Computer Science with no high school experience

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

Hi everyone,

As the title suggests, I had no experience with computer science until this past summer. Through a project I was working with, I learnt website programming languages (HTML, CSS, etc.) and started self-teaching myself JavaScript. I became interested in coding (it’s really fun!!!), and now I’m thinking about majoring in computer science.

I’m taking AP Computer Science right now, and although I absolutely love the subject, I don’t like the class. My AP Calculus teacher used to teach this class, but he transferred to another school now, so a new math teacher has to take care of the class. He knows nothing about computer science though, so he just lets us study from an online course (codehs) by our own. I already familiarized myself with the basic materials during the summer, so I could just go at my own pace. Other students did struggle though, because he DID NOT teach anything at all.

Sorry for the ranting. But I think I didn’t learn much from that class - as much as I would like - and it’s just basically me self-studying computer science. I’m applying to some top schools (Stanford, MIT, Vanderbilt, NYU, etc.) and most students there knew how to code from a really young age already. I’m just afraid that schools won’t accept me if I did not have a lot of coding experience :frowning: ( My stats: GPA: 4.0, ACT: 35, decent ECs, fairly good essays about the summer project I joined - which aimed to create an educational website. At first, I had no prior coding experience, but then I self-taught in 2 weeks, won second place in Hackathons with that project, and got interested in CS.
Also, would I be unable to catch up with others in college CS classes? How challenging are the classes?

Some info about me to take into consideration: I do love logic, solving puzzles, and torturing my brain with challenging problems LOL. Math is my favorite subject, and I’m fairly good at it ( SAT I Math: 800, Math II: 800, AP Cal BC: 5, taking Multivariable Calculus at a local university currently) . I’m a girl. ( Would it matter that much in college classes? Like, during group projects or sth, would the male students be sexist?). I’m quite creative, eager to learn, and love challenging myself.

Thank you.

2

You’ll be fine. In truth, having previous programming experience does little in establishing whether or not you would be a good CS major - mathematical ability is a better predictor. Some people just aren’t coders of the “hobbyist” variety, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. The obsessive personality is common, but by no means necessary or even advantageous.

Far as gender goes, you probably won’t find too much explicitly troublesome while you are in school, but there’s a reason that most CS jobs are predominantly male. Women tend to choose a different path eventually. I think you simply have to see for yourself, and losing your first year if you find it isn’t for you wouldn’t push back your graduation in the slightest.

3

You have excellent scores and GPA, but are applying to some schools that are reaches for all. Be sure you have a couple of safeties, too. But, allow me to suggest another reach: Harvey Mudd College in California. The school has been widely recognized for its efforts to attract and retain women in the computer science program: http://www.aauw.org/research/solving-the-equation/ which says: “Harvey Mudd College is a prime example of how changing structures and environments can result in a dramatic increase in women’s representation in computing.” Check it out to see if Mudd would be appealing to you.

4

[QUOTE=""]
Nangkhieu, don't worry about having little or no experience in computer science (i.e. programming) in high school. My boy just graduated from UMich with a major in Computer Engineering (involved a significant amount of programming) and never felt that his lack of previous HS programming experience was a hindrance. Despite what a previous poster stated, your academic credentials (GPA: 4.0, ACT: 35, SAT I Math: 800, Math II: 800, AP Cal BC: 5, taking Multivariable Calculus at a local university currently) as well as being a female make you well qualified for Stanford, MIT, CMU, UC Berkeley, etc. Go for it and good luck

[/QUOTE]

5

Don’t worry about male sexist. Goodness I went to school when I was 1 out of 5 in the whole engineering school. Most of the time I was the only girl in the class. You will find sexist, racist, anything-ist at any school. Just ignore and focus on your career goal.

6

I agree with the others…it’s your math stats that’s going to show them that you’ve got what it takes. Also, agree with Miles Perrara - check out Harvey Mudd. From their CS department website:

And I know for a fact your lack of coding experience won’t be a problem there. All frosh take an intro to CS class and no level of knowledge is expected (though they do place into slightly different classes based on experience to make sure they still challenge those that do have experience).

Obviously at Mudd this wouldn’t be a problem (40% women). I would hope it wouldn’t be a problem anywhere else but I can’t speak to that.

7

It’s not a problem at my daughter’s school. But this kid has more male friends than female friends since high school. She found she had to do a lot of work, manage the male bums(some of them didn’t have the same work ethic as she was) and saved her grade by intervention. It caused her to be put off by group project. It’s the same story since high school. In group project, lots of kids don’t perform and if she wants her A she has sometime take over and manage who does what. Maybe it’s a pre-curser to her future career as a tech manager. I don’t know.
Btw, the woman that use to raise the % of CS female students at Mudd is now at UCSD.
http://www.jacobsschool.ucsd.edu/faculty/faculty_bios/index.sfe?fmp_recid=337

8

Group projects, especially in academics, always have a lot of deadweight. I find that for one reason or another, it’s always easier to manage in a workplace environment. So it’s really just a factor of being in school that you have to put up with for the 4 years that the program lasts.

9

Schools like Stanford and MIT are reaches for all, including someone with excellent scores like the OP, because their acceptance rate is so low – less than 10%. The decision for acceptance will come down to intangible ECs so only the adcoms can tell who is a match and who is not.

Regarding the prof who was recruited from Mudd to go to UCSD –Mudd’s success at attracting more women into CS, and STEM in general, has been a top-down effort, so UCSD’s gain is not necessarily Mudd’s loss.

OP, with your qualifications, and the experience you have in programming, you really are not behind in CS. I also don’t think sexism is a major problem in most schools.

10

I agree it’s definitely UCSD’s gain, not a knock on Mudd. I’m glad to pay in state tuition for such talent.

11

okay great!! Thanks everyone really much for your advice! @PeterW Thanks! That makes me feel relieved @“Miles Perrara” Yeah I understand that for Stanford/ MIT, it’s really competitive to get in. I just listed out some of the reach schools on my list, but I do have some matches ( RPI, Lehigh, NYU, etc.) and 2 safeties (South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Uni of Alabama). @ClaremontMom Yeah I will look into Harvey Mudd. Thanks for the suggestion. @DrGoogle and @NeoDymium In my junior year, I was the only girl in my PACE class (AP Physics + AP Cal BC) too. It feels rather weird to be the only girl in the class, but fortunately we did not have much difficulty in collaborating in group projects. I hope that group projects at engineering universities will also be like that :smiley:

12

Definitely look at Harvey Mudd as a possible reach. For another safety (although I see your list is mostly East Coast), University of Washington would be a good one to consider. You would take your introduction to programming classes as a Freshman and then apply to enter the CS or CE major as a sophomore or junior. Admission is competitive, but your record indicates that this should not be an issue for you, provided you apply yourself to your studies.

UW is well known for encouraging women to pursue these fields:

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/upshot/making-computer-science-more-inviting-a-look-at-what-works.html

https://www.ncwit.org/2015-next-award-commendation-page-university-washington

This is an interesting article from a student’s perspective:

https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-like-to-be-a-computer-science-major-at-the-University-of-Washington

It has highly ranked programs with close ties to the Seattle and West Coast tech communities:

http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/engineering-doctorate-computer

http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-science-schools/computer-science-rankings?int=abc409

http://www.computersciencedegreehub.com/50-innovative-computer-science-departments/

Good luck!

13

If you get admitted to Washington but not directly to the CS major, you should realize that admission to the CS major is quite competitive. Admitted students to the CS major tend to have college GPAs of 3.4-4.0, but admission also includes subjective evaluation of an essay and your course selection and rigor: https://www.engr.washington.edu/current/admissions/admitstats . Given that, it should not be considered a safety unless a direct admit to the CS major is in hand.

Undeclared students at Washington should consider backup plans of other majors that are less difficult to get admitted to, or sending transfer applications to other schools where they can get into the CS major, while applying for the CS major at Washington.

14

I was addressing the OP with the 4.0 GPA, 35 ACT, 800s on SAT I and II Math and 5 on AP Cal BC.

I said admission to the major is competitive. Most likely, it would not be for her.

Thanks for chiming in, though.

15

A female with an interest in a STEM major with those scores? You’re a shoo-in for pretty much any school you pick, to be honest. And don’t worry about not having previous experience programming. Whatever school you end up at (and I’m sure it will be a good one) is going to teach it to you pretty much from the ground up anyway, unless you have IB/AP credit and can test into higher courses. The math background will definitely help you get ahead.

And I know it’s sexist but I’m going to say it anyway… as a woman going into a predominantly male field, be prepared to have a thick skin. I remember the poor woman who was in one of my classes. She had the nerve to also be attractive so she got a lot of undue attention that I think made her shy, which is unfortunate. But a reality.

Good luck - you have a great future ahead of you!
J

16

@UWfromCA Yeah I’m also thinking about adding one or two match/ safeties schools, since the majority of schools on my list are reaches. University of Washington seems like a good option, thanks for your suggestion!
@jeremyj Thanks :smiley: I hope I get into a good school too; not necessarily an Ivy League-caliber one (though that would be awesome!!), but a school with a great CS program and can make me feel at home. And no, I don’t have the nerve to be attractive lol, I’m just a typical-looking girl, so hopefully I won’t be in the same situation. But thanks for your caution :slight_smile:

17

Well, since you are most likely going to have your pick of school, I would suggest going to the best school that gives you a full-ride/merit. That’s what I did and my friends and co-workers are all drowning in student loans and I feel very liberated. :slight_smile:

18

Most ‘highly experienced in programming while in high school’ students in my university were undergrads before I started, graduated after me, and for the most part have ho-hum jobs (if you believe LinkedIn). That was decades ago of course when CS was not taught in high school.

The biggest risk in OP’s case is that once she’s in CS she finds out she does not like the kind of abstract thinking that goes into some super schools’ 1st year CS (you saw some really strange programming languages used in 1st year, at least back then - LISP, SmallTalk, and the like).

After 30+ years of coding for money, with undergrad and grad CS degrees, I’ll repeat my view that programming - which is what we do - is not a science but an art. Either you can do it naturally or you can’t. The high school enthusiasts, for the most part, have gone past that. Programming is not as dependent on academics or mathematics incidentally… Not to the extent that many would have you believe. When you’re waist deep in C++ or PHP or what not, all the calculus in the world isn’t going to come to your help :slight_smile:

19

@jeremyj Yeah I do need merit/ financial aids too. That’s one of the factors I considered when choosing schools. Thanks for your advice! @turbo93 Thank you for the reality check. I have been warned before about the “weed out” CS classes that can discourage many hopeful CS majors, and how it takes a specific type of person to major in CS. I still don’t know for sure if I’m that type, or if I will get intimidated by the abstract thinking you’re talking about. But right now I’m really interested in this field, and want to explore more, so I’ll give it a try :slight_smile:

20

It’s not the weed out classes per se - The weed out classes are usually math and science classes. it’s whether one is cut out to be a coder. My daughters have as good programmer genes as one could get, Both parents have 3+ decades of professional programming expertise EACH :). The older did not grace the hallowed grounds of STEM at all (grad architecture student) and the younger tried AP Comp Sci and hated it despite being an NMSF and a top STEM student :). The abstract thinking is really being able to see the forest and the trees at the same time. It’s not difficult, just different.

The way you can go forward is to develop your interest into a quest for knowledge. What kind of programming do you like? itty bitty Arduino type boards or complex number crunching or systems development or data mining or… Pick one or two languages and become extremely good at them. Think like a computer (works great).