So i graduate this year and i still don’t know if i wanna major in early childhood dev, psychology or computer science. ive been leaning toward computer science because of how much $ you could possibly make if you graduate with a degree in cs. i have no prior experience in programming or cs but i plan to make a change on my schedule this year for high school and take one or 2 classes to help with my knowledge in computer science. i have a 3.1 gpa and i made a 20 on my act (i plan to take it again i didn’t study) but in just wondering if i should even waste my time because i’m just an average student. I’m looking at schools like texas southern, langston and ncat so i’m hoping with those being average schools that the class wouldn’t be that hard. okay anyway i’ve written to much pls let me know if i would be able to make it in the class if i had the proper dedication
Only one way to find out! Take the classes and see how they go. If you enjoy them and can succeed to some degree in them at your high school, then keep going! If not, adjust. Good luck!
How much did you enjoy your math and science classes? CS degrees involve a lot of math and you’re going to have to take a few college-level physics, maybe chemistry classes. Your math/science grades and ACT/SAT II scores are also going to matter a great deal if you are applying as a CS major.
Speaking as someone who’s taken a lot of CS classes in her life, do not get into CS just for the money. Its not worth it. If you hate the classes, you’re going to hate your job, and the money doesn’t make up for how awful you feel. However, if you do truly feel passionate about CS, don’t let anyone stop you from pursuing it.
There are tons of online resources that teach basic CS like Coursera, Udacity, Khan Academy, and edX. You can also often find college lectures on youtube from places like MIT, Berkeley, and Stanford that can give you a taste of what it would be like in college.
I did like my math classes! however i struggled tremendously in my pre ap chemistry class sophomore year. i failed that class the second semester. i’ve never particularly enjoyed science classes so i guess that kind of answers my question. thank u very much!
While academic CS often includes science courses, the work after will not be much math or science at all and will resemble your CS courses. If you truly enjoy those, you should be able to power through a few science courses. CS also much more resembles math, so if you liked those that’s a good sign! I would really encourage you to keep pursuing CS a bit more, at least with a class in high school.
You can also minor in CS in college, which will require no science courses.
^ agreed. Don’t give up on CS because of chemistry class, your performance in chemistry is mostly irrelevant to your performance in a CS program. I hate chemistry as a subject too and thankfully only had to take one intro to chem class in college. You’re going to have to take more physics than any other science, and even then only if you take the engineering CS. Many universities have a CS major that is in the college of letters and sciences that has more flexible science requirements.
My son (c/o 2021) was accepted into Texas Southern’s Honor’s Program and he is an intended Computer Science Major. He didn’t do well in Pre AP Chemistry, he passed with a decent grade but he hated the class. However he did well in Math and his Computer Science classes in high school. He was impressed with the computer science program at TSU. His final decision came down to Bowie State and Texas Southern and he chose Bowie State but it barely beat out TSU. My suggestion to you is to give computer science a try to see how you like it and to work on improving your ACT score. Most schools require strong math scores to be accepted into their computer science programs. Good luck to you in your senior year.
There are always into classes to help you figure out what you like/dislike. Many schools with a CS program will offer an intro course which assumes absolutely no prior programming experience. If you are going to do CS through a liberal arts school, then there is a chance that there will be the flexibility of doing a double major.
Also, you don’t want to just take a CS major’s salary at face value. Some career centers may give you a starting salary range of $50,000 to $140,000 for CS grads, but many factors are missing here - most notably, cost of living. For example, a $140,000 salary in the Bay Area (where Apple, Facebook, Google, are at) may only allow you to have the same standard of living as if you had a $76,000 salary in Austin, TX.