<p>latichever: First off it would really depend on how deeply you are interested in CS. If you are not very interested in CS but computational math instead you should stick to learning mathematica and matlab. Not spend to much time on the programming but instead spend more time getting further in a specific field of math. If you are inclinded to do some CS Java is a great start. You will understand OOP decently well afterwards and Java is a very marketable language to know. Not to mention if you like CS after taking it CS and math mix very well. Many CS fields are also applied mathematics fields. </p>
<p>saismom: I looked in the Computer Programming 1 course. It looks pretty good and should definitely get you prepared to take AP CS class. I would also recommend you look into [Computer</a> Science | Video Courses on Academic Earth](<a href=“http://www.academicearth.org/subjects/computerscience]Computer”>http://www.academicearth.org/subjects/computerscience) and [Free</a> Video Lectures, Online Courses and tutorials from top colleges, universities](<a href=“http://freevideolectures.com/]Free”>http://freevideolectures.com/) I followed classes on here throughout high school and I was able to exception test out of multiple CS classes in college. I like to idea of a formal course though because then you have someone driving you to do the work. As for the high school business programming class i guess it is better than nothing. If you need any other advice about learning CS or good references for Java or advice about CS in college feel free to message me or email me at my username at gmail.</p>