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Why is the dropout rate for comp applications in Dcu so high?

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Comments

  • #32
    MerduJapon
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭MerduJapon


    well i got my letter of acceptance into CA the other day so looks like il be doing it next year.....i just a few more questions for anyone who has done it or is currently doing it....do you need to buy a laptop cos i have a small netbook just wondering do i have to invest in a good computer?.....secondly does anybody know what new leagues will be featured in fifa 12? lol


  • #33
    Pygmalion
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,082 ✭✭✭Pygmalion


    MerduJapon wrote: »
    do you need to buy a laptop cos i have a small netbook just wondering do i have to invest in a good computer?

    No, not really.
    Nothing you do (at least so far, I've just finished 2nd year) requires a particularly good computer, and the lab computers are grand for working on.


  • #34
    MerduJapon
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8 ✭MerduJapon


    oh thats great so my netbook will do? i do need any type of specific computer?


  • #35
    Shifty11
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 173 ✭✭Shifty11


    Can't wait to get started in CA. Quick question tho, recently bought a MacBook, would it be suitable for the course or should I purchase a windows based laptop?


  • #36
    k100
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 57 ✭✭k100


    Shifty11 wrote: »
    Can't wait to get started in CA. Quick question tho, recently bought a MacBook, would it be suitable for the course or should I purchase a windows based laptop?

    Pygmalion - waits for a good response to this.

    Yeah macbook should be fine for the course if you need to do something that has to be windows then you can do it on the lap computers.
    Just figure how to do it on a mac first i guess.


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  • #37
    JoePie
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 470 ✭✭JoePie


    The CA building and labs stay open till 10pm, Monday to Friday and they open at like 6:30am or some mental hour like that. Sometimes they close later because the security guard is slow comnig around. The labs are open on the weekend also. You could do this course without ever buying your own laptop.

    At the same time it's handy to be able to do the assignments yourself at home or if you're travelling back down the country on the train or something.


  • #38
    foFox
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 31 ✭foFox


    Shifty11 wrote: »
    Can't wait to get started in CA. Quick question tho, recently bought a MacBook, would it be suitable for the course or should I purchase a windows based laptop?

    You can download everything you need, Eclipse and NetBeans for Java, plus u can download the extended versions of the above to be able to code pretty much in all popular languages. Also it comes with cool stuff such as apache server with php and python environment installed. OSX is unix based so that helps also when it comes to some shell scripting.


  • #39
    Noodleworm
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 717 ✭✭✭Noodleworm


    If its a problem you can use Boot Camp on mac to install windows on a partition, or something like Ubuntu might be good to get used to.
    Macbooks are great for college anyway, I had a Dell Laptop for first year and got a macbook for second. Its nice having something that lasts more than 3 hours battery that doesn't feel like a pile of bricks in my bag. IMO they last better so are good value.


  • #40
    foFox
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 31 ✭foFox


    Or instead of BootCamp you can use refit bootloader, which allows multiple OSs not only two. Early 2011 MBP 15' lasts for up to 7h.


  • #41
    Nanaki
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 418 ✭✭Nanaki


    I appreciate that the maths in the course is hard, but people need to be disabused of the belief that this course is "very maths based". There's a few modules of maths, yes, but there's a lot more programming.
    While they require a similar kind of logical thinking, the two are still quite different.

    Personally I think DCU should hold some kind of introduction to computing/programming to give people an idea of what's involved. (Although that might cause their numbers to drop which might not suit them.)


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