regent scholar means anything).
So I think it would be helpful to become familiar to these languages prior to getting to collage. However, you do not have to enroll in a computer class to learn them (believe me, as I am a professional programmer).