Dropping Computer Science

[CompSciMath]

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So as you can see from my name I am a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics. However, Computer Science is killing me. I stay up way too late to do all the projects, and it is dragging down some of my other classes along with it and my overall health. The only thing keeping me in the program is the fact that I have a full ride being a Computer Science major. So I guess my question is should I just abandon ship before it drags down my overall gpa? I hope I don't sound too whiny...I'm just trying to get different viewpoints.

 

[mdbound1987]

If you will lose the scholarship by dropping comp sci, why not drop mathematics?

 

[CompSciMath]

Well, I like math more than I like Computer Science, and to me I think Computer Science is going to jeopardize my overall GPA once I start getting into the higher level classes.

 

[Jasgop]

Drop it if it doesnt affect your scholarship. If it does, I dont think you should drop it.

 

[Naijaba]

I was a double-major in Computer Science and Mathematics for my first two years of college. I then added biology as a third major, but I took about 12 of the biology major courses during the summer. The difficulty of computer science courses can become more and more difficult or more and more easy, depending on the student.

Let me explain. There are two types of students in upper-division computer science classes: Those who mastered coding in the previous two years, and those who didn't. The latter group suffers from the difficulty of upper-level programming assignments combined with the difficulty of learning a language that they should already know. This latter group dramatically brings down the curve and makes it a breeze for the former group who spend most of their time implementing labs without having to learn the language.

At UC Irvine the course that most exemplified this dichotomy was Computer Graphics, which required students to use C++ for the first time while working on nasty OpenGL projects. UCI students learn Java during their first year and have little exposure to C++. I had a much easier time due to some research programming I completed in C++ that taught me quite a bit about the language.

I advise you to assess where you stand with your peers. Are you generally more competent at programming than they are? If so, stick it out! You will find that your mathematics knowledge (especially linear algebra) will become insanely beneficial in later computer science courses.

 

[FluffyRabbit]

I was a double-major in Computer Science and Mathematics for my first two years of college. I then added biology as a third major, but I took about 12 of the biology major courses during the summer. The difficulty of computer science courses can become more and more difficult or more and more easy, depending on the student.

Let me explain. There are two types of students in upper-division computer science classes: Those who mastered coding in the previous two years, and those who didn't. The latter group suffers from the difficulty of upper-level programming assignments combined with the difficulty of learning a language that they should already know. This latter group dramatically brings down the curve and makes it a breeze for the former group who spend most of their time implementing labs without having to learn the language.

At UC Irvine the course that most exemplified this dichotomy was Computer Graphics, which required students to use C++ for the first time while working on nasty OpenGL projects. UCI students learn Java during their first year and have little exposure to C++. I had a much easier time due to some research programming I completed in C++ that taught me quite a bit about the language.

I advise you to assess where you stand with your peers. Are you generally more competent at programming than they are? If so, stick it out! You will find that your mathematics knowledge (especially linear algebra) will become insanely beneficial in later computer science courses.

I am a CS major myself, and while some of my peers have been programming since they were 9 years old, there are also those who will attend graduate school in computability/complexity/algorithms. They usually take a large number of math and theory classes and a minimal amount of classes that involve actual coding. Interestingly enough, at my school they tend to have the higher GPAs - partially because industry cares less about grades than graduate programs, but also because there are some programming-types that struggle with wrapping their heads around the Polynomial Time Hierarchy and the relationship between QSAT and interactive proofs.

OP, since you're a math major, if the requirements allow you to pull the latter off, you might consider sticking it out.

 

[mdbound1987]

Well, I like math more than I like Computer Science, and to me I think Computer Science is going to jeopardize my overall GPA once I start getting into the higher level classes.

That is a pretty tough situation. Like someone said above, if it doesn't affect your scholarship, drop it. If it does affect your scholarship, that's where a tough decision has to be made. One one hand, if you change to math, you will have a lot more debt, but you will have better grades which will increase your chances of getting accepted to med school. On the other hand, if you stick with comp sci, you will have no debt, but you run the risk of hurting your gpa and making it harder to get into med school. Only you know your financial situation so this decision should be up to you and your family.

 

[CompSciMath]

Thanks for the information guys! Gave me more things to consider that I had not originally factored into my decision making process.

 

[JoshUNCW]

I think dropping math and focusing on comp sci would be a safer bet if you really needed to drop one. It's a higher paying degree and looked on as a little more challenging, both can help you in med school admissions and outside of med school admissions. If something didn't work out with bed school, you're comp sci degree is worth about 61k out of college. A mathematics degree is worth about 50k out of college. I'd stick with both if you could. But I'd drop math way before dropping comp sci.

Then again I'm a comp sci major. So I'm obviously biased.