Cambridge Computer Science (CompSci) Students and Applicants

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Okay, thanks - I think I'll be up for a coding question anyway. I'd be interested to see what sort of thing they might ask. And when you say most of A level computing is "simply wrong", I take it you mean they lie to you for simplicity? I hate it when they do that...

Another question - when you do C and C++ in the second year, what implementation do you use? I have been using Microsoft Visual C++ but been taught by a book dealing with C++ Builder, and the two didn't always match up completely, so this confused me a little. Or is it some other cause :s-smilie:

? It's only been small differences like #include<iostream> instead of #include<iostream.h>

Reply 321

TheUnbeliever

Original post by CosmicGarden

when you say most of A level computing is "simply wrong", I take it you mean they lie to you for simplicity? I hate it when they do that...

Simplification is necessary and even good, so long as it's flagged as such. ukd probably knows more about the A level than I do, but we can both speak for SQA (Scottish) computing. The latter frequently strays past oversimplification into claims which are unequivocally wrong at any level of abstraction.

Another question - when you do C and C++ in the second year, what implementation do you use?

Whatever is convenient for you, it's not prescribed. There's a series of lectures, easily skipped if you know the language (and, if you have the same lecturer, probably best skipped whether you do or not!) and a simple little pass/fail programming exercise at the end which you can opt to avoid and take a Prolog exercise instead.

I have been using Microsoft Visual C++ but been taught by a book dealing with C++ Builder, and the two didn't always match up completely, so this confused me a little. Or is it some other cause :s-smilie:

? It's only been small differences like #include<iostream> instead of #include<iostream.h>

This sounds a lot like the book you're using predates the 1998 standardisation of C++ and should be abandoned immediately before it does any more damage to your education. I'm not overstating my case here.

Reply 322

ukdragon37

Original post by CosmicGarden

On the most part, yes.

Original post by CosmicGarden

Another question - when you do C and C++ in the second year, what implementation do you use? I have been using Microsoft Visual C++ but been taught by a book dealing with C++ Builder, and the two didn't always match up completely, so this confused me a little. Or is it some other cause :s-smilie:

? It's only been small differences like #include<iostream> instead of #include<iostream.h>

I take it you mean what toolchain and library. We are recommended to use GCC, but it really doesn't matter. And yes, that'll be a difference in the pre-processor but it's not of concern.

EDIT: I mean concern to the course - but Unbeliever knows more about C/C++ than I do so if he says dump it, then do!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 323

CosmicGarden

Arrgh, that's annoying. I'd hoped it wasn't outdated. It's a bit of a pain that libraries still keep these books hanging around. Oh well, at least that solves the problems I was having - I don't know where I'd be if you hadn't mentioned that. The differences aren't too great though anyway, so it shouldn't be hard to adapt. I suppose it's just about not getting into bad habits.

I've been looking through the booklist on the Cambridge website in the syllabus, and I think I'll see if I can find one of the books referenced there - though two of the four C++ books were released before 1998, probably still mentioned for historical reasons judging by the titles. I'll try the 2008 one by Stroustrup since he has to know what he's talking about.

Thanks for your help with this rather embarrassing mix-up... :redface:

Reply 324

TheUnbeliever

Original post by CosmicGarden

The differences aren't too great though anyway, so it shouldn't be hard to adapt. I suppose it's just about not getting into bad habits.

Well, partly. In this particular case, most compilers will include the .h versions of the standard headers. But these are not standard, and may not exist. As a concrete example, GCC is moving towards removing them - their inclusion produces a compile-time warning. There may be other syntactic inaccuracies, which may or may not rear their heads, but the really insidious problems come when you end up with runtime bugs because the book relies on some pre-standard, implementation-specific behaviour. Of course, this is still possible now, but the bar is raised quite a bit higher than it was at the time.

Thanks for your help with this rather embarrassing mix-up... :redface:

Oh, not at all! Like you say, libraries and even bookstores still stock these books, and you have no way of knowing, as a novice, that it is obsolete.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 325

CosmicGarden

Hopefully there won't be too many differences. I'll keep at it and see how it goes, and the chances are I'll apply next month for CompSci with Maths. It's a great relief to have this sorted out. Thanks again!

Reply 326

TheUnbeliever

Original post by CosmicGarden

Hopefully there won't be too many differences.

I wouldn't hold your breath! There was essentially no single 'C++' at the time, and the deviations from the later standard could be quite severe. I can't speak for the quality of Borland at the time, but to give you an idea of how bad MSVC++ 6.0 (released 1998) was, take a look here and here. You can ignore the 'export' non-compliance, since that applied to all but I think two compilers, and the feature was removed in C++ '11 as having little benefit whilst being very difficult to implement.

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 327

ukdragon37

Fun CompSci puzzle of the day: How do you find the n-th Fibonacci number in (genuinely*) lg n time? No cheating and please spoiler if you are posting an answer :p:

*Of course using a constant time method and then "wasting time" doesn't count.

Spoiler

This is mostly for people already on the CompSci course at Cambridge, I guess, although opinions from other hopefuls are definitely welcome too!

What part of the course do you enjoy the most? How do you find the course in general? Did you have any experience with programming before you went to university?

Is there any college that's particularly good for computer science, facilities-wise/distance from lectures/staff-wise etc?

A quick PS question as well - apart from computer science at Cambridge, the other course I want to apply to is a Games Development course. In my statement so far I've talked a lot about programming and how much I'm looking forwards to it (because that's pretty much why I want to do the course) especially in relation to how it will help with a career in the games industry. Do you think I should make a point of talking about other areas of the course as well? My four other courses are just computer science, with no games mentioned at all... Computer Architecture and Electronics just don't interest me all that much though ._.

For that matter, how much programming do you find you do on the course? What languages do you use?

Thanks for your time :smile:

Reply 330

AliensAndMonsters

Your mention of Games Development reminded me of this comic:

http://abstrusegoose.com/strips/computer_science_major.PNG

(Sorry, can't be too much of help. Comp Engineer here. A portion of my fellow classmates were like in that comic.)

Reply 331

{Unregistered}

Hi I'm new here!

I am an international student and will be applying to Cambridge for entry in 2012 for Computer Science.

For this course, Cambridge asks for Maths, Physics and Further Maths in A levels.

I did my O levels last year and got 7 A*'s and 4 A's. The thing is that my school allows for two types of educational qualifications. The British System - O and A levels - and the American System - SAT I, SAT II, and AP's.
I am in grade 12 right now. I have given my O levels and this year I'll be taking the SAT I, 2 SAT II's in Math IIC and Physics and 6 AP's in English, Calculus AB, Physics B, Chemistry, Computer Science and Economics.

Now my actual questions : Will Cambridge regard Calculus AB as equal to A' level Maths? Also I won't have A level Further Maths, so will that be a disadvantage for me?
I'm completing a variety of qualifications, so will that make up for no Further Maths? In addition I was thinking that if Cambridge requires it, I may be able to give the A Level Maths exam.

Also I expect all my AP predicted grades to be 5's.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Reply 332

tooosh

If you can, take Calc BC. Self-study it if your school doesn't offer it. By taking BC you'll have done the most advanced Maths you can do on your qualification and even though Further Maths goes beyond it, it won't be held against you when you're competing against people with Further Maths A-level. I'd imagine you'd still be OK with AB but contact Cambridge to be sure.
Physics C will help as well but Maths stuff is more important.
Computer Science won't specifically help you with admissions since no prior knowledge is expected or advantageous unless it's professional experience. It gives you something to talk about in the interview and it can help to show passion but if you can swap it with Calc BC or Physics C then do it.

Reply 333

{Unregistered}

Thank you very much for replying.
Yes I'll see if I can add Physics C and/or Calc BC to my set of AP's by studying them independently, although it will be hard given the amount of load already.

But, would it be beneficial if I took just the Maths A level?

Reply 334

tooosh

I can't see why you would need Maths A-level if you're taking Calc APs. Cambridge will expect you to do what you can with your qualification set, they won't be expecting A-level Maths from someone studying for SAT and APs.

Reply 335

SunderX

Original post by Lucevar

There's actually a dedicated compsci thread right here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=532069&page=17 :smile:

But to answer your question, it's rather hard to say which college is best for anything, because numbers, opinions and teaching fluctuate year on year. Compsci is a rather small subject though (70 or so/year), so a lot of colleges will only have 1-3 computer scientists/year. Churchill and Queens are the two biggest computer science colleges, which can be helpful if you want a subject community and/or dedicated teaching (Some colleges don't have CS Director of Studies, and outsource their teaching to other colleges instead.) That's not to say you shouldn't go somewhere else - good computer scientists will succeed no matter where they're at.

I do note that Churchill tends to get oversubscribed for Computer Science, because it's right next to the lab :rollseyes:.

I went into Computer Science with games design in my head as well, but it's much much more than that, and admissions tutors will be more impressed if you can appreciate that :tongue:

. Keep in mind that 90% of computer scientists don't end up in games companies - although you do always see a couple at careers fairs. The Cambridge course in particular is a lot more theoretical than some others - check out what you (might) learn:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_language_processing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distributed_systems
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z-buffering
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computation_theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_computing

Most of these are 2nd/3rd year courses (so don't be scared!), and there's also hardware and digital electronics stuff too (you get more freedom to choose what you do later on). If you can handle a CS course, I'd recommend going for the broader education rather than restricting yourself to an industry that you might change your mind about anyway.

Let me know if you want to know anything more :smile:

Reply 336

Lucevar

Eep, has it been an entire week already? Time flies when you're swamped I guess!

Aliens - Thanks for the reply. Yeah, that's pretty much what I'm afraid of - that they'll let me in and then I'll end up understanding absolutely none of it o.0

Original post by SunderX

There's actually a dedicated compsci thread right here: http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=532069&page=17 :smile:

.....

SunderX - Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. :colondollar:

I totally didn't notice the Colleges & Courses subforum at all! *observation fail*

I came to a decision on the college thing last night - it's St Catharine's for me, hopefully! Choice made pretty much on a whim - I decided that I really liked the pictures on their website (and just from reading the website they seem like a friendly bunch) sooo :biggrin:

I actually stumbled across a document that compared applications and admissions per college for computer science the other day. You're not wrong when you Churchill "tends to be oversubscribed"! There was something like 75 applications and 6 people got offers :O All the other colleges had about 6 applications each, sometimes less.

How did you find computer science? What did you enjoy most - was it something you expected to enjoy, or did it surprise you?

Thanks for the links - I'll check 'em out once I get the time - working on my personal statement at the minute. Bleh. No matter what I write, I seem to end up sounding like a robot or a complete idiot XD It's so depressing.

Aaaand thanks for putting up with all my questions :biggrin:

I appreciate it and will shut up now xD

Reply 337

SunderX

Original post by Lucevar

I came to a decision on the college thing last night - it's St Catharine's for me, hopefully! Choice made pretty much on a whim - I decided that I really liked the pictures on their website (and just from reading the website they seem like a friendly bunch) sooo :biggrin:

That's always the best reason to make a choice :biggrin:

. Although, pretty much everyone is friendly :P.

Original post by Lucevar

I actually stumbled across a document that compared applications and admissions per college for computer science the other day. You're not wrong when you Churchill 'tends to be oversubscribed'! There was something like 75 applications and 6 people got offers :O All the other colleges had about 6 applications each, sometimes less.

Yep, I (sat) on the Faculty Board for the department, and this issue actually got raised in a meeting :tongue:

. There is in theory though, no limit on the number of compscis Churchill is willing to accept - Dr Fawcett just reckons there's 6-10 good ones each year.

Lucevar

How did you find computer science? What did you enjoy most - was it something you expected to enjoy, or did it surprise you?

Pretty good actually, you get to do quite a lot of awesome stuff, and end up employable afterwards as well! :biggrin:

. You have to fight the stereotype of being an antisocial midnight hacker (only partially true), and contend with the fact that the gender ratio is probably the worst in the university (due to societal conditioning, psychological predisposition, gender bias, blah blah blah). For you though, that might be a bonus :tongue:

.

I ended up doing my Master course mostly in computational linguistics - machine learning techniques for processing text and data. The lecturers here do tend to be pretty awesome - one for instance is a multi-millionaire founder of XenSource. Also fun to have people to geek out with without ostracising the rest of society.

Original post by Lucevar

Thanks for the links - I'll check 'em out once I get the time - working on my personal statement at the minute. Bleh. No matter what I write, I seem to end up sounding like a robot or a complete idiot XD It's so depressing.

Aaaand thanks for putting up with all my questions :biggrin:

I appreciate it and will shut up now xD

No worries - I'm a university admissions office Cambassador, and (afaik) the only Computer Science one :wink:

. Feel free to pm/post anything else you think of, and let me know how the application goes!

(edited 12 years ago)

Reply 338

JavaWizKid

I'm averaging around 84% in my maths (minus C3) and physics UMS combined and Cambridge average is 87-93%

Most of my maths modules are around 80-82% except my C4 which rocketed to 98% :smile:

My C3 is appalling which I plan to rest in January to get myself an A*.

My school makes us do the maths A level in year 12 and the further maths a level in year 13 hence my lack of a 3rd as subject.

Maths full A level
Physics AS
Further maths nothing yet

Do I have a chance at Cambridge? Is it worth applying?

Also for those who are currently at Cambridge is the 1st year 1/4 natural sciences a big issue? I don't particularly want to study anything else except CS and Cambridge makes you sit a paper in a natural science.

Thanks :smile:

Reply 339

TheUnbeliever

Original post by JavaWizKid

Do I have a chance at Cambridge? Is it worth applying?

It's potentially one of five applications. Unless applying is a clear waste of time, which I don't think it is here, or you have somewhere else you'd rather be, there's nothing stopping you giving it a go.

Also for those who are currently at Cambridge is the 1st year 1/4 natural sciences a big issue?

Actually 1/2 natural sciences: you do natsci maths in first year, too. There are alternatives: there's a 50% 'real' maths option (although this would require STEP, which looks like it would be beyond you - and I don't mean this nastily, as it was certainly beyond me) and also the option to take 25% a psychology paper from PPSIS.

Physics was hard, and a supertanker-load of work. (I would say I spent about equal amounts of time on physics vs. everything else.) I haven't heard anyone say a good word about it. There are other options that might be more up your street: evolution & behaviour, which seemed to be more essay-based than I expected, or geology, for example.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'big deal', so I don't know if this helps.

Cambridge Computer Science (CompSci) Students and Applicants

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