CS projects for personal statment

Hi, I am currently an A-level student and I will be applying for computer science or software engineering at uni, I want to show my passion for programming, however, I am doing an NEA already so I can't dedicate myself to a large project but still want to do something on the side. Also, I don't know to what level they need to be so that I can mention them in my personal statement ie knots and crosses would be too simple but would a snake game be good enough or do I need something a little harder like a ray-caster?

Edit: also any book recommendations that are not tutorials or "coding for dummies" type books would also be very helpful

thank you

(edited 11 months ago)

Reply 1

Emily813

5

Original post by ErayAXZ

Hi, I am currently an A-level student and I will be applying for computer science or software engineering at uni, I want to show my passion for programming, however, I am doing an NEA already so I can't dedicate myself to a large project but still want to do something on the side. Also, I don't know to what level they need to be so that I can mention them in my personal statement ie knots and crosses would be too simple but would a snake game be good enough or do I need something a little harder like a ray-caster?

Edit: also any book recommendations that are not tutorials or "coding for dummies" type books would also be very helpful

thank you

Hi, can't help with the first question, but Cambridge provides a list of "super-curricular reading suggestions" -- a PDF with recommended reading for each of their undergraduate programs (including CS). Even if you're not applying to Oxbridge, this might contain some helpful reading (and also reading which referencing in your PS could help demonstrate your passion for the subject): https://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/files/publications/super-curricular_suggestions.pdf

Reply 2

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by ErayAXZ

Hi, I am currently an A-level student and I will be applying for computer science or software engineering at uni, I want to show my passion for programming, however, I am doing an NEA already so I can't dedicate myself to a large project but still want to do something on the side. Also, I don't know to what level they need to be so that I can mention them in my personal statement ie knots and crosses would be too simple but would a snake game be good enough or do I need something a little harder like a ray-caster?

Edit: also any book recommendations that are not tutorials or "coding for dummies" type books would also be very helpful

thank you

Hello! I am a FInal-Year Computer Science student from Lancaster University and I would say that a snake game project would be a good example to show that you are interested in coding. Apart from that, maybe you can also do some small projects online such as coding challenges. It can be related to what you learned in school or just something you are interested in. As long as there is something that you did outside of academia, that would be a good thing to talk about in your personal statement to show that you are passionate about it.
All the best on your applications!

- Miyuki (Lancaster Univesity FST Student Ambassador)

Reply 3

Lancaster Student Ambassador

Official Rep

15

Original post by ErayAXZ

Hi, I am currently an A-level student and I will be applying for computer science or software engineering at uni, I want to show my passion for programming, however, I am doing an NEA already so I can't dedicate myself to a large project but still want to do something on the side. Also, I don't know to what level they need to be so that I can mention them in my personal statement ie knots and crosses would be too simple but would a snake game be good enough or do I need something a little harder like a ray-caster?

Edit: also any book recommendations that are not tutorials or "coding for dummies" type books would also be very helpful

thank you

Hi! Just thought I could add to Miyuki's reply (I'm also in my final year as a Computer Science student). There are definitely a lot of projects you could do. Personally, I'd say a snake game would suffice but if you want to go for it, harder projects would be good for the experience even if you don't get to finish it before university applications. As long as their projects you're interested in, it'll show through in your personal statement.

For other projects/extracurriculars, I'm a massive fan of freeCodeCamp and their courses which would be a good addition to any personal statement and LinkedIn profile as they provide certification. They also have a YouTube channel where they post videos of step-by-step tutorials for a variety of projects (e.g. building a chatbot, games).

As for books, I really recommend this list that contains a portion of books I read before and after starting my degree. I remember I only really had space to write about 1 book in my personal statement though haha. I also recommend finding a way to keep up with the latest tech news and innovations. Magazines such as the Royal Academy of Engineering's Ingenia (you can subscribe to get a hard copy of their magazine for free!), or TLDR which is a newsletter sent to your email compiling any tech articles, and plenty of others if you search for them!

Hope that helps :smile:

- Sophia (Student Ambassador)

(edited 10 months ago)

Reply 4

Johnny Valentine

14

It’s good to be able to say that you have created some solutions to problems you foresaw or even games. What’s even better, on a personal statement, is to be able to discuss what you learned from it.

Do you know of an issue looking for a solution? For example, “for my incoming email, it would be good to parse them with a sentiment reader san flag those for me where the languages the person uses seems urgent or important. In that way I can priorities my workload. By creating this software I learned about the different aspects of AI beyond simple automation and also about leveraging cloud based providers to enable road development. This led me to look at blah blah blah”

Does that help?

Reply 5

ErayAXZ

OP

7

yes, very much thank you

- sorry for the late reply

(edited 7 months ago)

CS projects for personal statment

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