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How important is Computing for a Cs degree?

I'm pretty certain that Computer Science is what I want to do at uni and am choosing A levels in a few months. I'm pretty keen on doing maths, further maths and physics for a2. I'm really interested in Spanish and I'd love to study it at AS.
Is taking Spanish over computing going to damage my chances of getting into good universities at all?

Reply 1

Namige

Not at all. All computer science degrees assume NO previous knowledge. Mathematical ability is far more important.

Having said that, Computing will give you a small advantage when starting a computer science degree.

Reply 2

Jkizer

Its not.

Maths is more important.

Reply 3

Oxford Computer Science Dept

Original post by RogerH

Hi,
This is an Oxford specific answer, but I hope a useful one to you as we aren't too different from other top universities when it comes to what we look for in a CompSci candidate.
Our standard conditional offer is A*AA with at least an A in Maths. The A* has to be in either Maths, Further Maths, Physics or Computing.

Our courses start from first principles so we aren't looking for any specific knowledge in the subject. (Although we do look for a genuine interest in it - but there's lots of ways of showing that, that don't involve an A Level.) Over the last couple of years between 30-40% of our successful A Level-taking candidates have come to us with A/AS Computing.

We are very much looking for students with a proven flair for Maths. So Maths is essential and we think that Further Maths is best preparation for our courses. The vast, vast majority of our successful A Level-taking candidates come to use with Further Maths. We also suggest a science subject such as Physics.

We only make offers based on three A Levels, but we'd notice if you'd done more. We often see successful candidates who've picked up something different as a fourth A Level. Often a foreign language, or music. We have no problem with this at all. If it's something you think you'll enjoy, and it's not going to detract from you getting the A*AA (we wouldn't see AAAA as equivalent) then great, go for it. It will help you develop a different kind of skill, and show you can juggle your time.

I hope that helps.

Reply 4

St Andrews CompSci

Original post by Oxford Computer Science Dept

Hi,
Our courses start from first principles so we aren't looking for any specific knowledge in the subject. (Although we do look for a genuine interest in it - but there's lots of ways of showing that, that don't involve an A Level.) Over the last couple of years between 30-40% of our successful A Level-taking candidates have come to us with A/AS Computing.

We are very much looking for students with a proven flair for Maths. So Maths is essential and we think that Further Maths is best preparation for our courses. The vast, vast majority of our successful A Level-taking candidates come to use with Further Maths. We also suggest a science subject such as Physics.

I'm not sure which universities you are interested in, but we at St Andrews would agree completely with this. We start from first principles and a lack of computing A-level would not disadvantage you at all, although we do expect you to demonstrate some interest in computer science.

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