<p>Hi, im a high school senior who is applying to Berkeley next year as a L&S CS major. I am pretty confident that i can get in and would like to prepare for berkeley during my senior year. I have a fairly light courseload this year and am wondering what can i do to make the most of my time if I plan to go into cs?
Should i start programming? I so, what language?
Any other advice?</p>
<p>It’s awesome that you know what you want to do!</p>
<p>For Berkeley CS, the introductory CS courses are all posted online at [UC</a> Berkeley Webcasts | Video and Podcasts: Spring 2010 Courses](<a href=“Webcast and Legacy Course Capture | Research, Teaching, and Learning”>Webcast and Legacy Course Capture | Research, Teaching, and Learning). You can even follow the this year’s lectures as they are posted online. There are three introductory courses that you should look at: CS61A, CS61B, CS61C. 61A uses Scheme, 61B uses Java and 61C uses C. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, you will probably be required to take the courses when you get to Berkeley over even if you watch the online lectures.</p>
<p>I think you should relax as much as you can</p>
<p>Yeah, it’s a good idea to start programming in high school; in general it seems like CS people who have programmed when they were younger have an advantage. Unfortunately, since AP CS AB doesn’t exist anymore you won’t be able to skip any classes with it.</p>
<p>I would suggest looking at Scheme in 61a or Java in 61b (or APCS A).</p>
<p>I agree with the above. Listen to the online lectures, get the textbook (available free online) and start programming. Don’t learn bad habits, do it by-the-book and you’ll be very comfortable when you arrive at Berkeley. Also go to [Free</a> Online Course Materials | MIT OpenCourseWare](<a href=“http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm]Free”>MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials) and play with their courses.</p>