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help! Comp Sci decisions for first year student: Math 150 vs. Math 151/// CMPT 120,125 vs. CMPT 126

nnaderi
edited June 2014 in General
I need some assistance in picking these courses. I just graduated high school and I am an SFU bound student for fall 14' intending to major in Computing Science.


Math 150 vs 151 (I got 91 percent in Pre- Calc 12, currently teaching myself calculus I through reliable sources (non dry books) before the term starts in fall) which should I pick?

CMPT 120 then 125 route, or straight up 126 (I currently program CLI's and some GUI'S in C++ and Python respectively) Which should I pick?

Thanks.

Comments

  • nra22
    Don't know about Math but for Cmpt ill recommend to go by 120/125. It will serve as a strong base for you and help you further. I myself had a strong hold on C from high school but I chose to take both courses and there were a lot of things that were new. Plus it'll be your first semester, so you need to be relieved and relaxed where this course might help too. :)
  • ryan
    I would always recommend 150. You would very likely pass both, but in 150 you will get a little extra time to learn the material and will likely finish with a bit of a higher mark. As well You will get an extra credit which might come in handy in the future.

    What to do for computing is a little harder. You will likely find 120 easy, so if you wanted to you could probably skip it and go right to 126. That said though it might be nice to have an easy course in your first semester you can do really well in without a lot of effort which will also potentially fill in any blind spots in you basic programming knowledge.

    I went the 150/120/125 route and I didn't regret it.
  • ofikey
    edited June 2014
    Ditto ryan about those routes for 120/125.
  • nnaderi
    Thank you everyone! I need to take one breadth course as well. Do you think taking Macroeconomics (Econ-105) is a good idea? is there any raw hard math involved ( I only want to take one math course a term for the first year). Also do I need to take Microeconomics (ECON-103) beforehand? 
  • nnaderi
    Or would CMNS 110 be a better idea (The 35% paper is throwing me off)
  • ryan
    Neither of the intro econ courses are math heavy, and you can take them in any order. Whether or not you should take them depends on how interested you think you are in economics? One difficult thing about them is the classes will be curved and consist mostly of business students who might be more motivated to do well in the class than somebody taking it as a random elective. If you think you might be interested in economics, and want a slightly gentler introduction there is also ECON 102 and 104 which are both good and generally targeted towards a wider audience. 

    I took ECON 102, 103, and 104. If you have any questions about those I can try and answer them. In general when picking electives though I would try to find things you are interested in. They usually end up being the best both in terms of enjoyment and marks.

    I know nothing about CMNS 110. My guess would be though that unless you are particularly interested in communications you will find it boring and end up with an average mark.
  • nnaderi
    I am particularly interested in econ, but I have questions regarding macroecon (105) some people have been telling me its a terrible idea to take it along math 150 and cmpt 120 in the first year because of its "difficulty." The thing is , 105 fits perfectly into my schedule, all other courses make me go to a lecture for 50 minutes on a day when I have no other clases. I was also thinking about Phil xx1 but that would be too many quantative and not many breadth courses. I'm stuck thinking until early July !
  • ryan
    If you are interested I would do it. If you already have some programming experience CMPT 120 will be a breeze. MATH 150 isn't an easy course but it sounds like you are well prepared for it.

    ECON 105 is not a particularly difficult course, ECON in general is just often a little weird to people who haven't studied it before. If it fits into your schedule too then all the better. What other courses will you be taking? Will you get days off?

    I have done PHIL XX1 too, but would save it for later. For one I think more people would find XX1 harder than 105 since it is kind of a "you get it, or you don't" course. Also 105 will give you a B-Soc which will be a nice jump start on your breath requirements. 
  • nnaderi
    edited June 2014
    Well I'm only taking 3 courses in my first term just to make the transition from high school a little easier so to speak.

    Math 150
    CMPT 120
    Econ 105 

    ^ that layout is PERFECT for me, I have time for all my other priorities. 
    What worried me was if it's just 
    "too much " for one term. You said its not math heavy, so thats good. but.

    My friends keep saying how Econ is hard and how the math will screw me over since I also have calc..
    but then there are friends who say it was easy, and that there is no math.

    I think I'm going to take Econ 105 anyway though, no other course fits in my schedule as good or interests me as much.


    Thank you for putting in the time to help me Ryan I appreciate it.
  • ryan
    No problem. Yeah that combination of courses should be totally manageable. There is no hard math in the 100 level ECON courses. You should do fine.

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