Looking at your post regarding the C course, I assume you have no real experience except what you stated in the post. If you have worked with any high level language etc, i.e C, Java, C++, js etc then you dont even need to worry.
Assuming you havent. Most of my non CS friends would often have a tough time in the C programming classes. Now I dont know how things are done at your school etc, so please dont take this word for word. Youll be a better judge.
But in most cases, the reason why they struggled with the course was because the general difference in a CS course as opposed to a mechanical/electrical/etc engineering course.
Attending classes etc will be important provided you have decent teachers/TAs which can keep you engaged. If thats not the case then going to class and thinking youll be fine is not going to work.
Heres the deal with learning a language. In some ways its similar to learning a real language. It cant happen over night. For this reason most CS courses that I have taken ANYWHERE are often hands on
in terms of projects and homeworks etc.
I used to be a mechatronics major for a long time and I wouldnt focus on the homeworks etc and the last minute cram before exams would work just fine. The same approach simply doesnt work in CS. You cant learn to program in a state
of emergency/ time cramp mode (you might think that this is the case with all courses, but trust me if this is your first programming course youll definitely feel the difference). Im the kind of guy who often doesnt do his homeworks etc, but when it comes to CS courses I always do my homeworks because by the time you get to the finals youll already know everything.
In that sense CS exams were often the most fun for me because, I already knew the core concepts due to the "hands on" homeworks projects etc. Id be pretty relaxed going into the exam as opposed to the other subjects.
What Im trying to say is, the emphasis isnt on class attendance etc. Its important you understand the subject and if going to the classes helps do that. If you feel that the teacher is killing your motivation etc look for other sources.
You tube is a really important source. Look up buckyroberts aka thenewboston on youtube. I cant recall if he specifically has a C tutorial series but he has so many so Im sure he does. Regardless there are a lot of people on youtube, find one you like.
You can try going through the material before hand, or during the course when it starts, i.e listening to online videos before/after class or once every few days etc. More then anything youll have to open a text editor/visual studios/whatever and
actually get some practice in. I hope that helps!
Dont worry about getting the entire course in before school etc, just make sure you do it the right way. I promise you this course will be the easiest for you if you keep up, but itll be HELL and you will hate it if you approach it as a regular engineering course.
This post was edited by mandarkkk on Jan 6 2018 03:39pm