Things First Year Computer Science Students Should Start Doing
Being a first-year Computer Science student can be scary …
I remember when I was a first-year Computer Science undergraduate student, it was a pivotal time for me. That’s the time when I started taking computer programming courses, as well with other Computer Science related courses that were required by my major. Now that I look back at it, there are some things I did and should have started doing earlier.
So, today I am going to share some tips you can use if you are a Computer Science student in the first year of your degree. This advice is based on things I did as a first Computer Science student, what has worked for me and somethings I wish someone would have told me when I was a student.
The purpose of this article is to serve as mentorship for any student that is needing some guidance on what to focus on that is currently in the first year of their Computer Science undergraduate degree.
Thus, let’s get started.
Build the foundations of your knowledge
During the first year of your degree, in my experience, is where you start building your foundations as a Computer Science student, even as a professional. On this academic year, you might start taking courses like “Introduction to Programming”, “Computer Architecture” and even “Data Structures” (depends on the program you attend). On these courses, you are going to learn the fundamental concepts that are going to be required for the next courses you take on the next years of your Computer Science degree.
So, I suggest that you pay special attention to learning the concepts for these courses correctly. For instance, in your “Introduction to Programming” course you can start discussing topics such as variables, decision structures (such as if-else statements), and loops (like for and while loops). Focus on understanding how these concepts work in your programs.
Also, direct your attention to practicing on applying these concepts to write computer code, as well as solve programming related problems (also known as algorithms). You can practice these concepts by solving all the programming problems in your textbook, the more you practice, the better off you will be. At least, that’s what happened to me.
“Concentrate on understanding the fundamental ideas of your CS courses, as they are prerequisites for some of the courses you will take later on.”
In my experience, these concepts are essential for other courses like Data Structures which you might take on your second year, depends on how your Computer Science program is structured. In Data Structures you are going to see fundamental ideas of Computer Science such as lists, stacks, and queues which require a solid understanding of how variables, decision structures, and loops work in order to implement these data structures.
Moreover, having a solid foundation on the basic concepts of computer programming will most likely determine your performance on the Data Structures course, thus, impacting the grade you will receive. I like to think as the introduction to programming course as your “Pre-Calculus” course to your Data Structures course. That is, it prepares you for what is yet to be discussed in your Computer Science program.
Work on your grades
I think you might have heard of this before, but I recommend that you start working on getting good grades from the start of your Computer Science degree. The first year is a perfect time, in my opinion. When I was completing my bachelor’s degree, grades were used as a factor to determine if you were to be accepted to an internship program, if you decide to apply for an internship program in the future.
Thus, I recommend that you focus on getting good grades, especially in your Computer Science courses, as these might be used as a requirement to apply for internship programs or even apply to grad school if that is your decision upon graduation. Do some research on the GPA requirements of internship programs that may interest you, and strive to achieve GPA as a goal you can set up for yourself. You can look these up online or ask around your campus.
“Work on building the grades you want to achieve your goals as a student as soon as you can”
Also, as I detailed on the previous tip, the first year is when you start building your foundations as a Computer Science student. In other words, during the first year, you start developing the building blocks of your knowledge that you will use in courses later on your degree, and even as a professional when you graduate. Hence, I suggest that if you feel that you don’t understand some of the essential ideas you need for your upcoming courses, I recommend that you go back and review these topics.
Make sure you understand them before you move on, trust me, this will save you a lot of trouble in the future when you start taking even more challenging courses. However, grades are just one part of your application. You need to work on other areas such as getting involved in extracurricular activities, such as joining your Computer Science student association in your campus or working on side projects depending on your interests.
There you have it, some advice you can use as a first-year Computer Science student in college. The sooner you start on working on getting better grades, understanding the fundamentals, the better off you will be to achieve your goals as a student such as going on internships or other programs you may be interested in.
For a video version of this content, check out this video. I talk in depth about things you can do as a first-year Computer Science student in college to prepare your path for success.
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Disclaimer: The tips I give in this article are based on my experience as a student and educator. Everyone is different; I am just sharing what has helped me on my journey so you can succeed as well.
Originally published at yadielcabrera.com on January 27, 2019.
