<p>Im admitted to CS for the class of 2016 (assigned to Revelle, for better or worse). I'm hoping someone can give me an honest assessment regarding life as a CS student. I expect the work to be abundant and challenging. Fine, I can handle it. But I'm trying to figure out whether I'll have a life beyond classes and class work, and if so, whether it will be a life worth living. I'm coming from a very competitive high school where everyone wants to go pre-med, and virtually no one is interested/willing to venture away from their desks and GPA quests long enough to do anything in the way of fun, relaxation, or entertainment. Does this describe a large % of the CS undergrads at UCSD? On a sliding scale, how much collaboration / cut throat competition goes on here? Do people smile and joke around at all, or is it almost always serious?
Thanks. May 1 is coming up soon!</p>
<p>The few CS/CSE people i know seem pretty outgoing. Granted they spend countless hours at the labs but they enjoy programming so it’s not really work. They seem to work together as well, not much of a reason to be cut throat it seems.</p>
<p>programming is fun and games… not hw</p>
<p>The only classes where I felt the workload had affected my social life was CSE 131 and 141. Other then that, the CS program isn’t as time consuming as some people make it out to be. Plus if you enjoy CS (which you should), it’s pretty fun.</p>
<p>Regarding the attitude of students: I have only encountered a few students that were “cut throat” and overly competitive, but even they loved collaborating and sharing ideas.</p>
<p>Keep an open mind, meet people outside of your major, and make your college experience what you want it to be.</p>
<p>:)</p>