Math???

Status
Not open for further replies.
Whoever said that most 4-year schools don't accept major-related credits from a community college is wrong.
 
The school I work for does not accept major related credits and only some of the ******** classes (eng,hist etc). Which is a shame on the student, because the typical kid who attends community college spends 1-2 years at a community college then realizes that it is useless and transfers to a 4 year school and basically has to start all over. So they end up wasting time and money. Think about it, even if the community college is up to par with the 4 year school (which is assuming way too much, but lets just say) then the school would still decline your credits because the president etc is in the business of making money off your tuition/lab fees.
 
Which is a shame on the student, because the typical kid who attends community college spends 1-2 years at a community college then realizes that it is useless and transfers to a 4 year school and basically has to start all over.
My fiance earned an associate degree in accounting from a community college, then enrolled at a four-year university and earned a BS. Two years in CC, and two years at university. Attending a community college is not useless.
 
jaeusm said:
My fiance earned an associate degree in accounting from a community college, then enrolled at a four-year university and earned a BS. Two years in CC, and two years at university. Attending a community college is not useless.

It all depends what school you attend and your major. But generally speaking it is useless, many people think they can save a lot of money by attending a community college which is true, but the faculty education level compared to a 4 year school is ridiculous. However we are dealing with a specialized case, with all computer related degrees (which are specialized on their own). Most schools only have 30 liberal arts or bs classes, so at the most you could get 30 credits transfered which of many probably will not transfer just because the majority of people realize the education level at community college is not much more above highschool level teachers. I am not claiming this is true universally considering the schools can come up with their own criteria. But I would say the majority of schools follow this procedure, you will however have your outliers just like anything else. For instance a lot of the online schools you can get credit for basically anything. So ofcourse people who attended these types of schools could claim that they got credit for posting on online forums, but generally speaking this would not be true. Same rules apply here.
 
It all depends what school you attend and your major.
If it's a "main-stream" major, it will transfer more often than not.

but the faculty education level compared to a 4 year school is ridiculous.
And I would argue that the education level of faculty isn't as important as you may believe. (Actually, I'm far more impressed with actual work experience than the degree, but I digress -- that's a different argument.) Community college education only covers the first two years of BS program. How much education is really required? At traditional 4-year universities, graduate assistants teach many first and second year courses, and sometimes even higher level courses. I know this is true because I was one for three years.
 
You NEED calculus if going in EE, CE, CS, CIS, etc. I went 2 semesters through EE at Clemson and then went to CS. Both have a good bit of programming where calculus, linear algebra, diff equations, etc. are all REQUIRED.
If you "suck" at math, don't program - your head will explode.
I've had 5 semesters of calculus, 1 of linear algebra, 1 of differential equations, 2 logic classes, and one "discrete" class (proofs and such). All proved very useful. I know some people just have the "programming gift" but I didn't and the math helped quite a bit.
For hardware, any classes using hardware are great. I know some are basic and cover core A+ type subjects, but even those are good to have under your belt.
I'm starting to get all the certifications I can afford (CompTIA and Cisco). Those look good when getting an IT job if you don't have solid experience.
 
What you really need is the intellectual maturity for advanced math, not really the knowledge. You won't be doing group theory, tensor calculus or fourier transforms when programming, but you still need to be at that level to understand what you're doing.

Try picking up a book about automata, machines or information theory. I recommend Marvin L. Minsky's "Computation: Finite and Infinite Machines". There are not a lot of formulas and equations in that book, but the complexity of the concepts and ideas require a rather high level of maturity. Heck, I'm about to graduate from a Physics major and while I can do a lot of advanced math, this book still gave me a hard time at some places. Physics is so much easier ^^.

Now, dont get scared. Intellectual maturity (for math) is something you develop over the years. Don't expect to understand group theory before basic calculus. However if you wanna go into computer sciences, being good or at least above average at math is almost necessary.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom