HS club ideas...help!Want to major in Comp. science.

Colleges & Universities California Institute of Technology
6

<p>First of all, DOS is an operating system, not a programming language. Secondly, when you start learning languages, you should learn C before C++. It will help you build a much better foundational understanding of the computer architecture, which it sounds like you’re more interested in anyways. </p>

<p>It will be impossible for you to get a Computer Science degree at any college without becoming proficient in several languages. Furthermore, to do well in a good CS program, you’ll need to be able to learn languages quickly. At Caltech (and other institutions, I’m sure), you’ll sometimes take classes which require you to use a language you don’t already know. They won’t waste class time teaching it – you’ll be expected to learn it on your own in the first two weeks or so of classes.</p>

<p>Finally, I’d agree with those who’ve suggested learning languages and putting those to use instead of starting a computer club. First of all, I’d think that admissions committees would see straight through a club made with the purpose of beefing up an application. I think if you made a point of pursuing areas of computer science that you’re interested (instead of areas you think will impress them), your passion will come across in the application. If you want to learn programming, I’d suggest starting with the link below. This is the textbook used to teach the intro CS course at both Caltech and MIT. It’ll teach you Scheme, which is useless for large projects, but is great for teaching CS fundamentals. After you learn Scheme, I’d move onto C and then see where your interests take you.
<a href=“http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html[/url]”>http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Don’t get discouraged if you’re not good at programming yet – you have plenty of time to learn. Also, when you start applying to college, make sure the colleges you pick have strong both a EE program and an Electrical & Computer Engineering (ECE) option, as it sounds like you might be more interested in ECE than in CS.</p>