<p>Hi guys I'm currently a sophomore in high school and i'm looking to Major in Computer Science. I'm looking for any advice on how I can make my college application look better over the next two summers.</p>
<p>Also what is the difference between Computer Engineering and Computer Science?</p>
<p>And is Computer Science considered Engineering?</p>
<p>Does stony brook have a good Computer Science program?</p>
<p>If you are a sophomore in high school, take the typical well rounded college-prep high school courses (choosing more rigorous options when available and suitable for your interests):</p>
<p>4 years of English
math through precalculus minimum, calculus if available to you
3-4 years of history and social studies
all three of biology, chemistry, and physics (physics is the most important for engineering and computer science majors)
foreign language to level 3 or preferably higher
art and/or music
computer science, if available to you</p>
<p>Obviously, you want to do the best you can in your courses, and get the highest SAT or ACT scores you can (you may want to take one of each in junior year; if desired, study for the initially higher one and retake in senior year). The junior year PSAT is “for real” to qualify for National Merit scholarships.</p>
<p>Computer engineering is usually somewhat more hardware design focused than computer science at schools where there is a distinction.</p>
<p>Computer science may be offered in either an engineering division or an arts and sciences division at schools divided into divisions. Different schools place computer science differently (some may offer the major in both divisions).</p>
<p>Stony Brook does have a good computer science degree program.</p>
<p>Don’t forget to talk to your parents about the price limit and run the net price calculators on various schools when making your application list.</p>
<p>I strongly recommend Stony Brook since it is top 15 in CS and the tuition is very cheap. If you go to stony brook you are almost garrantied a job after you graduate.</p>
<p>The difference between CS and comp eng is that CS is more specialized in software and comp eng more on hardware. Which one is better depends on the school. if you go to stony do CSE</p>
<p>Where’s that ranking from?</p>
<p>It is top 16</p>
<p>[Stony</a> Brook Computer Science Ranks well in Recent NRC Survey](<a href=“http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/about/news/nrc2010.html]Stony”>http://www.cs.sunysb.edu/about/news/nrc2010.html)</p>
<p>Pretty cool. Flattering ranking of Duke, too.</p>
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<p>As the wise one said, “Science is to Computer Science what Fluid Mechanics is to Plumbing”, and, “Software Engineering is how to program if you cannot”.</p>
<p>The closest I have seen Computer Science to be is Architecture. There’s some ‘good’ stuff, some ‘bad’ stuff, and nobody can really teach it in an exhaustive manner. I ought to know, I studied both and my older daughter is an Architecture student… And Architecture involves Art, Science, and Engineering. Just like Computer Science.</p>
<p>As I have often said, if the hardware your software runs on boots every time and does not have strange wires sticking out of it, it’s computer science. If it needs help booting, or the jaws of life (JTAG :)) to set right once in a while, it’s Computer Engineering… </p>
<p>The majority of the Amazon/Facebook/what not stuff that you run on your PC or browser is usually CS. Stuff that is tightly coupled to the hardware like cellphones or medical instrumentation or flight avionics that’s computer engineering.</p>
<p>I’ve done both with CS degrees, and the hardware part can get ugly. I’d suggest more of a CSE degree.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. A few more questions.</p>
<p>I already took Bio and Chem and i’m planning on taking Physics next year. What APs do you guys recommend that I take? I was planning on taking AP Bio with physics next year because my Bio is pretty good and then I’ll take the Bio SAT II but I don’t know if it’s relevant to CS. Do you think taking AP Comp science, AP Bio, and Physics in junior year is a good idea?</p>
<p>And for grad school can I get a masters in computer engineering or any other engineering such as biomedical if I do CS?</p>
<p>Also i’m looking to get some research done with a professor over the summer, I want to know what kind of research I should be looking for, I also learned HTML, CSS and am learning Java if that could help me get a research job with a professor.</p>
<p>Are there any related extracurricular activitys I can do that are related to CS or technology in general?
Thanks again guys.</p>
<p>If you minor in engineering and take lots of BioMed Engineering type classes, you should have no problem going from BS CSE to MS BME. From BS CS to MS BME, a bit tougher.</p>
<p>AP Comp Sci is a fun class - depending on who’s teaching. AP Bio is not for the faint at heart. </p>
<p>Biology and Comp Sci intersect quite nicely in an area called computational biology… Genetics, that sort of thing.</p>
<p>If your HS has the FIRST Robotic League, or similar, that teaches a lot but is a major (and I mean major) time consumer.</p>
<p>AP calculus is probably the most useful AP in general, if you are advanced enough to reach calculus in high school. But it is best to review your college’s old final exams for any freshman calculus courses that you may skip with AP credit, so that you can avoid either jumping too far ahead and getting into trouble, or wasting time and tuition in a course you already know.</p>
<p>CS is programs, and computing theory. CE is more hardware stuff. </p>
<p>CS is usually in the engineering school, so technically yes. </p>
<p>Stony brook has a pretty good CS school, but the campus sucks. Binghamton is good too.</p>
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Get good grades, have good extracurriculars, maybe do some volunteer work, get some experience at a local company, participate in open-source development, take courses at a community college while still in high school, etc. There are lots of ways to game the system… err, I mean improve yourself.</p>
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Computer engineering focuses on real computers at the architecture and organization levels. Think real-time, embedded, cache, processor, bus, memory, drivers, etc. Computer science focuses on hypothetical computers and the properties of computation itself. Think algorithms, data structures, languages, mathematics, etc.</p>
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It depends on whom you ask and where you go. In theory, computer science is mostly science. In practice, it’s often engineering. Give it enough time, and software engineering may cleanly separate from computer science.</p>
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Anecdotally, it can’t be bad. I’ve seen undergraduates from Stony Brook well-represented at high-profile conferences (usually in student competitions).</p>
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<p>I don’t see how you will be getting research. Have you even taken a university level course in computer science?</p>
<p>In my sophomore year, I took a CS course (and a physics course) at my state university. I don’t know if it helped me for college or not.</p>
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I don’t think it will. Software engineering alone isn’t useful.</p>