[Sombix]

I have an odd situation regarding starting college. Im out of the USMC and im waiting to start. I have a few years before I can begin college but my math skills are lacking. Im wondering how "amazing" at math do I need to be. I have the time to teach myself but its worrying me.

So in short, What level of math do I realistically need to be at before I start my Computer Science degree.

[Martyr2]

I figure you should have at least done advanced algebra and geometry. Geometry for sure because there will be times where you need to calculate angles, volumes etc for many applications. Computer drawing is often full of things like angles. Need to be able to program things like pie charts.

Other maths you should be familiar with would be basic statistics, probability and finite "counting" concepts. No one expects you to be an ace in all maths, but understanding how to read formulas, order of operations and the probability of choosing a diamond followed by a spade in a deck of cards can be essential skills. All of these things are what you will come across in even the basic of applications.

This post has been edited by Martyr2: 23 January 2011 - 12:30 AM

[J-e-L-L-o]

I know what you mean. I just got out of the Navy and going back to school. It takes a while to get it back, even for me. I finished calculus 1,2, and 3...but I am starting easy and going to sit in on a few classes to see where I fit.

If you didn't take a lot of math in high school or before you joined, just take the first sequence of math classes at community college. Take a math placement test and see how you do. Talk to the veterans counselor, they will steer you in the right direction.

[Brewer]

As J-e-L-L-o said, your school should have some sort of math aptitude test that is available for you to take. In fact, my school requires everyone to take an MPT (Math Placement Test) before starting their courses. This will generally tell you where you need to be.

If you are going to do a Computer Science or other math-intensive degree then I recommend you take a course in Pre-Calculus if your school offers it. I believe that you need a strong background in simple things like factoring and trig before moving onto Calculus.

[macosxnerd101]

I have to slightly disagree with Martyr2 about Geometry. Trig is really more important than Geometry (albeit Geometry is a prereq), especially when you get into Calculus and Physics. For many computer science programs, a math minor is almost built in. Before you start, I'd say definitely get through Precalc and Trig if you can. Getting into Calculus is even better, as it will better prepare you for engineering physics in college (take AP Physics C if your school offers it, as it is an engineering physics class).

If you don't like math, you may want to go an IT/Business Information Systems route, which will focus more on programming and practical uses of IT, rather than a lot of the theory and math you'll get in a computer science program.

[NeoTifa]

You should take a placement test as you enter college, so they'll place you in the right English and Math classes. If you're not up to speed, they'll put you in some refresher courses to get you on track.

[honeybeemel1969]

NeoTifa, on 24 January 2011 - 12:14 AM, said:

You should take a placement test as you enter college, so they'll place you in the right English and Math classes. If you're not up to speed, they'll put you in some refresher courses to get you on track.

If you're looking to refresh on your own, though, without paying for college classes, you may be able to find an aptitude test online that would give you an idea of where you are.

One of these links might help, too:

http://www.mathmedia.com/clepprep.html (fees involved)
http://www.interactmath.com/ (free and wonderful)

I used the interactmath site during my calc 1 class. It has practice problems from LOTS of different math books, as well as explanations on how each problem is solved (using the show me how button or the help me button). I had a horrible professor who explained nothing and still managed to get a B in that class thanks to interactMath.com. The textbook I use is Washington: Basic Technical Mathematics with Calculus. It's near the bottom of the list.

This post has been edited by honeybeemel1969: 26 January 2011 - 10:41 PM

[Nikitin]

Be solid in algebra and whatever pre-calculus teaches. Do competition-style mathematics (ones you see on AMC and AIME), to practice problem-solving.

[Brewer]

I absolutely love Algebra, not such a fan of Geometry and Trig though. Calculus isn't too bad so far, but I've just started that.

[ejanuska]

Sombix, on 23 January 2011 - 06:14 AM, said:

So in short, What level of math do I realistically need to be at before I start my Computer Science degree.

I think you can get by on what ever skills you have. The only thing holding you back will be yourself. Be prepared to do a lot of learning on your own.

[NeoTifa]

Trig sucks. Just wait until you do heavy calculus. Actually, calculus is essentially finding the slope of the tangent line at a specific point of graph, finding the area underneath it, and doing crazy shit.

[honeybeemel1969]

Calculus isn't so bad...until you have to use trig functions and trig identities. I didn't do so well with those in pre-calc, so had a very hard time in calc 1.

I found another resource for math help:

http://academicearth...cs/category:107

and

http://ocw.mit.edu/c...es/mathematics/

[honeybeemel1969]

ejanuska, on 27 January 2011 - 01:18 PM, said:

Sombix, on 23 January 2011 - 06:14 AM, said:

So in short, What level of math do I realistically need to be at before I start my Computer Science degree.

I think you can get by on what ever skills you have. The only thing holding you back will be yourself. Be prepared to do a lot of learning on your own.

At the very least, get through a precalculus class (trig, geometry, advanced algebra). That way, when you test for your math placement, you won't have to spend a lot of time and money on unnecessary or "refresher" courses. It's $500 per credit hour at my school and I had to take an algebra refresher as well as precalculus. Math classes are 4 credit hours, so that's $4000 I wouldn't have had to spend if I'd brushed up on my math skills a little.

[JackOfAllTrades]

Heh! Imagine my surprise when I had to drop out of Calculus III because the Calculus I and II I had taken were for BUSINESS majors, not SCIENCE majors. First test comes, half of the questions are integration and differentiations of trig functions...which were most definitely NOT covered in the classes I had taken! I failed miserably (got all the non-trig questions right, but that wasn't enough). Ended up dropping the class and getting by in P. Chem without it by learning differential equations "on the fly"

[honeybeemel1969]

JackOfAllTrades, on 29 January 2011 - 08:36 AM, said:

Heh! Imagine my surprise when I had to drop out of Calculus III because the Calculus I and II I had taken were for BUSINESS majors, not SCIENCE majors. First test comes, half of the questions are integration and differentiations of trig functions...which were most definitely NOT covered in the classes I had taken! I failed miserably (got all the non-trig questions right, but that wasn't enough). Ended up dropping the class and getting by in P. Chem without it by learning differential equations "on the fly"

That, Jack, is why I always look at my degree navigator and work with academic advising when scheduling my classes. I don't know anything about traditional campuses -- I'm an online student -- but the online students at the college I attend have access to a degree navigator that tells us exactly what classes are required and which we have completed. The class number is specified as well as the type of class, so there is no way we could take a business math and think it was for the BEET program.