Comp Sci with General Maths? (1 Viewer)

[oscarswan12]

I did 2u maths for year 11 however was getting 60's, so it would be better for my ATAR to drop to general maths (getting mid 80s now). I really want to do CompSci or Software Engineering at UNSW or UTS as I am very interested in programming and software development, however worried my maths skills aren't good enough for Math 1A, 1B and discrete at UNSW or Math 1, Math 2 and discrete at UTS. Willing to put in solid hours and take bridging courses to learn 2u and 3u but is it worth it if I am likely going to fail these courses?

 

[cossine]

Discrete maths is not that hard as it is very fundamental concepts discussed at a high level. However having knowledge of basic programming concepts is good. Can you understand pseudocode?

My recommendation would be consider some math tutoring.

Maybe consider buying some textbooks with fully worked solution.

Has calculus is not taught in general maths is not taught that could cause issue. But you will find some uni textbooks contain the basic calculus content so could study that during the holidays. Note you will most likely not need all the material so take look at the subject outline or unit guide.

 

[uniqueusername1]

Discrete maths is not that hard as it is very fundamental concepts discussed at a high level. However having knowledge of basic programming concepts is good. Can you understand pseudocode?

My recommendation would be consider some math tutoring.

Maybe consider buying some textbooks with fully worked solution.

Has calculus is not taught in general maths is not taught that could cause issue. But you will find some uni textbooks contain the basic calculus content so could study that during the holidays. Note you will most likely not need all the material so take look at the subject outline or unit guide.

What would you recommend someone who has never coded before to learn before enrolling into computer science?

 

[andrew12678]

I did Comp Sci major for undergrad without knowing what coding was in high school, if you put in the hours it should not hold you back. In relation to OPs question, I know plenty of people who said they hated maths/failed it at school but ended up doing fine for first year maths + discrete maths and programming. In my opinion, these first year uni courses teach all you know for exams so whilst there is an advantage for someone who has done some overlapping content in high school maths, you can do well yourself too

 

[oscarswan12]

I did Comp Sci major for undergrad without knowing what coding was in high school, if you put in the hours it should not hold you back. In relation to OPs question, I know plenty of people who said they hated maths/failed it at school but ended up doing fine for first year maths + discrete maths and programming. In my opinion, these first year uni courses teach all you know for exams so whilst there is an advantage for someone who has done some overlapping content in high school maths, you can do well yourself too

I just have a friend whose brother did discrete math at UNSW and he did 4 unit maths at high school, and he said it was the hardest class he's ever done and only got 60%. Kinda concerning for me considering i didnt do 4 unit

 

[andrew12678]

I just have a friend whose brother did discrete math at UNSW and he did 4 unit maths at high school, and he said it was the hardest class he's ever done and only got 60%. Kinda concerning for me considering i didnt do 4 unit

Well discrete maths is totally different from high school maths so I can see why. I still think it can be done if you put in the hours. Anyway, if you are truly scared of it, I guess you can start reading into some of it now haha

 

[oscarswan12]

Well discrete maths is totally different from high school maths so I can see why. I still think it can be done if you put in the hours. Anyway, if you are truly scared of it, I guess you can start reading into some of it now haha

Should i do comp sci or software engineering? Confused on the difference and which one for someone less confident in maths? cheers

 

[cossine]

I just have a friend whose brother did discrete math at UNSW and he did 4 unit maths at high school, and he said it was the hardest class he's ever done and only got 60%. Kinda concerning for me considering i didnt do 4 unit

Discrete math syllabus can vary and could have changed over time perhaps.

For instance the UTS discrete maths use be really hard but due to syllabus changes this no longer the case.

Perhaps you can look into flexible engineering degree.

 

[cossine]

What would you recommend someone who has never coded before to learn before enrolling into computer science?

There are many programming languages. So it is but hard for me to give recommendation but I would consider starting out with Python or C or C++.

There are some good courses on Udemy but many people use other resources.

C/C++ because use in data structures. Python because quite versatile and used in data analytics

 

[011235]

Python is good for learning coding concepts.

C is good for learning a bit of the nitty-gritty of how programming works (forces you to do a lot by hand).

 

[uniqueusername1]

There are many programming languages. So it is but hard for me to give recommendation but I would consider starting out with Python or C or C++.

There are some good courses on Udemy but many people use other resources.

C/C++ because use in data structures. Python because quite versatile and used in data analytics

So you reckon if I grind Udemy over the 3 month break I will learn a lot? And will that really help for a software engineering course?

Thanks for the help man, I am just a bit nervous and unsure if I should do this course of my little to none knowledge.

 

[andrew12678]

Should i do comp sci or software engineering? Confused on the difference and which one for someone less confident in maths? cheers

Well based on what you've said so far software engineering might be the better option if you want to avoid the maths units haha but you can always switch between degrees/majors at uni from experience

 

[cossine]

So you reckon if I grind Udemy over the 3 month break I will learn a lot? And will that really help for a software engineering course?

Thanks for the help man, I am just a bit nervous and unsure if I should do this course of my little to none knowledge.

Give it go, I don't actually have experience on the software side of things but more in data analytics.

Based on the course outline subject handbook, I would select udemy course in addition to going through any recommended textbook. Maybe there things that can be useful that are not explained in uni course or textbook. Plus there is always Q/A if you get stuck

 

[uniqueusername1]

Give it go, I don't actually have experience on the software side of things but more in data analytics.

Based on the course outline subject handbook, I would select udemy course in addition to going through any recommended textbook. Maybe there things that can be useful that are not explained in uni course or textbook. Plus there is always Q/A if you get stuck

Oh damn thanks. So you doing business analytics or something?

 

[cossine]

My degree is B Eng(flexible)

 

[Porogamiii]

Should i do comp sci or software engineering? Confused on the difference and which one for someone less confident in maths? cheers

I had the same question in deciding between the two! Looking at the UNSW and UTS handbooks, they both cover a lot of the same content but it seems for CS you choose a speciality pretty early on whereas SWE you pick an assortment of electives. Also, CS does have more maths and theory into algorithms and data structures whereas SWE goes into the more business-side of software and (I think) has more emphasis on coding.

Personally, I preferenced SWE because of the more hands on approach and broader ability to choose electives over a speciality (for UNSW at least). Also, some resources if you want to get ahead over the holidays would be CS50 on YouTube (free), the Odin Project for web dev (free) and of course Udemy courses (I'm currently taking 100 days of python -- for complete beginners). Also if you do take SWE, I would try and learn algorithms and data structures on the side (lots of free resources but I haven't looked much into this yet.)

 

[uniqueusername1]

My degree is B Eng(flexible)

What you specialising in? Civil?

 

[uniqueusername1]

I had the same question in deciding between the two! Looking at the UNSW and UTS handbooks, they both cover a lot of the same content but it seems for CS you choose a speciality pretty early on whereas SWE you pick an assortment of electives. Also, CS does have more maths and theory into algorithms and data structures whereas SWE goes into the more business-side of software and (I think) has more emphasis on coding.

Personally, I preferenced SWE because of the more hands on approach and broader ability to choose electives over a speciality (for UNSW at least). Also, some resources if you want to get ahead over the holidays would be CS50 on YouTube (free), the Odin Project for web dev (free) and of course Udemy courses (I'm currently taking 100 days of python -- for complete beginners). Also if you do take SWE, I would try and learn algorithms and data structures on the side (lots of free resources but I haven't looked much into this yet.)

Bro are you starting programming from scratch as well?

 

[Porogamiii]

Bro are you starting programming from scratch as well?

Yeah. Been pretty fun since I started term 2 holidays so I thought why not do it for uni lol.

 

[cossine]

What you specialising in? Civil?

I don't have a major. But I specialise in data analytics