To do with University Decisions...

PraxxtorCruel

PraxxtorCruel

PraxxtorCruel

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I've decided to go back into education and the degree I'd want to study in the near future would be Computer Science. I've enrolled myself on an Access to He Computing course, now I've realized that the Maths in the course is far from sufficient for a computer science degree. My question is, do I continue and aim to do a bsc computer science with a foundation year at a good university or apply for a 'mediocre' university and just go straight into the undergraduate degree. Or try and enrol on an Access to Science or Engineering course and come out with the highest grades in all Maths units and then have the opportunity to apply to a good university to study the undergraduate degree and skipping the foundation year?

So what do you lot think?

Spend an extra year or not? Perhaps if I done the Access Computing course and a foundation year of Computer Science I could apply to universities such as Southampton, York or St Andrews? Or would it be a complete waste of time?
 
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Is it just your mathematics that is preventing you from the top university courses?

If so you could just study A-level maths part time whilst continuing whatever you are doing currently
 
It depends why you're doing the degree.

If you want a degree for the sake of having a degree, do the quickest path.

If you want a degree to learn the subject and gain some good theoretical knowledge of the topic, beef up your maths before starting it.
The bonus is that you can also brush up on your programming during that year and go into the degree program with a good understanding of the basics.
 
Judgeneo said:
Is it just your mathematics that is preventing you from the top university courses?

If so you could just study A-level maths part time whilst continuing whatever you are doing currently
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I did think about that route, but I don't think I meet the entry requirements to do an A-level Maths course.
 
PraxxtorCruel said:
I did think about that route, but I don't think I meet the entry requirements to do an A-level Maths course.
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Then you're never going to be able to do a Comp Sci degree!

What do you have in GCSE Maths?

You're reminding me of a very special cousin of mine who got 4 C's at GCSE, went onto a Science GNVQ and was convinced she would still do medicine and become a doctor ... No one had the heart to tell her their honest opinion.
 
Yamahahahahaha said:
It depends why you're doing the degree.

If you want a degree for the sake of having a degree, do the quickest path.

If you want a degree to learn the subject and gain some good theoretical knowledge of the topic, beef up your maths before starting it.
The bonus is that you can also brush up on your programming during that year and go into the degree program with a good understanding of the basics.
Click to expand...

Now that's the question, I'm currently 23, would a year make extra make a huge difference? Feels like it to me when I pit myself against 21 year olds who have just graduated, I'll probably be 28 or something haha. Well I'm not going there to waste time and I do want to go in depth.
 
PraxxtorCruel said:
Managed a C, although what if I said to you I'm doing GCSE Maths this year again alongside :D.
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Higher, Intermediate or Foundation? (or whatever it is nowadays).

TBH if you only got a C at GCSE Maths, I really cant see you coping with A level maths or Comp Sci.
 
bhavv said:
Higher, Intermediate or Foundation? (or whatever it is nowadays).
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Higher Tier paper, I wouldn't of bothered had they offered me the Foundation as it wouldn't of helped :p. Re: your ninja edit - I know, that's why I opted to do GCSE Maths again to give me a better understanding of level 3 Maths which I believe they'll teach in Foundation year of Computer Science? So I won't be wondering why, they're moving this number here and dividing that by that etc :p
 
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Every man and his dog has a Computer Science degree. I would seriously consider whether it's the right course for you as competition for jobs afterwards will be fierce. I know loads of people who did Comp Sci degrees and ended up in 1st line tech.

What specific job are you hoping this degree will lead to? I'd look at your ideal jobs then work backwards to what qualifications you need.
 
bhavv said:
Then you're never going to be able to do a Comp Sci degree!

What do you have in GCSE Maths?

You're reminding me of a very special cousin of mine who got 4 C's at GCSE, went onto a Science GNVQ and was convinced she would still do medicine and become a doctor ... No one had the heart to tell her their honest opinion.
Click to expand...

Errrm I didn't do A level maths and I did comp sci at a good university.
 
Murf said:
Every man and his dog has a Computer Science degree. I would seriously consider whether it's the right course for you as competition for jobs afterwards will be fierce. I know loads of people who did Comp Sci degrees and ended up in 1st line tech.

What specific job are you hoping this degree will lead to? I'd look at your ideal jobs then work backwards to what qualifications you need.
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Well you've nailed my description pretty well besides the 'dog', I'm asthmatic so a no go zone :p Okay, well that's pretty gloomy, but good to know. Probably some form of software engineering, but I always noted people mentioning you're better of doing a Comp Sci degree over SE as it is regarded as a more valuable degree?
 
I believe EA stated that they only hire programmers with nothing other than a Comp Sci degree, though they arent exactly a great company to work for.
 
the 'value' of a degree to the most part is rubbish.
We teach our students to understand that a degree is simply a stepping stone along a career path that may venture into all kinds of work and industries.
Just because you do a degree in a particular field doesnt mean you have to stick to that, a lot of it is down to presenting yourself to get a job/proving you can do the tasks asked in a job (whether through home learning etc)

Computer Science is very maths heavy, especially at the top universities something worth bearing in mind if your maths skills are lacking you may struggle to comprehend skills other students have picked up over the last two years.
 
Heres the beginners reading list for students thinking about Oxford University Comp Sci (just to give you an example of what we look for)

• Programming in Haskell by Graham Hutton. ISBN: 978-0521692694 OR
• Introduction to Functional Programming using Haskell by Richard Bird (2nd edition). ISBN: 978-0134843469
• Discrete Mathematics by Kenneth Ross and Charles Wright (5th edition). ISBN: 978-0130652478
• Discrete Mathematics by A Chetwynd and P Diggle. ISBN: 978-0340610473
• Discrete Mathematics for Computing by Peter Grossman (3rd edition). ISBN: 978-0230216112
• The Sciences Good Study Guide by Andrew Northedge, Jeff Thomas, Andrew Lane and Alice Peasgood. ISBN: 978-0749234113
• How to Prove It: A Structured Approach by Daniel Velleman. ISBN: 978-0521446631
 
I personally wouldn't go into software engineering, the amount of coding jobs I have seen outsourced in the past year or so would be enough to put anyone off!
 
Thanks for that, does seem pretty heavy on theory. I think I've always been more practical. What gets to me though is, why go study SE if CS offers everything SE does and more and the opportunities are much greater (from what I've read).
 
I know you dismiss the idea of going to a 'lesser' university but if your more practical minded it might be worth having a look around.
Most of the top unis will adopt a very old fashioned course for Comp Sci that is a lot of theory, over the more liberal (some would say modern) uni's that will tend to focus on actual coding/practicals as a way of learning.
 
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