@Curmudgeon,
Courses like biology , etc. may seem to be useless to your chosen field , but you need to know that the study of such subjects is intended to help you analyze things and is worthwhile because it will facilitate learning in other disciplines .
When I went to school , many years ago , we took Latin , and I wondered why . My teacher showed me that learning Latin was a stepping stone to learning other subjects by teaching me better study habits .
On another note , how do you feel about math ?
Lots of people have trouble with math , becoming snarled up with numbers , etc. , so they stop learning . To master math ( and thus geometry , calculus , physics , etc. ) the student must approach it as a language and then he will succeed . Math will be very important in your computer studies .
BTW - where is an Associates Degree required ? That is just a certificate that you get from a Junior or Community College , right ? All you should have to do is pass the core curriculum from an accredited school with good enough grades to transfer to a 4 year college .