So i was accepted at the CS program in UIUC in their college of engineering. Obviously im thrilled to be a part of such a competitive and highly ranked program, given that I know its going to be hard. I’ve had little to no prep for CS (no AP Comp Sci unfortunately), so just generally how should I prepare for CS freshman year so I dont fall behind, i heard it moves really fast and you’re expected to know this before coming in.
bump. I’m also in the same situation but with UC Berkley
@skycold I would suggest you check out the UIUC Reddit page. It is a fairly active page.
I recommend that before submitting a question, you use the search tool on the right side and read older threads on the topic first. Sometimes people, who post a question that has been asked many times, get rude comments…you’ve been forewarned. 
Good luck!! 
@jorgelorenzo I am not familiar with Berkley, but perhaps there is a similar page for you.
For Berkeley, the entry level CS course is CS 61A; see http://cs61a.org .
Students with no computing experience have the option of taking CS 10 first; see http://cs10.org .
Since all of the course materials are on the above web sites, high school students can self-study the course materials and do the examples and exercises in preparation. For example, a high school senior intending to go to Berkeley for CS but without computing experience may choose to prepare by self-studying CS 10 so that s/he is ready for CS 61A in the fall.
Python for Intro CS? I’ll take PL/1 any day We hired a kid from UIUC Comp Sci. Very good program, impressed the daylights out of us.
Now about prepping for CS, I had good luck learning Python using Coding Bat.
bump
Really…a bump for less than an hour and a half lag? Patience Grasshopper.
Can you tell me how hard to get into UIUC computer scienc? can you post your profile here, my son wants to apply it , but I doubt his GPA is not good enough 3.65 unweighted, and 4.3 weight, act 35. he has 6 AP classes so far, will has 5 more at senior. What the chance he has?
He has an excellent chance of getting in with a 35 act. That’s quite high for UIUC… avg of 30 act.
If he is in state it’s an easy decision for the university. OOS probably borderline. I’d make sure he turned in good Math 2 subject test though.
The downside of this university is is size.
I heard UIUC computer science in engineering school is very hard to get in. I heard some kids at unweight GPA 3.8 is on the waiting list. His Math Sub II is 800. What I worry about is his GPA. 3.65 looks quite low compared to other kids in engineering school.
UIUC’s size is truly its downside. We are looking for other school as well. School counselor mentioned university of massachusetts Amherst, rutgers university, RHIT…any advise?
The UIUC COE is much harder to get into than the school in general.
http://www.admissions.ufl.edu/visit.html
The middle 50% of freshmen admitted in Fall 2016 in the College of Engineering, meaning that 25% of students were below this range and 25% were above.
@kaliu2013 start a new thread/post in the College Search & Selection forum.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/
Include basic stats (GPA, Test scores), state of residence (or International), any financial limitations (will you need merit aid?), major EC’s (some colleges use holistic admissions) and what your family is looking for in a college and possible major (like CS). You’ll get a lot of solid recommendations.
The stats were released last week, about 4100 applicants to the program
Incoming 2016 freshman class average ACT score: 33.5; average math ACT score: 33.8
You should have taken the highest level of Math and Science offered at your school and done well in that and hopefuly can show passion for the field- programming club, taken course at a community college, participated in code camps etc…
Other good programs in the east- U Maryland College Park, U Mass at Amherst, Penn State, Ohio State
Thanks ‘desiindian597’, feel like my son has no hope to get into the COE. We are looking for others like you mentioned above…Do you know NYU computer science is good or not? hard to get into? and RPI electrical and computer engineering? University of Rochester Computer Science?