College Prep
 

I am graduating High School in June. I plan on majoring in Computer Science in college. I want to prepare myself as much as possible. Independent learning is very fun to me and like being ahead of everyone when it comes to school and work! :D

Does anyone have any recommending reading or learning before going to college? Another way of asking this is, if there was something you could have studied to prepare you for college, what would it be?

I've been pretty comfortable in college, but I did have a good amount of math and science in high school. And several technology courses, some of which have been much more beneficial than others. That said, as long as you work hard in college you'll probably be just fine. Afterall, they can't expect you to know the material before you take the class, right?

As a first-year college student, the only advice I can give is don't underestimate the difficulty of the classes. I took an introductory course to Java -- a language I spent four years working with in high-school -- and going to the lectures started seeming rather redundant to me. Everything we learned was what I consider common knowledge such as simple loops, conditionals, simple data structures and algorithms, basic concepts of object-oriented design etc. so I thought I would have a decent handle on the class. Test came around and it was so intricate it basically kicked everyone's ass. I guess what you should prepare for depends a lot on what college you're going to, however just don't make the mistake of underestimating your classes.

From my experience, if there was one thing I wish I had concentrated more on in high-school it would be terminology. Pay attention to the little things that seem frivolous.

for CS, know your algebra and trig. calculus will be a lot easier if you didn't take it beforehand. they'll teach you the other shit (proofs, etc.).

basically know fractions, powers, etc...really basic stuff. if you've done a calc course then you'll be totally set (if you understand it).

that's the math.

for CS, if you wanna be a hotshot, email the department head of CS and ask them what language they use...it'll probably be either C++ or Java. then read up on that and play with it. i was able to gain about one year's worth of CS knowledge from reading "teach yourself C++ in 21 days" by jesse liberty and making my own programs. the making your own programs part is the important part. if you just read it and say "yeah, i get it", it'll do you no good. i used to keep the book on top of the toilet. every time i took a crap i read about c++. it sounds vulgar, but spending that time reading about programming can add up.

bottom line: you don't have to do a goddamn thing if you don't want to, but it'll be easier if your math skills are at least slightly above average and be familiar with some programming concepts. even if you know if, while, and how to define variables you'll find yourself way ahead of the power curve. remember, people enter college from high school, they say "i think <whatever> is cool" and they "major" in it. oftentimes people change their major several times. good luck!

It seems to me that the two languages that are most commonly seen in schools are Java and C++. It would probably do you well to read up on them, especially the object oriented structures. Your first computer science class will be boring if you go in with even a basic programming knowledge however so be prepared for some sleeper classes. As it's been said already, if you've taken Calc in HS, you should review it and be sure that you are familiar with everything they taught you. If you didn't get to take calc but took precalc (trig, functions, etc.) then definitely review that just in case your college offers a test to skip any low level math courses that might be a prereq.

Well this year, I am taking AP Computer Science. Doing pretty well in that class. The college I am going to accepts that class as the Intro to CS I and/or Intro to CS II, depending on which exam I take afterwards. I am also taking Advanced Algebra/Trigonometry.

Thanks for the tip guys! It's well appreciated!

@ghosty

there's no need to guess, like i said, email the CS guy and ask them what they use. maybe they use fortran, maybe then one should look elsewhere...not that fortran is bad, i plan to play with it, but seriously, just ask, shit.

Just go to class, and I know you said that you want to be a hotshot, but I wouldn't recommend being a know it all. If you know programming already then you should do fine in the introductory courses. But as you start going to upper level classes they will seem harder (cause they are), and I would suggest pay close attention, very close, especially to the theory part (That stuff kicked my ass on the final).
Also you should know your math, very important to know. Algebra and Calc are important to know.

this is way off-topic but i just realized you'll be graduating almost exactly 10 years after i did.

damn...that's depressing.

:p

Since you already know where your going, and have a background like you do I wouldn't worry, I would just enjoy the break and have fun.

I started college without any experience in CS, not even coding html. I didn't even come here for a CS degree, I got stuck in a VB course first quarter freshmen year for the degree I was here for and I fell in love with programming, switched majors and never looked back. Now Im a junior and considered one of the best programmers in the degree by most of my professors.

I would take the advice of not taking the classes too lightly to heart. My freshman year we had a few cocky ones that talked about how much experience they had with this and that, and how easy the C\C++ courses were for them. Needless to say, Im still here and all but one of those few are not.