Cambridge Computer Science (CompSci) Students and Applicants
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Original post by Sienne
Has anyone started reading that algorithm book they want us to read? I'll start tomorrow, really hope I can get most of it done :P
I'm going for CompSci with Maths in the first year. I'm so demotivated lol..one hour maths test, the TSA, 2 half hour interviews.
Anyone else want to panic with me? XD
Posted from TSR Mobile
I'm going for CompSci with Maths in the first year. I'm so demotivated lol..one hour maths test, the TSA, 2 half hour interviews.
Anyone else want to panic with me? XD
Posted from TSR Mobile
Which algorithm book is that? My son needs to get a book for a school prize and it would be good to have a recommendation! Thanks.
Original post by supamum
Which algorithm book is that? My son needs to get a book for a school prize and it would be good to have a recommendation! Thanks.
He probably means "Algorithmics: The Spirit of Computing", which is the interview text of King's College Cambridge. It is expensive, and to be honest having read it I don't think it's worth the price. It gives a nice "beginner's overview" in an essay style but it's not very useful for learning anything rigorously. If the book is needed for the interview or just for fun it's better to see if it can be borrowed from a library or bought second-hand.
In contrast, for a long-term investment and a much cheaper price I would recommend Cormen et. al.'s "Introduction to Algorithms". It is incredibly popular as both a textbook and book of reference worldwide, often even found on researchers' bookshelves, and if your son is set on doing Computer Science at uni the book is likely to be on the reading list of every uni he gets into. The downside is that the book probably isn't going to be fully comprehensible until around first or second year of undergrad.
Original post by ukdragon37
He probably means "Algorithmics: The Spirit of Computing", which is the interview text of King's College Cambridge. It is expensive, and to be honest having read it I don't think it's worth the price. It gives a nice "beginner's overview" in an essay style but it's not very useful for learning anything rigorously. If the book is needed for the interview or just for fun it's better to see if it can be borrowed from a library or bought second-hand.
In contrast, for a long-term investment and a much cheaper price I would recommend Cormen et. al.'s "Introduction to Algorithms". It is incredibly popular as both a textbook and book of reference worldwide, often even found on researchers' bookshelves, and if your son is set on doing Computer Science at uni the book is likely to be on the reading list of every uni he gets into. The downside is that the book probably isn't going to be fully comprehensible until around first or second year of undergrad.
In contrast, for a long-term investment and a much cheaper price I would recommend Cormen et. al.'s "Introduction to Algorithms". It is incredibly popular as both a textbook and book of reference worldwide, often even found on researchers' bookshelves, and if your son is set on doing Computer Science at uni the book is likely to be on the reading list of every uni he gets into. The downside is that the book probably isn't going to be fully comprehensible until around first or second year of undergrad.
Thanks for that, I appreciate the information - it's always hard to find a book for a prize as we get most of ours from the library! He has to go through WHSmith too which is a pain. The second one looks good but probably a bit expensive at WHS - will have to see how much the school give him. He's read a lot on CS and algorithms so could probably have a stab at it - seems to like that sort of thing though it's all a mystery to me!
Original post by supamum
Thanks for that, I appreciate the information - it's always hard to find a book for a prize as we get most of ours from the library! He has to go through WHSmith too which is a pain. The second one looks good but probably a bit expensive at WHS - will have to see how much the school give him. He's read a lot on CS and algorithms so could probably have a stab at it - seems to like that sort of thing though it's all a mystery to me!
No problem.
Just to clarify, even though the book is named "Introduction to Algorithms" it means a rigorous, academic introduction, and as I mentioned earlier many academics actually use it sometimes as a work of reference. So it's not to be dismissed just because it's an "introduction"! Although if your son has read deep enough he might have come across the name of the book if nothing else already.
Original post by Query123
So I've got my interview invitation this week. I'm applying for Computer Science with Natural Sciences (Physics). Does anyone know what I could be asked i.e. is it only going to be math and physics, or something else as well?
Which college did you apply to? There maybe more details on the specific college website. For example at Downing you do a 30 minute test at interview.
Questions should be mostly maths based and logic puzzles so they can see how you think.
[Edit] Oh sorry just seen you put the college above.
(edited 11 years ago)
Please can someone tell what this mystical 1 hour test at interview is like (specifically for Churchill)?
It's greatly appreciated, because at the moment it seem like a "black box".
It's greatly appreciated, because at the moment it seem like a "black box".
Original post by dhaw
I'm from the States and got an offer for compsci from Caius, can anyone coming from the US studying compsci tell me what to expect? Are students from the US at a disadvantage in prior learning? I have taken basically no compsci classes but a lot of math.
They don't expect any computer science knowledge as a pre-requisite. just lots of maths is perfect
They teach everything from the beginning, but of course it doesn't hurt to flick through some books or start a little basic programming.
Original post by h2shin
They don't expect any computer science knowledge as a pre-requisite. just lots of maths is perfect
They teach everything from the beginning, but of course it doesn't hurt to flick through some books or start a little basic programming.
They teach everything from the beginning, but of course it doesn't hurt to flick through some books or start a little basic programming.
Great! I'll plan to start that, though with school I don't know how far I'll get until the year is over!
Congratulations to those of you with offers! I'm currently in my second year of Computer Science at Fitzwilliam College, and I took the Social Psychology option last year. I'm an active musician, graphic designer and rower, so can answer most questions you might have about extra-curricular stuff.
Hope you're all looking forward to coming here, good luck to those of you with conditionals!
Hope you're all looking forward to coming here, good luck to those of you with conditionals!
Original post by Sienne
Has anyone started reading that algorithm book they want us to read? I'll start tomorrow, really hope I can get most of it done :P
I'm going for CompSci with Maths in the first year. I'm so demotivated lol..one hour maths test, the TSA, 2 half hour interviews.
Anyone else want to panic with me? XD
Posted from TSR Mobile
I'm going for CompSci with Maths in the first year. I'm so demotivated lol..one hour maths test, the TSA, 2 half hour interviews.
Anyone else want to panic with me? XD
Posted from TSR Mobile
Ah, me too. How did you get on? I asked if anyone else had at my interview day, everyone thought I was crazy to apply for the Maths option.
:/ I really have doubts that I can get 1,2 in STEP II,III!
Original post by silentlife
Please can someone tell what this mystical 1 hour test at interview is like (specifically for Churchill)?
It's greatly appreciated, because at the moment it seem like a "black box".
It's greatly appreciated, because at the moment it seem like a "black box".
I realise it doesn't help you, but for future years' Googlers, I would say that the Oxford AEA 'Mathematics, Joint Schools, and Computer Science' is good preparation.
Both of them are designed to be taken before the candidate has necessarily covered A2 Mathematics. So they're essentially AS material that will make you think.
Original post by h2shin
They don't expect any computer science knowledge as a pre-requisite. just lots of maths is perfect
Hearing this said so much is what threw me at interview. This thread and others are littered with "no CS just maths", which did surprise me how, CS-relevant I should perhaps say, my interview questions were.
I guess everyone's applying for CS, right, so they must have an interest and won't seem like a curveball. I found them fine to answer, as much as anything else would have been, I was just surprised because I'd had the impression they would just be pure mathematics problems.
Original post by JamesMcAulay
Congratulations to those of you with offers! I'm currently in my second year of Computer Science at Fitzwilliam College, and I took the Social Psychology option last year. I'm an active musician, graphic designer and rower, so can answer most questions you might have about extra-curricular stuff.
Hope you're all looking forward to coming here, good luck to those of you with conditionals!
Hope you're all looking forward to coming here, good luck to those of you with conditionals!
Very much looking forward to the thought of coming up to just around the corner from you, or on 'the hill' is the local joke according to a current student.
I just fear STEP.
Hi guys,
I am currently in y11 and would like to study compsci at cambridge in 3 years time. I want to be a computer science researcher when I'm older, and the cambridge course is perfect for me, I get to study a bit of maths and science as well which I would really love, and it's apparently a lot more theoretical, which is ideal for me going into research rather than private sector software development.
I already have A*s at GCSE maths, history and english language. I'm predicted an A* at every more or less every subject apart from Graphics, I'm hoping for at least 7 or 8 A*s in all.
Next year I'm going to Greenhead College, which is a state maintained college but it's the third best in the UK, to study Maths Further Maths Physics and Economics.
Please can anyone answer any of these -
-The statistics seem to suggest compsci is about average, so 1 in 5 applicants succeed. But just how good is the standard? Does every applicant to the course pretty much have a clean sweep of As and stars?
-How much do extracurriculars, work experience, etc. matter? I have already made a few little games in Adobe Flash, so I know ActionScript 3.0, so I know object-orientated programming. Is it worth learning something like C or Javascript or something as well, would that help?
-How much does the GCSE results affect a cambridge application? I hear Oxford place a lot of importance on it but Cambridge doesn't really say.
-Would it disadvantage me if I dropped a subject at A2 level, so I was only studying three of those subjects till A2 (probs double maths & physics) + general studies?
-Churchill or Fitz or other? I'd like to go to a more modern, sciency kind of college.
-Cambridge say they look at grades in the context of the quality of school you go to. Does this mean that at Greenhead, with outstanding quality of teaching, etc., any good grades won't count for as much and I'll actually be disadvantaged?
-I'd like to do Psychology for the NatSci quarter in the first year, but would I need to do the A level in Psychology first to be able to do it? Any students who've done psychology or physics, did you like it, what can you say about it?
And finally, is it true that colleges hire cleaners to clean your rooms as well as the communal areas :P
Thank you!
I am currently in y11 and would like to study compsci at cambridge in 3 years time. I want to be a computer science researcher when I'm older, and the cambridge course is perfect for me, I get to study a bit of maths and science as well which I would really love, and it's apparently a lot more theoretical, which is ideal for me going into research rather than private sector software development.
I already have A*s at GCSE maths, history and english language. I'm predicted an A* at every more or less every subject apart from Graphics, I'm hoping for at least 7 or 8 A*s in all.
Next year I'm going to Greenhead College, which is a state maintained college but it's the third best in the UK, to study Maths Further Maths Physics and Economics.
Please can anyone answer any of these -
-The statistics seem to suggest compsci is about average, so 1 in 5 applicants succeed. But just how good is the standard? Does every applicant to the course pretty much have a clean sweep of As and stars?
-How much do extracurriculars, work experience, etc. matter? I have already made a few little games in Adobe Flash, so I know ActionScript 3.0, so I know object-orientated programming. Is it worth learning something like C or Javascript or something as well, would that help?
-How much does the GCSE results affect a cambridge application? I hear Oxford place a lot of importance on it but Cambridge doesn't really say.
-Would it disadvantage me if I dropped a subject at A2 level, so I was only studying three of those subjects till A2 (probs double maths & physics) + general studies?
-Churchill or Fitz or other? I'd like to go to a more modern, sciency kind of college.
-Cambridge say they look at grades in the context of the quality of school you go to. Does this mean that at Greenhead, with outstanding quality of teaching, etc., any good grades won't count for as much and I'll actually be disadvantaged?
-I'd like to do Psychology for the NatSci quarter in the first year, but would I need to do the A level in Psychology first to be able to do it? Any students who've done psychology or physics, did you like it, what can you say about it?
And finally, is it true that colleges hire cleaners to clean your rooms as well as the communal areas :P
Thank you!
Original post by PoisonSky
Hi guys,
I am currently in y11 and would like to study compsci at cambridge in 3 years time. I want to be a computer science researcher when I'm older, and the cambridge course is perfect for me, I get to study a bit of maths and science as well which I would really love, and it's apparently a lot more theoretical, which is ideal for me going into research rather than private sector software development.
I already have A*s at GCSE maths, history and english language. I'm predicted an A* at every more or less every subject apart from Graphics, I'm hoping for at least 7 or 8 A*s in all.
Next year I'm going to Greenhead College, which is a state maintained college but it's the third best in the UK, to study Maths Further Maths Physics and Economics.
Please can anyone answer any of these -
-The statistics seem to suggest compsci is about average, so 1 in 5 applicants succeed. But just how good is the standard? Does every applicant to the course pretty much have a clean sweep of As and stars?
-How much do extracurriculars, work experience, etc. matter? I have already made a few little games in Adobe Flash, so I know ActionScript 3.0, so I know object-orientated programming. Is it worth learning something like C or Javascript or something as well, would that help?
-How much does the GCSE results affect a cambridge application? I hear Oxford place a lot of importance on it but Cambridge doesn't really say.
-Would it disadvantage me if I dropped a subject at A2 level, so I was only studying three of those subjects till A2 (probs double maths & physics) + general studies?
-Churchill or Fitz or other? I'd like to go to a more modern, sciency kind of college.
-Cambridge say they look at grades in the context of the quality of school you go to. Does this mean that at Greenhead, with outstanding quality of teaching, etc., any good grades won't count for as much and I'll actually be disadvantaged?
-I'd like to do Psychology for the NatSci quarter in the first year, but would I need to do the A level in Psychology first to be able to do it? Any students who've done psychology or physics, did you like it, what can you say about it?
And finally, is it true that colleges hire cleaners to clean your rooms as well as the communal areas :P
Thank you!
I am currently in y11 and would like to study compsci at cambridge in 3 years time. I want to be a computer science researcher when I'm older, and the cambridge course is perfect for me, I get to study a bit of maths and science as well which I would really love, and it's apparently a lot more theoretical, which is ideal for me going into research rather than private sector software development.
I already have A*s at GCSE maths, history and english language. I'm predicted an A* at every more or less every subject apart from Graphics, I'm hoping for at least 7 or 8 A*s in all.
Next year I'm going to Greenhead College, which is a state maintained college but it's the third best in the UK, to study Maths Further Maths Physics and Economics.
Please can anyone answer any of these -
-The statistics seem to suggest compsci is about average, so 1 in 5 applicants succeed. But just how good is the standard? Does every applicant to the course pretty much have a clean sweep of As and stars?
-How much do extracurriculars, work experience, etc. matter? I have already made a few little games in Adobe Flash, so I know ActionScript 3.0, so I know object-orientated programming. Is it worth learning something like C or Javascript or something as well, would that help?
-How much does the GCSE results affect a cambridge application? I hear Oxford place a lot of importance on it but Cambridge doesn't really say.
-Would it disadvantage me if I dropped a subject at A2 level, so I was only studying three of those subjects till A2 (probs double maths & physics) + general studies?
-Churchill or Fitz or other? I'd like to go to a more modern, sciency kind of college.
-Cambridge say they look at grades in the context of the quality of school you go to. Does this mean that at Greenhead, with outstanding quality of teaching, etc., any good grades won't count for as much and I'll actually be disadvantaged?
-I'd like to do Psychology for the NatSci quarter in the first year, but would I need to do the A level in Psychology first to be able to do it? Any students who've done psychology or physics, did you like it, what can you say about it?
And finally, is it true that colleges hire cleaners to clean your rooms as well as the communal areas :P
Thank you!
I applied for CompSci this year, and got pooled but didn't get an offer.
I got a letter explaining why I didn't get an offer, which may help answer some of your questions.
-The statistics seem to suggest compsci is about average, so 1 in 5 applicants succeed. But just how good is the standard? Does every applicant to the course pretty much have a clean sweep of As and stars? The standard is very high. I got 5 As for AS Level, but in my letter was told that the average UMS for CompSci applicants in Maths AS was 97/100.
-How much do extracurriculars, work experience, etc. matter? I have already made a few little games in Adobe Flash, so I know ActionScript 3.0, so I know object-orientated programming. Is it worth learning something like C or Javascript or something as well, would that help? It seems like it doesn't help that much. I've got 9 years programming experience, and they told me that it was impressive, but I don't think it influenced their decision much.
-How much does the GCSE results affect a cambridge application? I hear Oxford place a lot of importance on it but Cambridge doesn't really say.
-Would it disadvantage me if I dropped a subject at A2 level, so I was only studying three of those subjects till A2 (probs double maths & physics) + general studies? Not much. I didn't do that well in my GCSEs, but they said that me GCSEs were fine.
-Churchill or Fitz or other? I'd like to go to a more modern, sciency kind of college. Go to one of the Open Days and look around. It's the best way to choose one.
-Cambridge say they look at grades in the context of the quality of school you go to. Does this mean that at Greenhead, with outstanding quality of teaching, etc., any good grades won't count for as much and I'll actually be disadvantaged? Possibly, but hopefully you'd get better grades if you went to a better sixth form, so it wouldn't make much of a difference overall.
-I'd like to do Psychology for the NatSci quarter in the first year, but would I need to do the A level in Psychology first to be able to do it? Any students who've done psychology or physics, did you like it, what can you say about it? Not sure about that, but there'll probably be more info on the CompSci website.
Anyway, you've still got a year before you really need to start looking in to this properly, but good luck!
Original post by PoisonSky
Hi guys,
I am currently in y11 and would like to study compsci at cambridge in 3 years time. I want to be a computer science researcher when I'm older, and the cambridge course is perfect for me, I get to study a bit of maths and science as well which I would really love, and it's apparently a lot more theoretical, which is ideal for me going into research rather than private sector software development.
I already have A*s at GCSE maths, history and english language. I'm predicted an A* at every more or less every subject apart from Graphics, I'm hoping for at least 7 or 8 A*s in all.
Next year I'm going to Greenhead College, which is a state maintained college but it's the third best in the UK, to study Maths Further Maths Physics and Economics.
Please can anyone answer any of these -
-The statistics seem to suggest compsci is about average, so 1 in 5 applicants succeed. But just how good is the standard? Does every applicant to the course pretty much have a clean sweep of As and stars?
-How much do extracurriculars, work experience, etc. matter? I have already made a few little games in Adobe Flash, so I know ActionScript 3.0, so I know object-orientated programming. Is it worth learning something like C or Javascript or something as well, would that help?
-How much does the GCSE results affect a cambridge application? I hear Oxford place a lot of importance on it but Cambridge doesn't really say.
-Would it disadvantage me if I dropped a subject at A2 level, so I was only studying three of those subjects till A2 (probs double maths & physics) + general studies?
-Churchill or Fitz or other? I'd like to go to a more modern, sciency kind of college.
-Cambridge say they look at grades in the context of the quality of school you go to. Does this mean that at Greenhead, with outstanding quality of teaching, etc., any good grades won't count for as much and I'll actually be disadvantaged?
-I'd like to do Psychology for the NatSci quarter in the first year, but would I need to do the A level in Psychology first to be able to do it? Any students who've done psychology or physics, did you like it, what can you say about it?
And finally, is it true that colleges hire cleaners to clean your rooms as well as the communal areas :P
Thank you!
I am currently in y11 and would like to study compsci at cambridge in 3 years time. I want to be a computer science researcher when I'm older, and the cambridge course is perfect for me, I get to study a bit of maths and science as well which I would really love, and it's apparently a lot more theoretical, which is ideal for me going into research rather than private sector software development.
I already have A*s at GCSE maths, history and english language. I'm predicted an A* at every more or less every subject apart from Graphics, I'm hoping for at least 7 or 8 A*s in all.
Next year I'm going to Greenhead College, which is a state maintained college but it's the third best in the UK, to study Maths Further Maths Physics and Economics.
Please can anyone answer any of these -
-The statistics seem to suggest compsci is about average, so 1 in 5 applicants succeed. But just how good is the standard? Does every applicant to the course pretty much have a clean sweep of As and stars?
-How much do extracurriculars, work experience, etc. matter? I have already made a few little games in Adobe Flash, so I know ActionScript 3.0, so I know object-orientated programming. Is it worth learning something like C or Javascript or something as well, would that help?
-How much does the GCSE results affect a cambridge application? I hear Oxford place a lot of importance on it but Cambridge doesn't really say.
-Would it disadvantage me if I dropped a subject at A2 level, so I was only studying three of those subjects till A2 (probs double maths & physics) + general studies?
-Churchill or Fitz or other? I'd like to go to a more modern, sciency kind of college.
-Cambridge say they look at grades in the context of the quality of school you go to. Does this mean that at Greenhead, with outstanding quality of teaching, etc., any good grades won't count for as much and I'll actually be disadvantaged?
-I'd like to do Psychology for the NatSci quarter in the first year, but would I need to do the A level in Psychology first to be able to do it? Any students who've done psychology or physics, did you like it, what can you say about it?
And finally, is it true that colleges hire cleaners to clean your rooms as well as the communal areas :P
Thank you!
I got an offer this year and I live in the US, so things may be a bit different, but I can tell you that I had very little compsci-focused prior experience, but had worked in a biology laboratory at a University near me for a couple of years doing genomic research and also participated in another research project in archaeology. Cambridge wants the highest calibre academics possible in any given set of circumstances that a kid is placed in, but they also want to see that you have motivation to do things other than go to cambridge. It's a little early to think about your personal statement in a serious manner, but do keep in mind that you will be writing one, and you want it to be possible to formulate your prior experiences into a cohesive narrative that supports your desire to study compsci. I also suggest that you look into specific professors at cambridge and see who you might be interested in working with (if you wanted to go into graph theory you wouldn't want a prof. specializing in graphics necessarily) and consider applying to a college where they tutor, and maybe trying to set up a time to meet with them on the open days. Knowing what you want and taking the initiative to visit a professor is always a positive to your application.
Original post by PoisonSky
Thanks for the very quick and useful responses! If prior programming knowledge is not a great factor in standing out from all the other straight A* students, then what can I do now to increase my chances?
It is important, but AS results are more important.
For example, someone with 99% in all exams + programming knowledge would get an offer over someone with 99% and no experience.
But someone with 94% and programming experience wouldn't get an offer over someone with 99% and no experience.
Work experience, and other knowledge (like try looking up complexity theory, or some other section of computer science - talk about it a lot in your interview) will really help!
Hi there,
I'm a first year NST student and took the CST option out of curiosity - it's been harder than my other options (Chem, Phys, Maths B) but generally manageable.
Looking for some advice on revision: namely whether it's better to concentrate on areas which I'm more comfortable with or spread myself more thinly? It'd be good to get a decent grade but I wouldn't want to kill myself over it and neglect my other subjects which I'm continuing with next year.
Foundations has been the hardest course so far but I got a lot of practice, on the other hand DM1 seemed straightforward but I haven't answered many questions - would it be possible to share how you revised for these topics?
Many thanks.
I'm a first year NST student and took the CST option out of curiosity - it's been harder than my other options (Chem, Phys, Maths B) but generally manageable.
Looking for some advice on revision: namely whether it's better to concentrate on areas which I'm more comfortable with or spread myself more thinly? It'd be good to get a decent grade but I wouldn't want to kill myself over it and neglect my other subjects which I'm continuing with next year.
Foundations has been the hardest course so far but I got a lot of practice, on the other hand DM1 seemed straightforward but I haven't answered many questions - would it be possible to share how you revised for these topics?
Many thanks.
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