I think Point 1 bears emphasising: a computer science degree is not a vocational course on how to be a programmer. It's a course that gives the student a basic grounding in a scientific discipline. Being a programmer is a basic prerequisite for the degree, not the end goal. Also, the course should cover practical topics like testing and version control, but becoming a highly effective software-developer-for-hire isn't exactly the point.
It helps to already be a competent programmer, but fish45 comes across as overconfident in saying I'm not worried about struggling academically. A computer science degree covers plenty of topics they're unlikely to have ever dealt with, and one shouldn't count on easily breezing through all of them. Topics like complexity theory, compiler theory, formal methods, computer architecture, and AI.
I'd done some programming before my undergraduate studies, but I'd never heard of proof by induction, and I didn't know what a 'set' was. I had plenty to learn, right from day 1.
It helps to already be a competent programmer, but fish45 comes across as overconfident in saying I'm not worried about struggling academically. A computer science degree covers plenty of topics they're unlikely to have ever dealt with, and one shouldn't count on easily breezing through all of them. Topics like complexity theory, compiler theory, formal methods, computer architecture, and AI.
I'd done some programming before my undergraduate studies, but I'd never heard of proof by induction, and I didn't know what a 'set' was. I had plenty to learn, right from day 1.