<p>I am a student interested in both computer science and mathematics. ISP sounds like a program that might help me coordinate my education in these two interests. Is ISP good for Comp. Sci. majors? Is it a good program in general? And how hard is it to get into as compared to getting in to the university?</p>
<p>S is in ISP and Engg (Sophomore). ISP is one of the most rigorous program at NU. Having said that this link makes interesting reading from a former ISP student:</p>
<p><a href=“https://sites.google.com/site/severoon/aboutme%3Aisp[/url]”>https://sites.google.com/site/severoon/aboutme%3Aisp</a></p>
<p>It sounds like ISP is it’s own major…thank you! I believe that I would prefer to major in computer science and mathematics as a double major. Thanks!</p>
<p>I’m actually an incoming freshman majoring in ISP and Comp Sci. From what I’ve heard you should definitely give the program a try if you qualify.</p>
<p>If you find that you don’t like the program after the first quarter, you can drop it pretty easily. And 3 out of the first 3.5 classes are Physics mech, chem, and Calc I, classes almost every science (maybe math, I’m not really sure) has to take eventually so you haven’t wasted any time. Also, anyone who drops ISP can still enroll in ISP courses later on. </p>
<p>If you decide to stay, ISP seems like a unique opportunity that is worth all the hardwork. I can name a dozen obvious perks and I’m not even in the program yet. And, technically it is it’s own major but from what I’ve heard, many students use ISP to complement their primary focus. It’s a 3 year program which a lot of people extend to 4 to allow additional majors. Also, I would check out the curriculum on the ISP website. Looking at it was one of the reasons I chose to join ISP. The classes look very intriguing and many of them are in the Math and Computer Science curricula already. And I definitely think the math courses offered through ISP are more than sufficient to allow you to coordinate your math and science knowledge (especially since ISP classes are tailored to promote inter-disciplinary coordination).</p>
<p>As for getting in, you don’t have to be a science genius to get in. I was confident I would be accepted into NU RD but it wasn’t a for sure thing at all. In high school my only ‘scientific achievements’ were pretty good SATs and grades, a summer Engineering camp at Notre Dame, and an internship/study-program at NASA. I had no research experience and wasn’t in any science clubs at school and I still got in. Qualifying for ISP is possible for any Northwestern admit with a strong background in science and math. If it helps you at all I was accepted at NU and Notre Dame but rejected at Stanford so if you’re in that range you’ve definitely got a shot.</p>
<p>I’m not actually in ISP yet so I haven’t experienced the program, so everything I wrote is based on what current students and professors have told me.</p>
<p>Hope that helps!</p>
<p>Northwestern111: As an additional piece of data, typically 1/3rd of the ISP students end up at Stanford for graduate studies. Further, the head of the program bats real hard for his students to get into graduate program at top notch schools.</p>
<p>My son was accepted to the ISP program and, although he loves math and physics a great deal, he most of all wanted to major in computer science. We studied the quarter by quarter requirements for both and found it nearly impossible to combine the two. With luck it might have meshed if no scheduling conflicts occurred, but that would have left near zero opportunities for electives over 4 years.</p>
<p>He instead opted to go to Brown for a combined computer science/applied math degree with physics as a possible second major.</p>
<p>ISP is mostly for people interested in natural sciences while using math and computer knowledge as the tools.</p>
<p>ISP is an excellent program, it just doesn’t mesh well with computer science as a major. Considering the popularity of CS as a major, it’s a shame that Northwestern doesn’t have an alt-ISP version somewhat lighter on neuroscience and heavier on programming; the base classes could still remain as a common core.</p>