What would look good for when you are applying to college for computer science
Hello, I just started my junior year in high school and i am eager to pursue computer science as a career, i have already familiarized myself with HTML and CSS but i was wondering what would actually look good on my resume? such as the classes i could take or the clubs i should join. Something along those lines my math skills are not very good nor are they bad, i am currently taking algebra 2 as junior. Is there anything i can do to prepare myself? but most importanlty anything that will make my college application look better when i apply somewhere? especially along the lines of computer science. #computers
2 answers
Stephen’s Answer
From my experience, what looks good on a resume is something that makes it stand out from the others and that shows an both ability and a willingness to learn.So by all means list the technologies you already know, but also focus on having a portfolio of work that shows you know how to apply what you've learned.
That could be some websites you have built, or contributed to (for example, you could contribute to open source projects on GitHub)
Or it could be a public profile on StackOverflow, showing that you have a track record of being able to answer and solve other people's programming problems - or even that you have asked questions, which shows that you're willing to learn; this is a very important trait.
Or perhaps you could offer to help maintain your school's website or that of some of the clubs in the school - that always looks good because it shows initiative and gives you experience of working on something real, which is a valuable thing to have.
Incidentally, starting to build that portfolio now will pay off very well in the future when you graduate and join the workforce, because it will tell any prospective employer that not only do you know the theory but that you're also able to put it into practice, something that many graduates tend to struggle with. Certainly in my experience, that's the first thing I look at on a Graduate's CV - what have they created? I place far more value on that, and on watching how excited they are to talk about their projects , how they solved this and that problem, what technology they used, how they overcame problems, etc, than their final grade.
In terms of clubs you can take, certainly anything technology related will help, and getting involved in computer clubs can be a great way to get projects to work on without having to come up with ideas yourself (which is kind of hard to do sometimes!). Some people will tell you it's good to put down that you were President of such-and-such a club, my advice in this regard is don't worry about that. Nobody really looks for that kind of thing unless you're specifically interviewing for a leadership role, which would be unlikely for a new Graduate :)
And don't neglect the soft-skills aspect either; it always catches my eye when someone shows that they have a life beyond computers, so things like book clubs, theatre, music - that's all good stuff.
Don't stress too much at the math skills; although everyone seems to place a lot of focus on these when it comes to Computer Science courses and careers, it's not really that important for the vast majority of developers - I can honestly say that in my line of work as an Enterprise Software Developer, it's very rare that I have to worry about algebra, calculus or imaginary numbers.
One last thing. Be honest - don't put things on your resume that you can't "deep dive" in an interview (either for college or for a job). Trust instead in your passion for what you do know, and your thirst for the things you don't, because that's what will help you to succeed in the long run.
Best of luck!