<p>This is my first time on the forum, so please let me know if this question should be posted somewhere else. </p>
<p>I'll be a high school freshman starting this fall, and I really like programming and robotics, but I'm not sure how to develop this interest in a way that I can eventually show to colleges. I know it's a little stupid to be preparing this early and don't care about this aspect so much myself, but my parents thought I should at least take this into consideration, and I guess it wouldn't hurt. I think I might want to enter into some competitions as well.</p>
<p>In any case, does anyone know of good programs for high schoolers around Chicago that would give me some experience in a lab or playing around with circuits and computers? I know math up to precalc and a little bit of java but clearly not well enough to join in some type of research group. Should I begin by taking engineering and computer science courses at a local college and seeing if I can impress someone there enough to work in a lab? </p>
<p>For people who have participated in competitions before, how did you come to develop an idea to show a potential mentor? I feel like I'm not even close to reaching that level of expertise w.r.t. electrical engineering. Or should I look for a mentor first and then an idea?</p>
<p>You can put down any programming languages you know as an EC (it’s pretty run-of-the-mill if you’re a CS major, but it’s still a solid EC, especially if it’s self-taught).</p>
<p>Also, like it was said above, Robotics team is an obvious choice if you have an interest in robotics. It’s not terribly difficult to start one if your school doesn’t offer one, either. If not, talk to one of your teachers (Physics is usually the closest to robotics, but it can be any teacher who might have an interest) and ask them for assistance in starting one. :)</p>
<p>You can self study programming very easily, since all it takes to “build” something is a computer (unlike robotics, which requires funding and power tools, for example). Once you’re proficient enough, you can start building web applications and Android/iPhone apps on your own, etc…</p>
<p>Starting robotics club at school: you need a hs teacher willing to support the group and enough capable kids who will commit; then, for some programs, there’s a mandatory lead time before your group can enter competitions. But also join math competitons, Science Olympiad, tech crew for school plays, etc. The more competitive colleges want to know you have a genuine interest and pursued math-sci activities and some sort of technical problem-solving. </p>
<p>At top colleges, it’s often not enough to say you know x and y languages, program stuff on your own- that’s just what you say. At least, it would be better to work on projects with a cs, physics or math teacher, have your drive reflected in a good LoR. </p>
<p>Build those relationships with the math-sci teachers now. They are also likely your best source of info about outside experiences. </p>
<p>There are programs out there- usually run by colleges, in summer. But, they are expensive and few are truly selective. If you do sustain your interest, you can go for one of the competitive ones, later.</p>
<p>Thanks. I don’t think our school has a team competing in the FIRST competition, so I’ll start a club if I can get interest from a teacher to mentor. Their website seems to have many resources I can use to get started, but beyond what’s listed there, would you know of activities/projects I can do over the summer as preparation? Their day camp looks interesting, but I’m quite far from NH. I’m leaning towards contacting h.s. teams around the area and talking with their members or sponsors to get an idea of what makes a successful entry.</p>
<p>There are a lot of engineering organizations whose employees act as mentors for FIRST Robotics teams. See if you can get help from one of these organizations. They will also provide some funding for FIRST. You can raise the rest from NASA and other organiations. You need to do some leg-work but it will be a very learning and rewarding experience.</p>
<p>Definitely look into robotics competitions and clubs as others have mentioned earlier. I would also strongly encourage you to spend your freshman year strengthening your knowledge of programming. You could either take a course (online or at a local college are both good options) or self-study - whatever works better for your learning style. You probably know this already, but arguably the three most useful languages to start out with are Python, C++, and Java. </p>
<p>So learn as much as you can about programming. Do Project Euclid. Try USACO training problems. (These will be hard at first but as you get better, you’ll find yourself performing better as well.) Look into making apps. See what ideas strike you and what useful things you can accomplish with your programming. And of course, above all, have fun.</p>
<p>As for robotics, see if you can land some sort of unpaid internship doing summer research at a state university or the like in mechanical engineering working in a robotics-like area. This might be difficult to get for the summer after your freshman year, but perhaps the summer after sophomore year might work well. You may worry that the work they give you will be very simple or boring. But the opportunities there may well be worth it because you’d be able to shadow people studying an area you enjoy. You’ll learn a lot more than you might anticipate, and you’ll have great opportunities talking to people working there.</p>