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If I have not taken any CS related classes in high school, will I have to take some sort of summer classes in order to prepare to take CS classes in college? Additionally, would I be extremely behind the course subjects if I go into college without CS knowledge?
I'm a high school student in my Junior year and have a interest in computer science/engineering.
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10 answers
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Dana’s Answer
No, you will not be behind once you get to your CS courses. College courses don't assume that you have any background in the subject.
That said, it does not hurt to have some small exposure to a computer program. You can get that exposure just by watching videos and stepping through tutorials. If you know what language is taught in lower-level CS classes, focus on those.
Find out what languages are being taught in lower-level classes at your college of choice.
Look up tutorials on site, such as YouTube.
That said, it does not hurt to have some small exposure to a computer program. You can get that exposure just by watching videos and stepping through tutorials. If you know what language is taught in lower-level CS classes, focus on those.
Dana recommends the following next steps:
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Stuart’s Answer
I agree with the other answers about it not being required, but I would suggest doing some google searches on topics like java, python, c++, helm, terraform, etc. There are plenty of youtube videos that are short overviews of topics as well as more detailed hands on training videos. This will help start your learning and help you not feel intimidated when you start college
HTH
HTH
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Aaron’s Answer
You'll be fine, generally speaking there's usually some introduction classes you can take for most subjects. If you're interested in getting a head start I highly recommend this free course offered by Harvard, the teacher is so great at explaining the concepts. https://pll.harvard.edu/course/cs50-introduction-computer-science?delta=0
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Gillian’s Answer
hi Jason, while it was many years ago now, I went straight from school (with no CS classes) to college with 3 years of Computer Science and it was fine. The lecturers will start with basic concepts and bring you on the journey. There's lots of great YouTube videos out there if you want to get a head start and also to get a feel for the subjects to ensure you set your expectations. Very best of luck. There are great careers and career paths in CS.
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Luke’s Answer
You shouldn't be worried at all. Most universities make you take 1-2 semesters of prerequisite courses before you get into the meat of your major courses, at least for CS/Engineering. That being said, if there is a local community college where you can take some summer courses to knock out some of these prerequisites then I would recommend it. I took some of the general education courses and basic math/engineering courses during summers and it made my senior year very light and easy.
So you can go into your freshman year without any CS courses and you likely won't be behind.
So you can go into your freshman year without any CS courses and you likely won't be behind.
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Dan’s Answer
Hey Jason, theoretically you should be fine because the classes will start with the basic concepts. however, the question is how many others in the class will be in your state and I suspect that these days most CS students already have some basic experience. I therefore do recommend you take some basic class before you start. there are lots of options online you can try. best of luck!
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Amanda’s Answer
Most Computer Science programs will set you up with introductory courses. They will start with the basic concepts, for example, an Introductory Java Course. Often times you will find yourself in classes with other students who also have not had experience with the concepts being discussed. If you are interested in stepping into the world of Computer Science before college, I would recommend you start watching YouTube videos, building projects, reading related blogs, and finding online resources (classes, CTF, etc.).
Resources like Udemy, PluralSight, Cloud Guru, TryHackMe, etc. will be incredibly helpful in delving into specific topics. Once you have a basic understanding you can move on to building personal projects.
Resources like Udemy, PluralSight, Cloud Guru, TryHackMe, etc. will be incredibly helpful in delving into specific topics. Once you have a basic understanding you can move on to building personal projects.
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Nicholas’s Answer
Hello Jason! If you start college without having taken any cs classes in high school, you will be just fine! I started at the University of Florida and had plenty of friends who did that, and they were just fine. If you take some classes in cs early, you might be able to skip the first cs class in college (I did this), but that is by no means a necessity.
The real advantage of taking some classes in cs early is for you to find out if computer science is something you like. That way, you can start collage with confidence in you major. Even if you don't take classes, try doing some personal cs projects (this is even better than classes if you ask me). By doing some personal projects, you will get a good feel for if you like coding.
You can find lots of coding projects for beginners online. If you can do some coding projects and have fun with it, you know you have a good major for yourself. I really recommend trying them, or some tutorials, even if just for a weekend.
Try out some beginner coding projects or tutorials online.
The real advantage of taking some classes in cs early is for you to find out if computer science is something you like. That way, you can start collage with confidence in you major. Even if you don't take classes, try doing some personal cs projects (this is even better than classes if you ask me). By doing some personal projects, you will get a good feel for if you like coding.
You can find lots of coding projects for beginners online. If you can do some coding projects and have fun with it, you know you have a good major for yourself. I really recommend trying them, or some tutorials, even if just for a weekend.
Nicholas recommends the following next steps:
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Charles’s Answer
I think most universities' CS programs will assume you don't have any programming background coming in to it. However, if you do take CS classes now it will prepare you better for them and also may potentially let you skip introductory courses if it's like AP or IB or something official. Sometimes you might even be able to take an aptitude test to let you skip ahead even if you don't have official accreditation. So it is absolutely worth it to start early, if you can.
With that being said, university courses are much faster paced than anything you will have experienced before, so a lot of the time by the second year everyone putting in enough effort will be caught up to speed with people who've had prior experience.
Also one thing to keep in mind is, in certain universities it is harder to get into CS courses if you are not in the CS program. This doesn't apply to every university, as many don't even make you declare a major until your second year, but when I was in college there was a legitimate shortage of spots in any CS class past the introductory one, and CS majors got the first pick. So make sure you do your research about the universities you apply to.
With that being said, university courses are much faster paced than anything you will have experienced before, so a lot of the time by the second year everyone putting in enough effort will be caught up to speed with people who've had prior experience.
Also one thing to keep in mind is, in certain universities it is harder to get into CS courses if you are not in the CS program. This doesn't apply to every university, as many don't even make you declare a major until your second year, but when I was in college there was a legitimate shortage of spots in any CS class past the introductory one, and CS majors got the first pick. So make sure you do your research about the universities you apply to.
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Dexter’s Answer
Hi Jason,
About twenty years ago, when I went to college, I was in similar shoes. I went into college without taking a programming class thinking that the random web development projects I had worked on in high school would be enough experience for the introduction programming classes. In the first week, even before for the first computer science course, my university (UC Berkeley) had interested students take a quick test. At the time, if we could write a recursive function (in any language we chose), we would be given the option of skipping the introductory computer science course (CS3) and be placed in the second one (CS61A).
I ended up not passing the course, which I was a little bummed out about, but it worked out great. CS3 was the right course for me, and I still remember the fun projects that I got to do in the class (it helps that I had an awesome professor).
Still, if I were to go back in time, I would absolutely take an introductory CS course during the summer at a local community college. This would allow me to see if computer programming is something that I enjoy before committing to a college major. I would also save money and time that I could spend on other interests (college time is worth more than high school time, IMHO).
Anyways, I help this helps you and I wish you the best!
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Dexter
About twenty years ago, when I went to college, I was in similar shoes. I went into college without taking a programming class thinking that the random web development projects I had worked on in high school would be enough experience for the introduction programming classes. In the first week, even before for the first computer science course, my university (UC Berkeley) had interested students take a quick test. At the time, if we could write a recursive function (in any language we chose), we would be given the option of skipping the introductory computer science course (CS3) and be placed in the second one (CS61A).
I ended up not passing the course, which I was a little bummed out about, but it worked out great. CS3 was the right course for me, and I still remember the fun projects that I got to do in the class (it helps that I had an awesome professor).
Still, if I were to go back in time, I would absolutely take an introductory CS course during the summer at a local community college. This would allow me to see if computer programming is something that I enjoy before committing to a college major. I would also save money and time that I could spend on other interests (college time is worth more than high school time, IMHO).
Anyways, I help this helps you and I wish you the best!
--
Dexter