<p>Hello All. I was admitted ED to CAS and am planning to major in computer science. I just have a couple questions. Generally, I've heard that it is very difficult for computer science majors at many schools to get an industry internship the summer after their freshman year. Is this true for Cornell as well? Also, just to see if there is an updated opinion on the debate of BA in CS vs BS in CS, are the job opportunities essentially the same for both of these degree programs? Thanks Everyone!</p>
<p>After one year (two semesters), it’s rare that you would have enough computer science experience (or enough that employers would be looking for at least) to be able to work in an internship.</p>
<p>From my research the job prospects of a BA vs BS are pretty much the same. The real difference lies in the undergraduate experience of the two colleges I believe.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply man! Really appreciate it.</p>
<p>It’s probably hard to get an internship in something you really want to, but you’ll probably find something if you reach out and apply. All my CS friends eventually found something for a summer internship (summer after Freshman year that is), albeit not their first choice.</p>
<p>Thanks, that makes sense. I’m also looking ahead to some of the computer science courses at Cornell. Am I allowed to take CS 2110: Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures and CS 2800: Discrete Structures in my first semester?</p>
<p>Yes you can take CS 2110 and 2800 concurrently. Depending on what school you are in (Engineering or CAS) you might have other requirements to take into account, so you might want to just wait out till taking 2800 in your spring semester. Do know this, 2800 doesn’t have much to do with CS at all, it’s a discrete math course, so taking it in the spring won’t really put you behind in any way whatsoever.</p>
<p>Thanks, that sounds good. Yeah I am in CAS and it seems like they have quite a few humanities requirements, so I’ll have to take that into account.</p>
<p>It’s very rare to take 2800 first semester. You have so many other, more important requirements to get out of the way. Plus, it’s on the harder side of classes- do you really want to take such a class for your first semester?</p>
<p>In the end- it’s your call. Every adviser will tell you otherwise, but you can if you really want to.</p>
<p>^ I’ve met a few freshman that were enrolled in that class. Sometimes when you have enough AP credits you can be really random with course selection. But they are daredevils, so yeah I wouldn’t advice it either.</p>
<p>I think it’d be useful to take discrete math earlier rather than later.</p>
<p>I placed out of 2800, but I’ve noticed a lot of students never quite get a strong footing in some topics that make later courses a lot more difficult than they should be.</p>
<p>^Every adviser has told me to take 2800 early for that very reason.</p>
<p>Thanks all for the replies. Also, does anyone know if CS 2112 (honors version of CS 2110) is much harder than CS 2110?</p>
<p>CS 2112 was a lot more work from what I heard from my friends. Though, now it’s offered in the spring, so if you are coming in with AP CS credit, just take 2110 in the fall.</p>
<p>Sounds good thanks johnny05!</p>
<p>CS 2112 is a lot more interesting than CS 2110, to say the least. For the past two semesters, 2110 has been significantly less work than previous semesters; however, with Ashutosh Saxena teaching it next semester, this will change. I’ve TAd 2110 for a few semesters now, so I’ve had a chance to see how the course/workload has changed. </p>
<p>Having said that, CS 2112 will give you a much more reasonable idea of how the rest of the CS curriculum is whereas 2110 is a “lite” version. Additionally, in 2112 you’ll have to implement your own data structures whereas in 2110 you can just import them from java.util for the assignments.</p>
<p>Thanks WongTongTong. I guess I will try to take CS 2112 if it is offered in the fall. However, It seems like it is only being offered in the Spring now.</p>
<p>Also I was wondering would it be possible to declare and be accepted to the cs major in the second semester of my freshman year? It seems like the prerequisites are CS 2110 and CS 2800 and a couple of math courses that can be taken care of with good performance on the AP calc bc exam. I believe I will complete all these prereqs after my first semester at cornell. I ask primarily because it would be nice to say when I’m applying for internships during the summer after my freshman year to say that I am a CS major.</p>
<p>Bump? 10 char</p>
<p>If you’re sure you’ll be doing CS, for internship purposes you can label yourself as a CS major, without “officially affiliating”, most people will understand it’s what tentative anyways. So yes you can affiliate early if you finish 2800/2110 in your first semester, but it won’t be a deal breaker if you don’t.</p>