[Fwd: Re: [Fwd: [Novalug] Teaching Computers Science]]

[Stephan Greene]

On 9/26/07, Nino Pereira <pereira at speakeasy.net> wrote:

> <snip>

My son went to CMU because he thought he would like it. It turned out he
> did not - but the Pittsburgh area is full of small companies doing
> various things in CS.  This is an outgrowth of the CS work done at
> Pittsburgh Univ. and CMU - former professors going into the business
> field. He did summer internships at one of these places and then got a
> position there and enjoys the work, at the same compant, while he
> telecommuntes from Boston!
>

My major was aero/astro, so while I cannot comment on one CS program vs
another, I can make some suggestions on a school's philosophical approach
and the opportunities they offer.  I felt I benefited tremendously from
MIT's organized program to involve undergrads in research activities, as
well as from the department's co-op program.  (I might add MIT's CS and EE
co-op programs are extremely well organized and competitive.)  Now in the
case of my co-op experience, it taught me what/where/for whom I did not want
to be doing, but it was still quite worth it for that reason alone.
Especially for someone in a math/sci/engineering major, I'd strongly
recommend schools with organized undergrad research and co-op/internship
programs over ones that lack them.

Other things I'd look for (and am recommending my son, who's also a HS
senior, consider) in terms of a CS or engineering major:  Do the
non-technical courses help students learn to address how their discipline
interacts and affects the real world?  Do they suggest opportunities to
apply, say, CS techniques, to understand and better address broad soft
science problems that might at first not be considered amenable to analytic
solution?  Do students get opportunities to learn to and practice their
writing and communications skills?  If your daughter is the type of student
who enjoys hands-on work or competitions, does the school encourage and
support participation in student design competitions?

Good luck!

Steve

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Steve Greene  ks1g04 at gmail.com  <kay ess one gee zero four>@gmail.com
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