Cambridge Computer Science (CompSci) Students and Applicants

Scroll to see replies

Seeing this post reminded me of the one you made above about P. Comm. I have some condensed notes (well, 89 pages but more condensed than the slides) made by another compsci. Would you like a copy or would it be too late?

Cheers! Em, if it's not too much hassle, that'd be greatly appreciated. If you need to scan things, I'm really just looking for the control theory content - Laplace transform, box diagrams, setpoints, feedback, open/closed loop... that stuff. Thanks either way :smile:

Reply 481

ukdragon37

Original post by TheUnbeliever

It's a PDF. Link in a PM :smile:

Reply 482

ukdragon37

Original post by TheUnbeliever

I just noticed the control theory section is totally empty.... Knowing the person who made it, there must have been a good reason. I'll investigate and get back to you if possible.

Reply 483

ukdragon37

Original post by TheUnbeliever

(Triple post, meh)

Apparently it was so impenetrable it could not be digested into note form :lolwut:

Since I don't take P. Comm, sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Reply 484

TheUnbeliever

Original post by ukdragon37

Apparently it was so impenetrable it could not be digested into note form :lolwut:

Since I don't take P. Comm, sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Haha, no problem! I fiddled around in Mathematica to get a bit of intuition for some of it, so I'll just hope it doesn't come up. I'm not setting my sights terribly high for these exams, I have to admit.

Reply 485

ukdragon37

Original post by TheUnbeliever

I'm sure they won't go too badly.

Personally I just think P. Comm is far too big to ever learn securely...

Reply 486

moehamhead

Hi, I am going to apply for the course 'Computer Science with Social Psychology' - in the Personal Statement, do you write mostly about Computer Science or about half and half? Because the Psychology course is only in the first year so I'm not sure how much emphasis the PS has to be based on why you want to do Psychology. Could anybody let me know please? Thank you in advance.

Reply 487

TheUnbeliever

Unless you have substantial reason to do otherwise, I would write entirely about computer science.

Reply 488

Smithy94

The fact that there's scope to change which option you take when you arrive (aside from maths) indicates that they don't put much focus on it, so I'd completely focus on computer science.

Reply 489

silentlife

I think this is probably asked before, but I'll ask it anyway: how many interviews are there for Computer Science at Cambridge?

Thanks.

Reply 490

TheUnbeliever

Original post by silentlife

I think this is probably asked before, but I'll ask it anyway: how many interviews are there for Computer Science at Cambridge?

Thanks.

Depends on which college you apply to, see their website for details. Probably between 1 and 3.

Reply 491

silentlife

Original post by TheUnbeliever

Depends on which college you apply to, see their website for details. Probably between 1 and 3.

Thanks.

Reply 492

FO12DY

Anyone in the thread studying CS with Mathematics?

I was aware of STEP, but hadn't thought much about it until now. Now I'm concerned that it'll block my chances completely.

Obviously the best answer will come when I do a past paper and see how well I can do - but I also wondered if anyone knows of anyone who got on the course without a 1,1 in STEP 2 & 3?

It doesn't seem to actually be stated as an explicit requirement, but I wonder if the implication is that anyone good enough has no trouble attaining the 1,1.

Reply 493

TheUnbeliever

Original post by FO12DY

Obviously the best answer will come when I do a past paper and see how well I can do - but I also wondered if anyone knows of anyone who got on the course without a 1,1 in STEP 2 & 3?

I applied for the Mathematics option. My offer was for 1 in STEP 2 or 3. If you miss the STEP portion of your offer, there's an excellent chance (there was some slightly confusing information at the time I applied, I'm not motivated to check if this still the case) that you would still be accepted for computer science, but reading one of the other first year options. I know both myself and another were.

It doesn't seem to actually be stated as an explicit requirement, but I wonder if the implication is that anyone good enough has no trouble attaining the 1,1.

STEP is a challenge, don't be disheartened at finding it exceedingly difficult. I certainly don't think it's the case that you're expected to have 'no trouble'. Having said that, the Cambridge maths course is absolutely formidable. If you can't make the offer, it might be for the best.

--

Personally, I'm not sure that it's a worthwhile investment of time for a computer science applicant. On the one hand, reinforced mathematical skills are definitely useful. On the other, it's a small part of the degree and represents a significant increase in pre-admission stress. There are other ways of improving the relevant skills.

Reply 494

Dealmaster13

Not trying to put you off, but I'd just like to warn you that myself and a few others applied to Churchill for CS + Maths, somehow managed to only get 3s in STEPs II and III instead of the expected 1s, and were subsequently summer pooled due to insufficient places available.

The relevant actions vary significantly between colleges.

Reply 495

ukdragon37

Original post by Dealmaster13

That is true but that's because you applied to Churchill. Knowing the competition of applicants there, I wouldn't apply there for Compsci with Maths unless I'm willing to bet my house on meeting the STEP offer. Not even Trinity's known to be that harsh.

This was posted from The Student Room's Android App on my Galaxy Nexus

Reply 496

DanKeitley

Is anyone in their third year of studying Comp Sci at Cambridge? I was wondering what projects/dissertations people complete :smile:

Reply 497

Goldfishy

Original post by FO12DY

Caius sometimes let people in that don't meet the STEP grades as long as you get the A-level/IB/non-STEP requirements, and I've heard of a few other colleges being accepting too.

I'm not sure about if you'd be allowed without a 1,1 although for the Maths Tripos in rare cases some colleges are lenient if you get a 1,2 and they need to fill up places or something. Your second statement is true though - if you don't get a 1,1 it might is for the best that you don't do the Maths tripos cos the maths part is bloody hard. Almost all of the mathmos would have gotten at least 1,1 anyway. Having said that, the Maths part is quite fun and I found it very interesting.

Reply 498

jqian

Hey guys, sorry if this question has been asked before, but I was wondering if anyone could recommend any good Computer Science books to get a good basis for the course (I'm applying for 2013 entry), any suggestions will be appreciated :smile:

, I have already heard about the Turing Omnibus but the reviews for the book is quite mixed so I'm not sure if I should read it.

Reply 499

Smithy94

Original post by jqian

, I have already heard about the Turing Omnibus but the reviews for the book is quite mixed so I'm not sure if I should read it.

I'd read it, having read it myself I thought that it was pretty interesting. However some of the chapters are much to short to cover certain topics so it ends up rushing through some things; it's a taster of certain areas of computer science more than anything. Some other books I'd recommend:

Code - Good introduction to hardware from the absolute basics up to the workings of an OS.
The Annotated Turing - Same author as Code, if you have any sort of interest in turing machines you'll love this, it goes over Turing's paper in full with loads of annotations to make it easier to understand.
The Code Book - Goes over the history of cryptography in quite a nice way, all the way from roman methods up to a bit on quantum cryptography. It's a really good introduction to the subject.

If anyone else has some suggestions I'd love to hear them, I'm planning on doing a lot of reading this summer!