<p>Couple questions:</p>
<p>-Do most admittees to SCS have experience in computer science? I will be applying with absolutely no comp sci experience. Not that I have my heart set on SCS, but will this be detrimental to my application? My high school didn't provide the course for me, so there was nothing I could do.</p>
<p>-For CIT: Is admission to CIT comparable to admission to... Michigan engineering? Or is it slightly more/less selective?</p>
<p>Many SCS applicants will claim they know several languages-- but it’s difficult to prove. Admissions will look for demonstrated passions or experience that can be documented and a reason for wanting to study CS. Yes, some applicants come in having done consulting or written a website. That’s programming-- it’s not computer science. CS degree at CMU is heavily based on mathematics. So you don’t have to already be a working programmer to gain a spot-- a clear essay as to why you want to study the curriculum given your interests and coursework so far is absolutely fine. People start from ground zero in the curriculum.</p>
<p>University of Michigan is not a CMU designated competitor.
That said- Michigan is in the same overall ranking as CMU, Cornell – they all hover 5thto 8th place on rankings that go up and down each year. A hair under Caltech,Stanford, Berk, MIT-- then Illinois and Michigan and then Cornell/CMU-- been consistent in the rankings for years. Individual departments vary-- with Michigan exceeding CMU on many of these.
Michigan is hard to compare-- if you are an in-state resident in Michigan your chances of gaining a spot are higher than an out-of-state resident. So if you’ve been accepted already to Michigan, keep that in perspective in attempting to assess chances for Carnegie.<br>
Overall, I’d say they are similar-- but each school has a very unique approach to admissions.
For what it’s worth - D was accepted to Michigan and Carnegie’s engineering programs and received generous merit (not financial aid) from both those schools. We do not live in Michigan.</p>
<p>Why would you want to join SCS with no programming experience?</p>
<p>SCS is for teh moniessssss.</p>
<p>If you’re smart enough and have the desire to study CS, I don’t see any reason why someone can’t apply. I know some ECE and CS kids who walked in without programming experience and they’re doing just fine.</p>
<p>Plus, 15-100 and 15-111 are included in the course catalog for students with no previous programming experience. <a href=“2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog < Carnegie Mellon University”>2022-2023 Undergraduate Catalog < Carnegie Mellon University;
<p>If you’ve never programmed before, I don’t quite understand why you’d be interested in SCS.</p>
<p>Not having the class really isn’t an excuse to not have programming experience…resources are widely available over the internet, and there are plenty of ways to apply/practice programming (web design, game design, robotics, research, competitions).</p>
<p>That said, I’ve heard from everyone it is quite possible to get admitted regardless, and if you like mathematical or scientific problem solving, you will probably enjoy computer science.</p>
<p>It’s possible to be admitted to SCS with no experience, as others have said. However, that’s a generally unsound idea.</p>
<p>Pick up Ruby on Rails, Java, or Python. All three are somewhat easy intro languages and will give you a taste of what SCS coursework is like. If, after debugging and debugging for hours and banging your head against the wall when your program crashes you still like programming, then CS may be for you. </p>
<p>I had taken a couple Java courses and had done websites professionally before I came to CMU and thought, ‘sure, a CS minor, no problem.’ I quickly decided that it wasn’t for me-- at least, not at CMU’s intensity-- and you may or may not come to the same conclusion.</p>
<p>As mom2012 said, a lot (see: most) of it is also math, so if you have math experience and enjoy working with complex proofs then that will also help ensure that you will actually like CS and do well in it.</p>
<p>Hi there, As a freshman SCS student,
Let me tell you that programming is not the emphasis of the CMU SCS degree. Yes, you will take a lot of programming classes, but the focus of the program is computer science theory and math-based techniques. If you come in without programming experience, you will take 15-110 (which is in python). This will prepare you for the followup course much more than taking something like computer science A/B would. </p>
<p>You’ll also be enrolled in a very tough discrete mathematics course (21-127) which will prep you for the Mac Daddy CS course in the spring of your Freshman year, 15-251 (Great Theoretical Ideas). If you come here and end up disliking the CS curriculum, CMU is filled with great programs in Sciences and Engineering that may be more your speed.</p>
<p>As for difficulty of getting in to CIT, it pretty difficult to get in ECE, but comparable to UMich otherwise.</p>
<p>So is taking AP Computer Science A even a plus?</p>
<p>As a freshman I can tell you the hardest classes you take freshman year are not the programming classes, they are the “math” classes. 21-127 and 15-251 will rock your world.</p>
<p>Having programming knowledge or interest in CS is big IMO in terms of actually being accepted, but if you actually get in then it shouldnt be THAT terrible</p>