Computer Science HL and Maths HL?

[TheOneWhoJumps]

Hey. I want to study Computer Science in university, as a result, I chose Computer Science and Maths HL (also Physics HL as my third HL). 

 

Many people say that CS HL has some very tough concepts and is harder than Maths HL? Is this true, in your opinion? 

 

Also, is does taking Maths HL really make your university application more competitive if you apply for CS courses? 

 

Thanks! I would really like some comments from people who are currently taking or took IB CS HL. 

[kevG]

yeah bro certain concepts are hard, and if you dont have the aptitude you wont do well

cs hl isnt only programming

 

ib's computer science is basically learning the logic of computers and the programming section is only like 3-4 weeks of the whole course (since you'll only be using coding for your ia's)

the rest is just hardcore theory

[kevG]

also you need to understand that most universities dont consider cs as a 'science' eventhough ib considers it

and since most schools dont offer cs (there are only about 600 people doing ib cs worldwide per year) universitites dont require cs as a prerequisite... this means that you can always go into computer science course in uni without taking cs in ib but ofcourse taking cs will prepare you well for uni

 

but you need to think about what unis you will be applying to (for example lets take canada) you need chem, physics and math as a requirement to apply for a computer science course in canada so taking cs in ib wont be of any use if you cant even apply to canada...

 

the general concepts in cs is hard (there is no denying it) and since its a fairly new course with the new syllabus, it will be hard to find good teachers who will be able to teach it properly (i got lucky with the teacher bit)

 

math hl is also hard, you again need an aptitude to see through questions as the course will basically test  your application of concepts on the topics which is pretty hard to do

but you wouldnt know for sure unless you took them so its your choice in the end

[TheOneWhoJumps]

3-4 weeks?!??!?! seriously?!?!?! thats it?

 

Interesting. I talked with the CS HL teacher in my school and he mentioned that java is around 70% of the course, and the rest is stuff like number conversions, binary, and theory and stuff. 

[kevG]

ok let me tell you how it goes

year one is basically covering up the sl material (for hl you have to do sl stuff + hl stuff)

year two is actual hl stuff

 

there are 4 units in sl without counting oop 

systems

networks

computer organization

computational thinking and problem solving

 

what you just mentioned is part of the last section and its one of the easiest sections and pretty insignificant since it's personally the only easy part of the course if you are a logical thinker

the rest of the topics are just pure theory

 

oop is also programming but it comes under paper 2, which is a whole another section, and its mostly logical thinking and problem solving and mainly definitions on the syntax of programming (really boring and redundant)

 

you wont be doing java much from my experience (and our school is very experienced with ib computer science, this year we got 8 people doing cs hl, and the results were five 6's, two 5's and one 4)

[ac1998]

I have been studying Math HL and CS HL at my school for the past one year and am supposed to give my exams in May 2016. To come to your concerns, Math HL is definitely the tougher of the two, but if you can manage a 5 or above, nothing like it for college applications. Even though CS isn't essential to study computer science at the University level, in IB it provides you with strong fundamentals of computing, programming included. IB guidelines for CS say that the course isn't programming language specific, but some schools choose to interpret it differently. CS HL is for sure more doable than Math HL as long as you have your programming concepts clear, which is at most a summer's work with good, online courses if the teacher is a problem. OOPs aren't compulsory, as kfernando1 mentioned, it comes under paper 2, which consists of the optional unit and it is entirely your choice to choose amongst the four IB specified units:

1) Databases

2) Simulation and Modelling

3) Web Science

4) OOPs

 

Having seen discussions on the OCC, many IB teachers find the database unit simplest of all and most scoring. 

 

Even your IA can be written in any language you are comfortable programming in. Read the CS Subject Guide for more information.

 

Cheers.

Edited July 20, 2015 by ac1998

[Pingu]

also you need to understand that most universities dont consider cs as a 'science' eventhough ib considers it

and since most schools dont offer cs (there are only about 600 people doing ib cs worldwide per year) universitites dont require cs as a prerequisite... this means that you can always go into computer science course in uni without taking cs in ib but ofcourse taking cs will prepare you well for uni

 

but you need to think about what unis you will be applying to (for example lets take canada) you need chem, physics and math as a requirement to apply for a computer science course in canada so taking cs in ib wont be of any use if you cant even apply to canada...

 

the general concepts in cs is hard (there is no denying it) and since its a fairly new course with the new syllabus, it will be hard to find good teachers who will be able to teach it properly (i got lucky with the teacher bit)

 

math hl is also hard, you again need an aptitude to see through questions as the course will basically test  your application of concepts on the topics which is pretty hard to do

but you wouldnt know for sure unless you took them so its your choice in the end

 

Only 600 people taking the course??? That can't be true. can someone clarify?

[TheOneWhoJumps]

Seems like CS HL has very little to do with programming itself. So what should one take in IB if one intends on working in software development as a future career? 

[kevG]

nothing

you'll learn it in uni or start doing an online enrichment course or something

[TheOneWhoJumps]

nothing

you'll learn it in uni or start doing an online enrichment course or something

 

Wait, what? Didn't you say CS has very little to do with actual programming? then how will taking CS in uni help in that? lol 

[kevG]

i never said the cs course in ib has very little to do with programming, you will do a lot of problem solving in theory which is pretty much the same as programming if you think about it (only difference is that you'll use the language syntax in programming)

 

you will only spend a little time learning to code

 

also you have a whole project to do on programming (for example im making a poker game which has a lot to do with programming) but in the end, the whole course is evaluated on how you can use the logic of a computer and solve real world problems (which is pretty much what you'll learn in uni

 

in terms of the final exams, it has minimal to do with coding unless you took oop which has some pseudo code in it

[TheOneWhoJumps]

Thanks for the info man. Any tips on how to get a 7 in CS HL?  

[deeznuts]

don't do computer science, biggest regret of my life.

[kevG]

don't do computer science, biggest regret of my life.

 

i second this guy

 

and as for your question for getting a 7 in cs

 

well in my class no one is at a level 7 yet, there are 3 people who currently have 6's, two 5's and the rest are 3's and 4's

i was a 6 in the beginning of grade 11, then i dropped down to a 4. then i managed to get a 5 on my mock (a 6 on paper 1 and a 3 on oop)

so my current predicted is 5

 

getting a 7 for any course in ib requires insane amount of hard work and practice

Edited July 26, 2015 by kfernando1

[signore]

It's good and a tough one as well. I would recommend that you apply for some other engineering course and then take a transfer. If you do that, you won't have to suffer and go through the tough CS part.

[TheOneWhoJumps]

don't do computer science, biggest regret of my life.

 

Sorry for asking so many questions lol but what exactly is so hard about CS? I know there are some mind bending confusing concepts like 2d arrays and OOP, but what part of the non-programming stuff is hard? I don't have the syllabus so I don't know lol. 

[kevG]

well you could just search up the cs syllabus if you really want to know... or just wait till next year when you take it

[deeznuts]

 

don't do computer science, biggest regret of my life.

 

Sorry for asking so many questions lol but what exactly is so hard about CS? I know there are some mind bending confusing concepts like 2d arrays and OOP, but what part of the non-programming stuff is hard? I don't have the syllabus so I don't know lol. 

 

cs is the worst, dont bother, all that matters is your total ib points so just do sl bio. i was predicted 5 but got a 3, it's annoying really, no textbook, no notes online unless you study OOP, but yeah don't do it, trust me, i can't get into uni now cause it brought my points down

[harihrrnn]

don't do computer science, biggest regret of my life.

 

don't do computer science, biggest regret of my life.

yes even im doing computer hl and its hard as ****,,! Now i can't even change my subjects. i was doing computer science till my 10th and it was fun learning. But IBcomputer science is an big headache, unless and untill you are very much interested in computer you won't be able to score marks. MY friend ended up getting a 2 last year and he was in HL  . That made me more scared   . My advice is think twice before taking computer HL!

ALL THE BEST.!

[Guest]

The perception of difficulty of different subjects will vary depending on the type of person you are, but personally , and not just me, my whole group can agree that Computer science HL takes much less effort than Math HL to be understandable.

I can say this confidently, because we didn't even start being HL, our school adapted the program one year after we had started SL, and then the director of our program forgot to order the exam in time so we all had to present in English instead of Spanish!! Several people dropped out because they didnt want to relearn all concepts in a foreign language, but the 8 people that stayed can all say, there was really not much more complexity with what we were learning on SL. After the exam and talking to some of my SL class mates, they had the same type problems, I really didnt notice much difference when switching.

Sure, you will need to work an extra case study, but the exam wasnt dificult at all if you just get into the theme ( in this cas cgi ) and for me, it wasnt tedious but a really fun experience!!!

The only dificult part for me was exam 2 , but i'm sure that with a little more practice, it's no problem.

I dont know if i'm being partial with my answer , because i really enjoyed the whole process of learning and having these three exams, my teacher always supported us, and I really never required to work "too hard" for this, i didnt feel like the exams were out of this world. All i can really say is that the effort needed for Computer science is not even close to that of math HL, and that if you like and are interested with how Technology works, you will certainly appreciate having taken this class.

I wish you all success and the power to take the decision that suits you best : )