Hey guys I just applied for a CS degree as a mature student, how much do you think i should know

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Im doing computer science :D cant wait two of options were artificial intelligence, i cant wait to study but im wondering if i know enough just yet? im past the basics, past the first hurdle (pointers and references) getting the hang of data structures now (struggling with constructors in nested classes),

i suspect the first year will be in java too,which i dont know but heard is easier than c++

i havnt written my personal statement yet either any advice for an interview or knowledge to brush up on? i would love to see someones personal statement (i know thats asking quite a lot tho)

if i get really good at AI im most definitely going to build a robot that walks around oxford street being awkward,no one will know where it came from.
I will get it to charge itself up by walking into shops with its plug attached to its crotch XD is gonna be so funny.

i will see how long it runs for (i will make it look like its an annoying person in a robot outfit but it will be a robot in a robot outfit :D)

got the idea from sex robot video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGSVYgcy24Q
From my experience so far, you don't need to know anything when you start. It helps though.
closed account (3hM2Nwbp)
a robot that walks around
with its plug attached to its crotch
being awkward


When you build it, I'll buy one.



Realistically speaking, a CS degree won't get you anywhere near completing that project...at least not in the US. Most college graduates aren't really worth anything (I'm being harsh, I know) until they get about 5-10 years of real-world experience under their belts...at least from the sample of graduates that I personally know.

You don't need to have any prior experience before starting college, but the one thing that you do need is interest in your field -- enough interest to keep you going to class for 4 years.
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closed account (1yR4jE8b)
It helps to have a little bit of programming experience, brush up on your algebra, calculus and discrete math. Other than that, you don't really absolutely need anything, most University programs assume from the get go that you know nothing.
closed account (z05DSL3A)
I went to university as a mature student. I had to do a foundation year to prove that I could handle doing the degree. I phoned the University on the Monday, had an interview on the Thursday and was offered a place before the end of the interview.
closed account (1yR4jE8b)
Hate to hi-jack...but I wrote my last exam for my CS degree today. feelsgoodman.jpg
woo darkestfreight; best of luck :) @grey wolf i was told not to let them make me do a foundation yeaar cos thats just a way to make money, thats why i brushed up plenty so i can refuse the foundation year
closed account (z05DSL3A)
devonrevenge, Just don't forget that the university does not have to give you a place. If they require you to do a foundation year by very sure of exactly where you stand. What university are you applying to?

Best of luck
trying a few options, Kingston, Goldsmiths and Brunel; Im brushing up on my maths and if they want me to do a whole years worth of foundation stuff i could just learn at the pace i am learning by myself instead and apply next year, my little sister told me to phonem up, nothings set in stone in unis apparently and talking to the course director is the best bet apparently, wat did you do in your foundation year anyway??
closed account (z05DSL3A)
wat did you do in your foundation year anyway??
It was quite a while ago but I think it was Maths (double module), Physics, Electronics, Management, Engineering drawing, Foundation Engineering...(It was an engineering foundation course).
I used to test circuit boards, i know electronic engineering al the way up to capacitance, i wonder if i will make a good case, i shud do
Shud have asked, whats the best way to impress the professors with the most minimal amount of skill?
The best way to impress them is to do exactly what they tell you and leave them alone.
closed account (3qX21hU5)
Really I wouldn't be worried about impressing the professor. And personally it is probably best to do a foundation year if they think you need it. Because that foundation year will give more training in skills that will help you in what you want to do. Also if you get into a class that you aren't ready for your not going to learn much from it because you will have no idea what they are talking about. Your best bet is to go to the college's course director and speak with him/her about what you know and your abilities and then both of you can find a course schedule that works for you.
The foundation course here in the uk is just electronic engineering and maths, a little research proves that its just a money making scam that wont really help you in your course.

i wasnt being to sure of myself, the trick i have heard is to make sure that you talk to someone and they decide that they dont want to waste your time and make you do some money raising for the uni they work for, this is why i am going to speak to them soon. i know this to be true, i will confirm it at a later date.
closed account (3qX21hU5)
Just remember devonrevenge like Grey wolf said "They don't have to accept you as a student". So it might be as you say "Just a way to fund there school" but if it gets you in the school expecially as a mature student I would do it because they might just say tough luck you don't need to go to school here then.
Electronic engineering (if it means what I think it means), can be really useful. It's probably Boolean algebra studied using logic gates. There's the basic identities (1 && x == x, 0 && x == 0, 1 || x = 1, 0 || x = x), De Morgan's laws, universality of NAND, truth tables, Karnaugh maps (find an expression that generates a truth table). It probably probably also covers a few basic logical circuits. Flip-flops, adders, shift registers, multiplexers, that sort of thing.

If you want to convince them that you don't need it, try to learn all these things on your own.
your absolutley right of course, inside info advised me to impress them

oh yeah i never finished my electronic engineering course, plus ive tested curcuits aplenty, ive allready done it see, i said this to the receptionist lady who was really pushing the foundation year, she said its not what they teach you its that i been out of education, like i need education practice or summink.

its kind of then i felt like i was being sold, you know when some nut starts chatting to you in the tube and you listen politley and one or two words makes you realize that HES RECRUITING YOU INTO HIS RELIGION...it felt like that i was like.... :O they know its not necissary
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closed account (3qX21hU5)
Hopefully you don't take offense by this but from what I have seen from most of your posts so far it probably is necessary.

For one your English is horrible, now this might be because it is not your first language. But you have to realize that if you wrote a term paper the way you write on these forums you would probably fail the class even if the class has nothing to do with grammar. This can show that you need help with writing, and grammar.

You might also need some help understanding math (algebra, geometry, maybe calculus?) considering some of your posts.

The foundation year can teach you all these things, which you will need. But it is your decision to make and I wish you the best of luck with it.

Now again I don't mean this to put you down or anything, its the exact opposite actually I mean it as constructive criticism.
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ah dont worry you cant insult a devonrevenge, he knows most likley, they will leave me alone on english,why?...DYSLEXIC BOOM :D

will get loads of support
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