<p>I'm a freshman CS major at UC Berkeley and I have finished off the first semester with a 3.9 GPA. I got an A- in CS61A (Introductory CS course), A in history, and A+ in Math 1b (Calc II). (I also took a one unit pass/fail freshman seminar, for a total of 13 units, which is a lighter than normal load recommended for all incoming Cal freshman). I found a few internship positions that I can apply to, some of which cater to freshman and sophomores only. My only concern is that I have little in terms of side projects. I did create 2 java games back in high school, and that's pretty much it in terms of CS related ECs. Will my lack of CS ECs put me at a significant disadvantage, and would my GPA give me any sort of extra boost?</p>
<p>bump
The only posts I find regarding gpa and internships are when people worry gpa is too low. But what if you have a really good gpa but weak ECs?</p>
<p>Hi there - my son is looking at REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates.) They are specifically designed for kids without a lot of experience - they have CS projects as well as the other sciences - take a look - they are hard to get into but seem to be worth it! Also I am adding another site that you can search:</p>
<p>[nsf.gov</a> - Search for an REU Site - US National Science Foundation (NSF)](<a href=“http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.jsp]nsf.gov”>Search for an REU Site | NSF - National Science Foundation)</p>
<p>[STEM</a> Programs by Discipline](<a href=“http://www.pathwaystoscience.org/Discipline.aspx]STEM”>STEM funding, internships, and research by academic discipline)</p>
<p>it only takes 36 hours to make a basic prototype</p>
<p>[hackTECH</a>, co-hosted by AT&T](<a href=“http://www.hacktech.io/]hackTECH”>http://www.hacktech.io/)</p>
<p>go to the hackathon in Santa Monica, chances are you’ve probably heard your other classmates talking about it</p>