Has anyone’s kid majored in CS without having taken a course prior to collegev

[Anonymous]

I am hopeful that my daughter might be able to major in CS, but for reasons that are too complicated to explain here, she won’t be able to take a CS in HS. Is it realistic/common for a kid to not take any kind of CS/programming class until Freshman year of College and still go on to major in it? It seems like all the kids I know who major in it took things like AP CS in HS and were involved in things like Robotics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am hopeful that my daughter might be able to major in CS, but for reasons that are too complicated to explain here, she won’t be able to take a CS in HS. Is it realistic/common for a kid to not take any kind of CS/programming class until Freshman year of College and still go on to major in it? It seems like all the kids I know who major in it took things like AP CS in HS and were involved in things like Robotics.

Just have her take an online class like at coursera.org or Univ California's online high school classes - there are many choices - that will allow her to cover the bases regarding CS in high and demonstrating her interest

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am hopeful that my daughter might be able to major in CS, but for reasons that are too complicated to explain here, she won’t be able to take a CS in HS. Is it realistic/common for a kid to not take any kind of CS/programming class until Freshman year of College and still go on to major in it? It seems like all the kids I know who major in it took things like AP CS in HS and were involved in things like Robotics.

Given she hasn't taken anything CS related courses, why do you think it's a good major for her?

[Anonymous]

It's going to be difficult for her, on top of being one of.the few female majors in the room. She needs to at least take a community college course or an online free tutoring course before deciding this will be her major.

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure how common it is to major in CS without prior programming experience, but my DS is a Comp Sci major and has known quite a few people who change majors after taking the first few university courses. Either you love programming/Comp Sci or you don't, and if you don't have the passion for it, it will definitely be a struggle to get through all the courses needed for a degree.

I agree with PP's recommendation that your DD take some sort of programming course online to find out if she has an interest in the field.

[Anonymous]

Several of my DCs roommates were CS majors and they either didn't take CS in high school or took a 1 semester intro course. DCs school had 2 CS tracks though, one in the engineering school and one in the liberal arts school. The engineering school is harder to get into and you are more likely to be admitted with some demonstrated interest. So maybe look for schools with CS as a major outside of engineering.

[Anonymous]

It wouldn't have been a problem 15 years ago when I graduated college. The CS sequence at my university was arranged so that CS 100 (which required no prior experience) was offered in the fall semester and CS 211 offered in the spring semester. Students who had AP'd out of CS 100 and students who took CS 100 joined together to take CS 211 in the spring.

It's possible that with competition getting more intense, the entry level CS 100 classes are now being packed with more students who could have passed out but didn't, and that would affect the grading curve. I'd ask students who are currently enrolled what the actual makeup of the class in entry level CS courses in their school is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's going to be difficult for her, on top of being one of.the few female majors in the room. She needs to at least take a community college course or an online free tutoring course before deciding this will be her major.

I don't see why, unless she plans to enroll in a university that has particularly rigid policies. I enrolled in an engineering college planning to manor in CS and it was very simple to switch to another major. Two semesters of CS were required for my new major anyway, and the additional 2-3 courses I'd taken were counted for other components and I graduated a semester early even with the switch. If OP's daughter bails on CS after freshman year, I doubt her coursework would go to waste if she pursues something in the STEM area.

[Anonymous]

Good math and science student?

Very interested in computers and technology?

Does it as a hobby?

If answer to those 3 are yes, no problem. If no, she probably won't be good at it regardless of if she had taken any courses prior.

[Anonymous]

"Either you love programming/Comp Sci or you don't, and if you don't have the passion for it, it will definitely be a struggle to get through all the courses needed for a degree."

There are a few exceptions to this.

Lots of mathematicians don't love either programming or CS and won't struggle picking up CS.

People with strong abilities to pick up foreign languages also may not struggle.

But your basic jack of all trades Engineer, even with a solid HS math, HS science and some programming
experience can struggle without CS passion because they live and die by intuition and/or tinkering.

Those traits are great to have but don't cover the full range of skills for proofs, new algorithms or even longer programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am hopeful that my daughter might be able to major in CS, but for reasons that are too complicated to explain here, she won’t be able to take a CS in HS. Is it realistic/common for a kid to not take any kind of CS/programming class until Freshman year of College and still go on to major in it? It seems like all the kids I know who major in it took things like AP CS in HS and were involved in things like Robotics.

I've hired lots of kids who took a CS class in college, got hooked and changed their majors. It's totally reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Computer Science can be found in Engineering , Natural sciences and sometimes stand alone programs at universities.
All want you to show your interest in computer science inside and outside the classroom. The high income right out of college attracts lots of kids but
the drop out from computer science programs in the second and third semester is high. Colleges want kids that stick with the program.
Being a girl helps her application.
As mentioned she can do hackathons, online courses, and clubs to build up her resume and solidify her interest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am hopeful that my daughter might be able to major in CS, but for reasons that are too complicated to explain here, she won’t be able to take a CS in HS. Is it realistic/common for a kid to not take any kind of CS/programming class until Freshman year of College and still go on to major in it? It seems like all the kids I know who major in it took things like AP CS in HS and were involved in things like Robotics.

Given she hasn't taken anything CS related courses, why do you think it's a good major for her?

She's strong in math, and yes I know that's not necessarily enough to think she would be well suited for it, but it's basically wishful thinking on my part.

[Anonymous]

Fine, but they need a strong background in Math. A lot of the folks in it now never had CS classes. Everyone makes a big hype over it but its not that big of a deal. My husband had none and went to college later. Has a good career now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am hopeful that my daughter might be able to major in CS, but for reasons that are too complicated to explain here, she won’t be able to take a CS in HS. Is it realistic/common for a kid to not take any kind of CS/programming class until Freshman year of College and still go on to major in it? It seems like all the kids I know who major in it took things like AP CS in HS and were involved in things like Robotics.

Just have her take an online class like at coursera.org or Univ California's online high school classes - there are many choices - that will allow her to cover the bases regarding CS in high and demonstrating her interest

Would a Virginia high school be likely to give her credit for this though?