<p>First of all, should I go to Texas A&M which is oos and take on a bunch of loans or go to UCF for free</p>
<p>I know TAMU has a good reputation but I have a hard time turning down a free education
and UCF has one of the best comp sci in florida definitely top 2 </p>
<p>also, what jobs are available to an applied math/comp. sci. major? Good outlook?</p>
<p>I assume there is a good outlook and that I could pursue a job in either field or a combo of both</p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>I would say that an applied math/computer science major is an excellent choice. The major allows you to pursue mathematician-like jobs and have computer science as a “plan B in your back pocket” for software engineering or I.T. jobs. Also (like what has happened to me a couple of times), some engineering firms will assign you engineering tasks on the basis of “if you can major in math…you can do this”.</p>
<p>An excellent combo, BUT THEN AGAIN…I was a Computational Mathematics major so of course I am biased :-)</p>
<p>A math major can also work as an actuary.</p>
<p>However, take in mind that math is a very hard major. Are you sure your up to the challenge? Have you taken AP Calculus in HS?</p>
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<p>A prospective math major does not need to have taken AP Calculus in high school since the typical 4-year Math program is based on starting off with Calculus 1 in your freshman year.</p>
<p>Yours truly did not have a single AP course. My last high-school math course was Analytic Geometry.</p>
<p>Now YES, math or applied math is a hard major but no more difficult as any other engineering or physics major.</p>
<p>A&M is a great school, but if I recall correctly the UCF CS department is pretty well-known. I wouldn’t burden myself down with loans.</p>
<p>Finance, software engineering, database [insert technical title here], network architect, law/medical/graduate school. I’m not too familiar with applied math but I imagine that it’s very much the same so I’m not sure why you really need a dual major, though I guess the CS guys can’t do some of the stuff applied math can do.</p>
<p>EDIT: Wow… lots of responses since I had this thread open, haha.</p>
<p>I think the applied math is quite enough. The CS side can be done on your own if you are committed. My professor graduated with PhD in math, so professors in CS don’t really need to be CS graduate at all. His interest, however, is cryptography, which is a lot of math.</p>
<p>But for me, I would go for both, because I feel like going to class and do homework.
You can get a minor instead. I think a minor is sufficient at the moment. If you find yourself happy with both, then you can always finish your CS major. If not, graduate school ??</p>
<p>ok ive decided that its a good major</p>
<p>but what about if I thow UF into the picture</p>
<p>should I go to UCF UF or TAMU</p>
<p>I honestly don’t think you should double major.
Before even starting college it is very easy to “overestimate” yourself.
Instead of double majoring, you could get your masters in the same time. This would be a better investment.</p>
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<p>Yaaaaaaaaaay!!..good choice.</p>
<p>As far as the Math portion, those three schools are about the same. Now UCF has a pretty good CS program. Both TAMU and UCF have distinct Math/CS options so that is a good thing. U-Florida is VERY well known for their Statistics programs so I would guess any Statistical Computing or Simulation courses would be good at UF.</p>
<p>Of course I am going to give shine to a Math/CS combo major but I really do feel that it is a very marketable and flexible choice of major.</p>
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<p>I hear what you are saying but when it comes to an applied math/computer science major, you are not “really” double-majoring. You are more like “dual majoring” because quite a few courses bridges both departments and basically “double-count”.</p>
<p>Only the CS core courses (and their prereqs) do not bridge both departments and those could fit within the technical and free elective buckets. The following courses are basically Math/CS courses…meaning (depending on the school) they could be offered by either/both the CS and Math departments:</p>
<ul>
<li>Computational Linear Algebra</li>
<li>Numerical Analysis</li>
<li>Mathematical Programming/Optimization</li>
<li>Cryptology/Error Correcting Codes</li>
<li>Discrete Math I: Combinatorics</li>
<li>Discrete Math II: Graph Theory</li>
<li>Numerical Solution of Partial/Ordinary Differential Equations</li>
<li>Analysis of Algorithms (sometimes)</li>
<li>Computational Science</li>
</ul>