University of Sheffield Computer Science Student - Ask Me Anything (AMA)!

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Hello Everybody!

I am Jivanthika, a 4th year Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence student on an integrated masters. I have done a research internship as part of an initiative at the University related to AI in healthcare. I really enjoyed my research topic and doing a project like this really helped me develop my coding skills (I did not take A Level Computer Science so I felt quite behind my classmates at first).

Outside of my degree, I am also the President of the Women in Engineering Society where we do lots of fun activities and socials to let our members have a safe space to relax and socialise. We even write books about engineering that are distributed to local primary schools. I also take part in other societies like Swing Dancing.

In my first year, I stayed in Allen Court which is the city accommodation and less than a 5 minute walk to the Diamond and around a 10 minute walk to the SU. I found it really convenient and lived with the same flatmates in second year too.

If you have any questions about my course, societies available at Sheffield or university accommodation, just let me know!

Jivanthika

Reply 1

cloudc888

6

Hi Jivanthika, I'm thinking of applying to Uni of Sheffield for Bsc Comp Sci because my tutor told me uni of edinburgh was too out of reach. Do you think I'll have a chance of getting an offer with predicted grades A*AB in economics, maths and graphics? I'm eligible for a contextual offer based on their criteria but I dont know if its guaranteed. Also, how behind did you feel at first, because I also didn't take alevel comp sci so I'm scared I will be very slow and will feel confused in lectures. Thank you :smile:

Reply 2

University of Sheffield Students

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by cloudc888

Hi Jivanthika, I'm thinking of applying to Uni of Sheffield for Bsc Comp Sci because my tutor told me uni of edinburgh was too out of reach. Do you think I'll have a chance of getting an offer with predicted grades A*AB in economics, maths and graphics? I'm eligible for a contextual offer based on their criteria but I dont know if its guaranteed. Also, how behind did you feel at first, because I also didn't take alevel comp sci so I'm scared I will be very slow and will feel confused in lectures. Thank you :smile:

Hiya,

I would definitely say it is worth putting in an application. I had narrowly missed the entry requirements when applying with my predicted grades but I was still given a conditional offer so it is always worth applying if the university is somewhere you are considering. When I was applying, I applied for 2 aspirational universities, 2 universities within my grade range and 1 that had lower entry requirements.

From my first year, I found that a lot of the content covered is the same as what is covered in A Level Computer Science so while some students definitely had a head start, by the end of the year you will get caught up on the important concepts. I found the lecturers helpful when I was struggling with certain topics and there always lab demonstrators who can help explain if you are unsure about questions during your labs.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have any other questions!
Jivanthika

Reply 3

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by PreciousDiamond

hello, I got an offer from the exact same course , i just wanted to ask how much the uni helps on placement years and the kinds of placements available?
how long did it take for you to catch up with ur classmates, because i too dont take comp sci a level, and know little to no coding... so a bit worried about that.
How much free time do u get? do u have time to relax?
thank you :smile:

Hello,

There is definitely a lot of support from the university and the engineering department in terms of help for placement years. There is CV and cover letter sessions where you can book appointments to get your CV reviewed and get feedback. I used this in my second year and I still use the same structure for my applications now. The engineering department also has a team where they can review your CV for engineering companies specifically which helps a lot too. There is also a weekly email you can sign up for where job listings are advertised and this is a useful service as it lists out when the applications opened, when they will close and details about the job itself.

In terms of kinds of placements available, what do you mean specifically? The companies or the work itself you will be doing? For computer science, you can lean into the software engineering side or you can be a technical manager to bridge communications between the technical team and other departments. So there is a wide range of jobs available in the computer science sector.

While I was quite nervous at first and seemed discouraged by the amount of knowledge my classmates had in my first year, I learnt that no one completely knows everything and everyone is always learning. As the first year is a recap of A Level Computer Science, you do get caught quite fast and you have a lot of coding assignments throughout the first year to get used to the logical way of thinking. I enjoyed the wide of projects we worked on as I was able to learn languages like Java, Ruby, HTML, CSS and Javascript in my first year.

In terms of free time, Computer Science is a busy course and there will be periods of time where you will be more busy, typically towards the end of the semester however there is always time to relax. I am President of the Women in Engineering society so that takes up some time but I am able to manage it alongside my studies as well as attending other society events. Always prioritise your mental health and if you are struggling with the workload, you can let the department know and they can help with extending deadlines if necessary and getting you the right support that you need.

I hope that helps and let me know if you have any other questions,
Jivanthika :smile:

Reply 4

itsmeAM

3

Hi, Jivanthika didi, I am an Indian student. Since my curriculum is also India based (not IB or GCSE), will it affect the chances of my acceptance? Also, if you are comfortable, could you please tell me what are the grades and extracurriculars are actually required to get into the University of Sheffield? I'd like to apply for a course in Computer Science and AI. And could you also let me know about the average package received upon completing university.

Reply 5

University of Sheffield Students

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by itsmeAM

Hi, Jivanthika didi, I am an Indian student. Since my curriculum is also India based (not IB or GCSE), will it affect the chances of my acceptance? Also, if you are comfortable, could you please tell me what are the grades and extracurriculars are actually required to get into the University of Sheffield? I'd like to apply for a course in Computer Science and AI. And could you also let me know about the average package received upon completing university.

Hello,

As long as you meet the entry requirements, you should not face any disadvantages due to your educational background. In terms of A Level entry requirements for the University of Sheffield, it is:

•

A*AA including Maths or

•

if you have taken Maths and Computer Science, then it is AAA

If you have taken an EPQ, this can also lower entry requirements by a grade.

Entry Requirements - you can refer to here for further qualifications if you have not taken A Levels.

I am not too sure I understand what you mean by average package - could you explain a bit more please? :smile:

Jivanthika

(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 6

Oyinademhi

1

Original post

by University of Sheffield Students

Hello Everybody!
I am Jivanthika, a 4th year Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence student on an integrated masters. I have done a research internship as part of an initiative at the University related to AI in healthcare. I really enjoyed my research topic and doing a project like this really helped me develop my coding skills (I did not take A Level Computer Science so I felt quite behind my classmates at first).
Outside of my degree, I am also the President of the Women in Engineering Society where we do lots of fun activities and socials to let our members have a safe space to relax and socialise. We even write books about engineering that are distributed to local primary schools. I also take part in other societies like Swing Dancing.
In my first year, I stayed in Allen Court which is the city accommodation and less than a 5 minute walk to the Diamond and around a 10 minute walk to the SU. I found it really convenient and lived with the same flatmates in second year too.
If you have any questions about my course, societies available at Sheffield or university accommodation, just let me know!
Jivanthika

Hi Jivanthika, I’m Falilat . I have a question firstly did you do your undergraduate program at university of Sheffield and what are their requirements, because you state that you didn’t do A level Compuetr science but you still got in. If I may ask why did you study in college. I’m trying to get into university of Sheffield to study computer science and Artificial Intelligence as well and currently I’m in year 13 and I study Extended BTEC IT also I don’t do any A level subject. I would appreciate if you can share more of your journey how you got offered a place at the university.
Thank you x

Reply 7

University of Sheffield Students

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by Oyinademhi

Hi Jivanthika, I’m Falilat . I have a question firstly did you do your undergraduate program at university of Sheffield and what are their requirements, because you state that you didn’t do A level Compuetr science but you still got in. If I may ask why did you study in college. I’m trying to get into university of Sheffield to study computer science and Artificial Intelligence as well and currently I’m in year 13 and I study Extended BTEC IT also I don’t do any A level subject. I would appreciate if you can share more of your journey how you got offered a place at the university.
Thank you x

Hi Falilat,

Yes, I am currently doing my undergraduate program at the University of Sheffield and for my A Levels I did Maths, Physics and Chemistry. This is because Maths is the only subject that is mandatory to study Computer Science and in 1st year they aim to cover all the basics that you will require. In terms of how I was able to relate these to Computer Science is because I undertook an EPQ that focused on AI topics like machine learning and neural networks.

Entry Requirements - these are the entry requirements for Computer Science and AI, for BTEC Extended Diploma, the entry requirements are:

BTEC Extended Diploma
D*DD in Engineering, Applied Science (including Biomedical Science, Analytical & Forensic Science and Physical Science streams), IT or Computing + A in A Level Maths

Hope that helps and do let me know if you have any other questions about life in general at Sheffield or the course content itself.

Jivanthika

University of Sheffield Computer Science Student - Ask Me Anything (AMA)!

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