I look forward to my Stanford experience next month but I wanted to get some feedback on what major to pursue. I am presently a biology major but have an slight interest in computer science and engineering. I’m concerned that these might be too rigorous considering that I have no experience in these fields. I’ve done some research on my own and still am undecided but any feedback would be helpful. Thanks
You have until the end of your sophomore year to declare so there’s no rush (and I know people who didn’t declare until well into their junior years without too much trouble). It’s also pretty easy to change your major.
Take CS106A as a freshman in either fall or winter. It’s an intro CS course that pretty much all CS/engineering majors take and a large number of non-CS majors take. A lot of people consider taking a CS course part of the “Stanford experience.” CS 106A is a bit time consuming but if you enjoy it then that could be one way to know if it’s something you might major in.
Quite a few people major in CS/eng without any prior experience. I’ve had friends with no CS experience take 106A freshman year and be employed at Facebook that summer in a tech job. Mehran, one of the CS profs, will tell you on the first day that having no experience is no problem because it means you have no bad habits. When I was in 106A maybe 1/3 of the 106A students had no coding experience.
If you’re considering biology because you’re pre-med then it’s pretty important to stay on that pre-med track. It’s a lot easier to switch off pre-med then onto it. You should be able to take 106A while fulfilling pre-med reqs.
It is not necessary to major in biology to take the pre-med courses.
You can take classes in whatever you want without majoring in it or declaring for 2 years. There are many premeds in stanford trying out several different majors if that is the reason you are choosing Biology. One thing Biology does have in its favor is that you don’t have to take no more than 2 years of classes to meet the AMCAS requirements and graduation requirements in the major leaving you with a lot of open spaces to try many other subjects.
Which school are you in?
Stanford doesn’t have ‘schools’ per se so you can spend Frosh year taking different classes, talking to professors and other students and seeing what floats your boat. No need to declare your major right now (in your head or otherwise).
Thanks for all the input. I will take the CS106A. It sounds like a great option. I have another question if you don’t mind. My friends told me that I should take only 3 classes my first quarter so I can acclimate to the Stanford pressure as they refer to it. My concern is that this might put me behind and I might need an extra quarter to graduate which my parents will have to fork out more cheddar. Any thoughts?
I don’t think it will matter whether you take 3 or 4 classes the first quarter. There will be plenty of time to make up one class.
I was a section leader for CS106A. My advice is to not let your homework go until a day or two before the due date. The biggest mistake students make is waiting until the last minute and then going off the deep end when they can’t get their code to work.
My general advice to anyone taking a beginning CS course. Don’t copy any code. Don’t copy anything off the internet. Don’t copy off of a friend. Don’t copy from a former student. I guarantee you will get caught. If you have trouble writing your programs go in to see a Section Leader for help during office hours. They understand some students have trouble at first. They want you to succeed.
Stanford has a lot of flexibility, so even if you declare something by the end of sophomore year, it generally takes very little to change that later.
From Stanford:
“Sometimes a good way to evaluate the major is to “try it on”—declare, integrate yourself into the department, and see if it’s the right fit. You can certainly change majors if you later realize a different field is a better fit for you.”
The concern is that they don’t want a person to wait too long to declare and then realize that they can’t meet requirements for graduation in time or cram through too much to make up for “lost time”
Oh and triple emphasis for everyone on what @googledrone said - don’t, don’t, don’t copy code. Just. Don’t.
You will be caught. http://www.stanforddaily.com/2015/03/29/increase-in-cs-106-honor-code-cases-prompts-letter-from-provost/
Thanks @skyoverme and @googledrone I was very surprised to read about Stanford students violating the honor code. I would always believe that I would not do that but it helps to be reminded. But the Dartmouth students cheating on the ethics class is sad and funny at the same time.
I was a section leader for a number of beginning CS classes. The problem is usually the very first class taken by a student who doesn’t plan to major in CS but figures some basic insight about CS might be useful in any field. I had to deal with a couple of students who gave in to temptation.
They run into a roadblock in getting their code to work and are close to the deadline for turning in the assignment. They become frustrated, then start to freak out. Just allow time to go in for help and you’ll be fine. Even with no experience, anyone can do well in CS106A as long as they plan ahead and are willing to visit section leaders for help.
Thanks @googledrone I’ve read a number of posts including some on this site that say it doesn’t matter about the school with CS or Engineering major vs. liberal arts degrees. What are your thoughts on this subject?