No computer science background

I don’t have any computer science background other than me teaching myself the basics of html. The most i have done is IT in sixth form, will this affect my performance or studies in uni if I enrol into a computer science course?

Reply 1

winterscoming

19

It's not necessary to have studied any kind of computing-related subject beforehand; universities nearly always teach every part of a computer science degree from basic principles (so the people who have studied the subject before such as A-Level CompSci are usually very relaxed in the first year which they'll mostly see as revision).

Universities also wouldn't accept anyone who they didn't think would be able to cope either, but you will certainly find yourself needing to work harder in your first year compared with other people to keep up with the material - nothing to worry about really though - if you stay in the mindset of making sure you turn up to every lecture, stay on top of all the assignments, and put in the necessary time/effort to do the extra research and reading then you'll be fine :smile:

It could take some pressure off to get a bit of a headstart - even if that just means 2-3 months over the summer before your degree begins getting into some programming (e.g. some free online courses from EdX or Coursera -- the free Computer Science intro course called CS50x from Harvard is really good)

Reply 2

SimpleButYetMad

OP

14

Original post by winterscoming

It's not necessary to have studied any kind of computing-related subject beforehand; universities nearly always teach every part of a computer science degree from basic principles (so the people who have studied the subject before such as A-Level CompSci are usually very relaxed in the first year which they'll mostly see as revision).

Universities also wouldn't accept anyone who they didn't think would be able to cope either, but you will certainly find yourself needing to work harder in your first year compared with other people to keep up with the material - nothing to worry about really though - if you stay in the mindset of making sure you turn up to every lecture, stay on top of all the assignments, and put in the necessary time/effort to do the extra research and reading then you'll be fine :smile:

It could take some pressure off to get a bit of a headstart - even if that just means 2-3 months over the summer before your degree begins getting into some programming (e.g. some free online courses from EdX or Coursera -- the free Computer Science intro course called CS50x from Harvard is really good)

Would you recommend making hand written notes then? I understand writing would be much more beneficial but it can be tiring and slow

Reply 3

winterscoming

19

Original post by SimpleButYetMad

Would you recommend making hand written notes then? I understand writing would be much more beneficial but it can be tiring and slow

Hopefully most of the notes will be provided as handouts at the start of the lecture - so a few annotations on the handouts might be useful, but remember that Computer Science isn't heavy on memorising things - it's a lot more about understanding the concepts and learning new skills, new ways of thinking, solving problems, etc.

So it's more important to treat the lectures as a chance to have someone introduce some new concepts, so you'll want most of your attention focused on the lecturer and whatever they're explaining. You'll get loads of time outside of contact hours to do exercises and more research into the topics as well; part of the handouts would usually be a list of books and web links to dive into during your own time - I find that the best time to make more detailed notes tends to be while reading through material at your own pace :smile:

No computer science background

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