Can you suggest some dazzling Extra curriculars for students who wish to be considered by top universities majoring in Computer Science?
I don’t know about dazzling. But FIRST Robotics is a well respected STEM EC where you can develop programming skills. Participating in hackathons (and maybe helping organize one) is an option.
The best ECs are the ones the student is totally into doing for him or her self not to get into a good college. It is not worth it to try to game the college admissions process. Students should go after the activities that are meaningful to them. They should take the courses that are meaningful to them and which the student things will be helpful for developing into the kind of person he or she wants to be. Then, when it is time for college, the student will match with the college that also views the activities and classes the student chose as being the best ones to have picked.
Nah, life requires you do certain things to prep yourself for what you want. That includes getting some relevant experience (more than “Hello World” or programming a pong game, a web site, or doing some blogging.) Getting out of your comfort zone isn’t gaming anything.
Robotics is always a good start because it’s the milieu, the mindset, and collaborative. Not all schools offer it, though. Make sure you get in the higher levels of math.
Right Lookingforward, we call those “classes”.
More than classes, more than sitting there, doing the homework, acing the tests. OP said “top universities.”
If the top universities don’t see passion and a drive towards that passion then your chances will decrease.
@Trishka, you have to show intrinsic values in an activity/activities that you like, and have a desire to achieve//help. No one here can tell you what that is.
You gotta have the GPA and test scores to me a competitive candidate at the top schools. A killer EC resume won’t compensate for a 2.9 GPA and 1500/2400 SAT.
NCalRent…Yes of course he needs good scores etc. That part is taken care of. My question solely related to ECs. I was interested to learn more about the different paths people had taken. Perhaps my son might like some of them.
You’d be surprised how many people don’t understand that… if you really have that box checked, find something he likes doing and take it to the next level. He is going to spend HOURS at it so, liking it is important.
The right answer depends on his target schools. CalTech and Stanford are going to want to see something really exceptional (and perhaps an Olympic medal). UCs will look primarily at grades/courses/test scores as a firm threshold then ECs to pick through the boarder-line cases. Neither CalPoly gives ECs much weight at all. A school like Santa Clara takes a more balanced approach and looks for well rounded students.
That said, FIRST is a very good framework and is well respected across the board - coaching a middle school FIRST Lego team while participating on his high school robotics team is pretty solid. Managing the web/social for grandma’s quilt guild is also solid experience and a demonstrated interest.
Encourage him to focus on the academics first, then follow his heart on the ECs. The enthusiasm and commitment will shine through.
I’d also note, there are less selective schools with very credible CS programs.
Good luck.
Very credible CS programs… less selective. I would love to hear more about that too.
^ My first thought is San Jose State, but I’m sure @NCalRent knows of others. Assuming you meet the eligibility index for your major (found here for last year: http://info.sjsu.edu/web-dbgen/narr/static/admission/frosh-f2015impact.html), you should get in. It also has a huge benefit by being right in the heart of Silicon Valley. A lot of local companies recruit there because of the proximity.
As you can tell by the eligibility index information above though, SJSU is more selective in CS than in many other fields. It’s possibly worth noting that the index for the software engineering major isn’t as high, but I don’t personally know too much about those majors at SJSU to know what the exact differences are.
On the ECs question, I don’t know which are dazzling, but some to consider for a HS student who can already do some programming are FIRST (as mentioned earlier), USACO, topcoder (adults compete too), hacking CTFs (carries weight with CMU), maybe ACSL (maybe not rigorous enough), or even just learning several languages self-taught. Before USACO, my son did Project Euler. For someone interested in game programming, Ludum Dare is fun and a challenge. A bunch of kids here on CC mention App Store apps they have created and sold. Teaching programming to younger or underprivileged kids can be a good EC. If you have some programs you can show in the maker/slideroom portfolios that some colleges allow in applications, that can be useful.
My son has a friend who as a rising junior went to interview for a summer internship at a small but relatively well-known software company in our town. The programmer interviewing him wanted to give him an idea of what programmers did. He said, “Here, let me show you some of our actual code. I’m trying to find a bug that causes ____” and scrolled fairly rapidly through the code. Son’s friend said, “Well, there’s your problem” and pointed out the bug, which the programmer hadn’t actually found yet. He’s been a part-time employee ever since–works Friday evening and weekends. I don’t know if that is a dazzling EC, because he’s thinking, “Why do I need to go to college?” But, I’m impressed by him.
Congrats on your son’s internship. He sounds super smart. Thanks for sharing the story and the suggestions.
That wasn’t my son with the internship – it’s his friend, who is definitely super smart.
My list of less selective but very credible CA schools for CS includes UCSC, UCR, UCM, SDSU, SJSU, Cal Poly Pomona, CSULB, Fullerton, Chico, Northridge and LMU. Some of those are more competitive than others and I am probably leaving a few off but, you get the idea.
Truth be told, most of the CSUs have respectable CS programs. Even Sac, Sonoma, East Bay, SF, and Fresno see recruiters from top tech companies. Coding and system design are tangible skills in short supply. If you can deliver results, your employer really doesn’t care where you went to school. In fact some of the non-college ‘coding bootcamps’ are viable options for the passionate student who wants to get into the workforce ASAP.
I would add that many (perhaps most) students who enroll as CS majors as freshman change focus and graduate with a degree in some other field of study. It is an intense program at most schools and it ain’t for everyone. Pick a school where your son will be happy for 4 years - no matter what he studies.