<p>I'm a high school senior from Florida with the interest to go into computer programming and major in computer science. I have done a little research on both programs, but would like opinions from students and graduates about the programs and which one would offer the most benefit and translate into post-college jobs. Also, any tips about going into this major I would greatly appreciate.</p>
<p>Points of concern
1. ABET accreditation. I believe FSU's program has this, but UF's doesn't. Does this matter much for getting jobs or affect how good the program is?
2. Credits necessary to major- I heard UF requires some courses for this major that FSU doesn't that are basically a waste of time/weed out classes.
3. Funding at UF. I've heard that UF was thinking about making cuts to the CS program, not sure what has happened. Also, I've heard UF's CS programs operates under the engineering program while FSU's is it's own entity. Does this make a big difference.
4. Jobs. Which college would better prepare me for a job and would look better on a resume after college and during college for internships</p>
<p>Concerns about major
1. I'm tech savvy, but I don't know how to program at all. My friend told me about AP Computer Science, but I'm not in it and it's my senior year. I might possibly be able to get into it online at FLVS, but I'd have to drop a one semester AP Comp. Gov. class that is the 2nd semester. Is this AP CS class worth taking online at FLVS? Or should i try learning some stuff on my own. What language should i start with and how should I start learning?</p>
<p>Thank you for reading this, looking forward to some clarity.</p>
<p>I’m not attending either school, but hopefully will attend UF for Computer Engineering.
But from what I understand:
The individual accrediation of programs is usually not of advantage in the long run, as long the college/university is regionally accredited there is no need or problem/difference.
From what I understand is, that UF wants you also to take General Chemistry I additionally to Physics /w Cal I and II… Whereas FSU wants you to take Physics /w Cal I and II or General Chemistry I and Biology I and II… So If you are not good in physics, FSU might serve you better, since you won’t have to take this class… But weed out classes? I can’t really see. The other difference I can spot would be that UF also wants Calculus III unlike FSU. But those are not major differences in the programs and are pretty common all over the US in comparable programs. Some want Chemistry, most Physics and some might even accept Biology and others dont want Calculus III.
As far as I remember it was never cut… Rick Scott cut some funding and UF thought it would be easy to take funding from the research (not the actual programs) in computer science and give it to the college sports, but as I said, I think that never happened, maybe someone else knows better what actually happened.
As far as I can tell, UF would be your better bet at jobs, since they have a great job fair and connections to the industry. This is actually a point many people raise about going to UF and I am also enticed by it. But I personally never saw any proof/statistics, so who knows Maybe its a myth :)</p>
<p>I would say, start learning on your own, if you really want to get a head start and you DO have the time besides school. I wouldn’t risk dragging my grades down and lowering my chances for getting into UF/FSU just because of learning something you will learn either way at that university.
I am personally prefering learning by myself, Im doing this since 2 years, just refreshing my knowledge in new languages. Any of C, C++, Java, C# or Python are great languages to start studying. I personally would start with C++, since it will most likely give you more “insight” than for example Java, C# or Python. C would also be good as a first language, but it’s a pain in the ***. Python might “look” the easiest in the beginning since it is scriptin language, but it will still require all basic statements, etc. just like the others. Whereas Java and C# are the most popular languages at the moment. It is most likely you will encounter Java at the University level, but I find C# and Java very similar and I personally prefer C#.
In general, any of these languages have certain advantages and disadvantages, if you want to start with what you will do at the university, Java is probably the best bet, if you just want to play around, try some loops and look how syntax in general looks like I would tell you to try out Python.</p>
<p>Oh and to start learning a language, I personally always prefered to just go on amazon and buy a book about that language with the best reviews for beginners (Some might look like beginners books, but require already basic understanding in programming). But there is also the possibilty to just start on the fly, download an IDE (Integrated Development Enviroment), which is the program with which you code, and look up only tutorials, videos or free ebooks (there are some good ones floating around).</p>
<p>I’m a UF CS grad, so I don’t know much about FSU. But I can say that as a student is always seemed that the two best CS schools in the state were UF and UCF.</p>
<p>As for your questions:
1 - ABET stuff is meaningless, and usually (imho) being ABET accredited is worse overall because they make you take more BS classes that are required for the accreditation. I had this same question going into UF and never heard about it again once I actually got to college. If it really means a lot to you, you can do computer engineering software, which is almost equivalent to getting a CS degree with an EE minor.</p>
<p>2 - The only weed out classes you have to take as CS at UF are the ones that all students have to take. There are actually two different CS degrees, one in the college of engineering and one in the college of liberal arts and sciences. The only difference between them are the gen ed classes you have to take. So if you want to take more math-y and science-y gen eds then you can do engineering, or if you want to take more liberal art-y (and required foreign language) then you then do CLAS. I imagine FSU also makes you take similar gen eds, since I believe there are state wide requirements.</p>
<p>3 - The funding thing never happened and wouldn’t have affected undergrads much (except for all the bad press that was generated about the department).</p>
<p>4 - I would argue that there are hardly any CS programs in the nation that actually prepare you for a real job. Luckily, if you excel at UF and meet the right people you won’t have a hard time landing a nice internship (which will actually help prepare you for a job). Companies of all shape and size recruit CS majors at UF. I have plenty of friends that got internships (and then eventually jobs) at companies like facebook, google, microsoft, as well as smaller local companies like grooveshark, and just about everything in between. Lots of companies actively recruit students, so there is no shortage of opportunity.</p>
<p>Btw, back when I was in HS I took the AP CS class on FLVS. Though I had prior experience, I think it’s a reasonable intro to programming. Ultimately it depends on your learning style. If you learn better by having a set curriculum and assignments that get graded, then I suggest doing FLVS. If you learn better by tinkering on your own, then I agree with Test90, just get a highly rated intro book from the internet and mess around. Either way, hope you have fun with it</p>
Maybe its a myth :)</p>