College...

[Rektum]

I'm looking to major in Computer Science once I head off to college in about 2 years. As a high school junior currently, I'm in Pre-Calculus and I absolutely hate it. It confuses me and I'm doing pretty bad in it right now. Well, to graduate high school, I only need to go up to Algebra 2, which I completed and passed last year. So I'm all set with my math credits to be able to graduate high school, but will I need to be taking Pre-Calculus when I go to college to take computer science? I know it depends on the college, but from any of you that have majored in Computer Science, is Pre-Calculus a college graduation requirement?

 

The reason I'm asking this is because if I need to take pre-calculus to graduate college, I can just do it now in my high school year. But if I don't even need pre-calculus to have to major in and graduate in Computer Science, I will just drop out of pre-calculus.

[bob345]

If you think pre calc is confusing, you are going to have a really bad time with comp sci. You will also be required to take many classes past pre calc for that major.

[Sauron]

I am studying software engineering, so take what I say with a pinch of salt - I know the subject but not the teaching methods.

 

On a base level, computer science is math. There's no way around it. Aside from standards like programming languages and system structures, a computer scientists studies algorythms. Which means you need to know quite a bit of math, more specifically statistics, but also calculus and algebra. Almost all important figures in early computer science history are mathematicians. You will of course be thaught all you need to know, however it's up to you to learn it.

 

Don't go in expecting lessons on how to plug a graphics card in a pcie slot, because that won't happen (and besides you don't need college to know how to do that). Hardware is treated as a generic and abstract entity that only remotely concerns you, because that may change drastically over time and it makes no sense to waste time learning what is available now (not for graduating at least).

 

It can still be fun and interesting if you enjoy the subject and want a career in that field, but if you don't and only consider it because you like building computers it's a bad idea.

 

-edit-

on a side note, the same goes for software engineering - plenty of math and also some physics. In my case it's also basic electronics because where I go my course shares the first two years with electronic and telecom engineering.

[jabolotai]

Before you worry too much about math, I would focus on learning to program as best you can as you'll likely spend way more time programming (and debugging) than anything else. 

 

If you get in to comp sci and truly hate the math, you can often swap to a different degree program with less maths as there are usually a bit of overlap between subjects in similar disciplines. If in doubt, best to first check with your college what their specific entry requirements are, and if they will accept that course done at school towards your course credit later on. I would be surprised if they didn't have someone to help explain the syllabus to you.

 

You can't really escape maths in the core stuff (like theory of computation and automata theory), but the important part is being able to decipher the jargon, make some reasoned arguments to prove something (and show your working out usually by implementing it in code).

 

Plenty of the maths you will use day to day is more "visual" and dare I say "fun", like discrete maths where you cover things like graph theory, combinatorics, set theory, predicate logic etc. Information theory is also cool. With a bit of research you can pick optional subjects that avoid maths if you want eg. graphics will always be heavy on linear algebra, cryptography will be heavy on abstract algebra.

[LOLZpersonok]

I'm so glad I decided not to go into computer science even though that's one of my interests. I went into a media course and they cover everything from game design to film and audio. And, they don't deal with math.

[Excitedtaco]

From what I have seen most CS degrees you need to complete up to calculus 3, but liked you mentioned it depends on the university you attend. Most universities give BS (Bachelor of Science) for CS, meaning its more math and science intensive, but some give BA (Bachelors of Arts) or BSA (Bachelor of Science and Arts) and these degrees require less math and science courses than a BS.

I personally say not to worry about Pre cal when you get to university you should have more free time to study also their should be study groups to help people.

[Speedyv]

For that major I'm certain it requires more than pre-calc. 

 

I highly recommend taking up to calculus in HS. Most people that I knew that didn't take pre-calc or calc were either not interested in STEM or didn't go to a four year university. Study really hard and do your best. Once you get good at it, it will even be somewhat enjoyable. Remember graduating requirements are the bare minimum to get a HS diploma. 

[TopDollar]

Computer Science is a field that is fundamentally based on high level and discrete math. Programming is just the tool which is used to apply the theory. That part of it just comes with experience. Not to sound like a Debbie downer, however if you are struggling with pre-calc, you very well may have a tough time with the higher level stuff. A minimum if calc 3 is going to be required before even getting into the higher level stuff.