I’m a senior looking at good CS schools (NEU, Purdue, Tufts) and I hear too often about people flunking out of their first CS class. I haven’t had any formal CS education besides a Cybersecurity camp a couple summers ago, but I’m taking an intro to programming next semester. I am also taking regular Calc this year.
I guess my question is, how can I prepare for a CS major and how can I enjoy it?
Generally enjoying programming is a good sign. Being up to date on math helps but is more tangentially related. Taking an online course is a good way to see if you enjoy it as well.
There are many CS majors that go in with no CS experience or preparation and do very well. There are others that find out it isn’t for them. It’s really just a matter of finding out if CS suits you. If it doesn’t, trying to force yourself to get through will not work out long term. I am a TA for the intro course at Northeastern, and I haven’t seen this work out in over 4 semesters on the job.
Reading through your post and previous threads, Tufts seems like an odd choice for CS and your interests/profile/preferences. You mentioned a possible ED2 there, but Northeastern’s EA decision date has been pushed to February 1st, so that would not work as planned there, and your RD acceptance chances are low. I would second the suggestion for URochester that was given on that thread as it will offer the smaller CS department compared to other places, many features of Tufts, and arguably even the better CS department.
Other good options if you are sure you are going into STEM are RPI and WPI.
This is an essay on Northeastern’s CS program, but the intro sequence has been used by many schools and details a bit of what is important for learning CS. WPI also uses a variation on the curriculum. Waterloo also does and may be of interest to you due to their strength in CS and their co-op program. It would likely be a reach school but one that is well worth it.
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/Thoughts/Growing_a_Programmer.html
It sounds like you’re already doing everything you can. If you have doubts, I would recommend making sure the school you go to has general strength in other areas of interest.
Good luck!
Thank you! I didn’t realize Northeastern moved their EA decision date… aw. I’m not entirely sold on Tufts either just based on I wouldn’t get a lot of merit there but a reach is a reach, I’ll apply RD. I’ll look more into WPI (I go to Worcester often) and RPI, but I haven’t considered UWaterloo yet. One of the main attractions of NU is the co-ops, and I hadn’t considered more schools were so invested in them, so I’m definitely interested in the school. Thanks for the schools and I’ll look more into the essay and I hope I enjoy CS, otherwise I will switch majors.
Thanks!
Co-op focus is still pretty rare - UWaterloo, Northeastern, RIT, Drexel, and Cincinnati are the only schools in the US and Canada that have a full focus on them outside of engineering. RPI does a co-op program as well, and many more schools offer them for Engineering which sometimes translates to CS as well. Georgia Tech is one of those for CS.
Of those co-op schools, the first three are well regarded for CS, in the order listed. I would look into both as well as Georgia Tech, though another reach. RIT will be a nice safety compared to the others with some minimal merit. GT’s COA should be lower than most privates though double check me on that.
I am a huge fan of co-ops and it’s obviously a part of why I ended up where I did. WPI was on my list as well because they have a very practical focus through various other programs, so look closely there. RIT was a safety of mine. UWaterloo is likely a reach as Canadian schools are very stats driven, but it well worth an application. In the end Northeastern beat them out but I would have been happy to have attended all of those if I had not gotten into NEU.
Again best of luck!