Computer Science Honor Society

Tuscarora High School

Speaker Series Videos

Bonus Content

Additional from Tommy, who couldn't attend but did send us his answers (using my draft question set)

INTRO

Tell us about yourself -- Name, College (where, if not obvious), Year (i.e. freshman, sophomore…), Major/Concentration, if applicable
Tommy Wolcott, University of Maryland: College Park, Freshman (sophomore by # of credits), Computer Science and Physics double major.

Why your school? What do you like best about it?
I decided to go to UMD because it’s in-state, my brother goes there, and it is good in both computer science and physics.

FRESHMAN

What was it like when you first started as a Freshman … What did the college do to help you get started? Orientation? Do you have any tips (or what’s one tip you could give) to an incoming freshman at your school for their first year?
Because I’m in the scholars program, I got to campus a couple of days before classes started which allowed me to wander around campus, get used to the area and find all of my classes. Orientation, for me, was a two day stay in one of the dorms that happened during the summer. A tip I would have for a first year would be to go and explore the campus, and look for clubs you might be interested in joining.

What kind of classes do freshmen take and how are they different from high school? [and/or what’s one piece of advice you might give about taking classes in general]
Well, I was lucky in that, I brought over a bunch of credits in AP and FCC classes so I got to skip some of the earlier classes. In my experience, however, compared to high school classes, college classes are a lot more variable (your experience heavily depends on the professor(s) you get) and college classes will give you more responsibility. While in smaller classes the professor may be able to ask if you need help when you don’t show or suddenly stop doing as well, both of my comp sci classes this year had 600 students each and in that case it becomes your responsibility to fulfill work, ask for help, and go to class.

CURRENT CLASSES / ASSIGNMENTS / PROJECTS

[If not CS, just talk about the courses and major]
What classes are you taking now? What languages are you learning/have you learned in CS Classes there so far?
I have taken the following CS courses at UMD:
CMSC132 (Object oriented programming 2): We learned about more details about java and how it operated. In addition to this we learned about data structures (linked lists, graphs, stacks, queues …), some algorithms (dijkstra’s algorithm) and some algorithm analysis (O(n), O(nlog(n)) …)
CMSC216 (Introduction to Computer Systems): We learned C (specifically C90) from basic io to forking processes, in addition we learned to use unix and makefiles and learned how to convert c into assembly.
CMSC250 (Discrete Structures): Much more of a math class than CS, but you learn logic, set notation, formal proofs, probability. Link to my prof’s notes


What kind of assignments are you given? group projects? Individual? Exams?
All of my assignments so far have been from the same professor, Larry Herman, so they have all been individual assignments with a project handout thay explains what must be done. Exams are pretty normal, all of my professors so far have given practice exams.

Can you describe a specific project/assignment – maybe one that you especially liked – or didn’t – or grew from?
One project I remember, was when we first learned memory allocation in C and the general outline for the project was create a graph data structure (however you choose) Implement the following functions that use this graph (there were ~7 of them) Use valgrind to make sure you don’t have any memory leaks I remember this one because it was one of the harder project we had made internalize how pointers can be confusing/annoying. Here’s one function:

Can you tell us about a class you took that was NOT computer science (not in your major?) that you really liked?
I liked COMM107 (communication gen ed) and learned a lot about public speaking. Near the end we had a group project and everyone contributed and overall the class was nice.

TYPES of CLASSES / CONCENTRATIONS

How much math do you need to get a CS degree from your school? What are the math classes like / Can you describe one that you really liked – or didn’t – or had some sort of effect on you?
I completely tested out of calc with AP/FCC, but for UMD comp sci requires calc 1 & 2 as well as a STAT4XX class. For the quantum/machine learning/data science track within comp sci you also need linear algebra. I’ve taken MATH240 (linear algebra) and I liked it. I took it with Nathan Manning.

Outside of math and computer science, what other classes are required for a comp sci major at your school?
Example four year plan for CS
UMD CS Degree req

WORKLOAD / STUDENT-LIFE

What is the workload like? “On a scale of 1 to 10” … How much time do you spend in classes / studying versus having time for yourself?
Personally, I would say I’m around a 3, I only really spend around 5 - 10 hours outside of class studying/doing homework. Here’s my schedule for this semester if you’re interested (14 credits):

How do you motivate yourself to study or improve? How do you find balance between academics and personal life? Any tips for time management?
From the start, I’ve gotten myself used to going to all of my classes with rare exceptions. One tip I have is to keep all of the things you have in a todo app like reminders or todoist, this makes sure you don’t forget assignments, exams, projects, or other things.

What do students do for fun outside of classes?
Here at UMD I’ve been bouldering on the climbing wall outside of the main gym, in addition to this there are intramural sports, occasional activities, and clubs (I’m in Robotics club and undergraduate quantum association).

INTERNSHIPS / CO-OP

Does your school have an internship and/or co-op program? If so, have you participated? Can you tell us a bit about that experience?
There are research opportunities for undergraduates in physics I know. I believe CS research usually wants older students, but I believe opportunities still exist. I did get an internship over the summer at NIST SURF (summer undergraduate research fellowship) which I found out through an undergraduate research resource that I got access to through an email. In case you’re interested in research/internships: (There may be high school opportunities, although the time to apply may have passed for most)

ADVICE

What advice would you give your first-year self?
Join clubs and engage in activities and meet new people.

What recommendations would you give a high school student interested in a future in Computer Science and/or your school? What courses to take, etc?
Look into learning to code, a good gateway for getting the motivation to do this stuff is to try and find things that you want that don’t exist right now, but could if you made it. If you do learn to code, then it is also really helpful to take AP CSA and skip the first CS class if your able (here is a link to the UMD accepted AP credits), also look out for exception exams that your school may give, I know UMD allows you to possibly test out of the first 4 CS courses: Here

What types of jobs do people with CS degrees get?
Grad school, research (after grad school most likely) then somewhere on a spectrum between low level computer engineering with specific hardware to high level stuff in web development.

Other stuff:

I went random with my roommate assignment and it ended up going well, we got along even though we had different sleep schedules and never had any problems. If you can get a lofted bed in your dorm it saves a lot of space.