ABomb224

For as long as I've remembered, I have excelled in every academic subject, especially math. Last May I got a 5 on the Calc BC exam, and this year I am enrolled in multivariable calculus. However, I am having a very difficult time in my school's non-AP, normal computer science course. I just took my very first test in the class and I was drawing a blank on half of the questions. It's not so much the logic that I am struggling with, it's the various commands and the codex that I'm messing up on. In comparison, there are some puny little freshmen in my class (I'm a senior) who are computer prodigies who have little to no problems figuring java out. Does computer science just not come naturally to some students?

FantasyVesperia

With computer science, I think you either get it or you don't. Not everyone can do computer science. It takes interest and natural talent. I may be wrong, but one of my friends is really into computer science, and he says it's easy, but hard work.

gnastygnorc

Yeah Computer Science is nothing like math, it incorporates math but isn't math. If this is your first programming language, than it is hard to really understand the first concepts of programming. After that each language is similar to each other and easy to pick up on.

I would have learned maybe Visual BASIC or Lua first those are easy languages, but you are already in Java so no use. I started with C++ which isn't a good starting one either.

Like Fantasy said also, you have to have an interest in computers as well to have it come more naturally.

lappelduvide

Lucky! No computer science offered here, let alone AP Computer Science.
There is at the local high school (Which is one of the top 10 schools in the nation), but they've gotten so many transfers in that they're even deferring kids who would go to that school by default. It's a bummer.

Yeah, coding is 'get it or don't get it.'
If you need any help, I think you should check out:

codecademy.com
coursera.com
mitopencourseware
Khan Academy

All of them have great computer tutorials to help you out :]
It's very step-by-step!

XLBC21215

Computer science probably is hard, but since I haven't taken it; I wouldn't have any idea. I guess computer science doesn't come naturally to everyone; I'm sure that even some of the freshman have to work for their grades, unless they're real computer prodigies or something, which I have seen rarely.

Not all freshman are puny, I am about the size of a college kid...

ABomb224

I go to high school in Northern VA, so we get all of our comp sci. course materials from TJHSST, possibly the smartest public school in the nation. I'm guessing that since many kids at TJ already have significant programming experience, their course has a much faster pace than a similar computer science course in, say, the Deep South. And yeah, java is my first programming language.