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On February 06 2010 04:33 Chill wrote:
ok this thread is dumb. how are we supposed to answer any of your questions? ugh
What do you mean "how are we supposed to answer any of your questions?".
All I wanted to know was from people who are in CS or know ppl who are in CS at waterloo what their averages were. And also what people think of computational mathematics and and software engineering. Wasn't that obvious?
I was the one answering all your questions and then you call this thread dumb.
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Calgary25981 Posts
On February 06 2010 04:50 Echo515 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2010 04:33 Chill wrote:
ok this thread is dumb. how are we supposed to answer any of your questions? ugh What do you mean "how are we supposed to answer any of your questions?". All I wanted to know was from people who are in CS or know ppl who are in CS at waterloo what their averages were. And also what people think of computational mathematics and and software engineering. Wasn't that obvious? I was the one answering all your questions and then you call this thread dumb.
"Should I go into Music or Theatre? By the way I don't know what I want to do except I want a job and a wife."
How should I tell you which is better for you if you don't tell me anythnig about yourself except that you like math and you want a wife. Go into plumbling. You will probably make more money than with a mathematics degree.
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On February 06 2010 04:50 Echo515 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2010 04:33 Chill wrote:
ok this thread is dumb. how are we supposed to answer any of your questions? ugh What do you mean "how are we supposed to answer any of your questions?". All I wanted to know was from people who are in CS or know ppl who are in CS at waterloo what their averages were. And also what people think of computational mathematics and and software engineering. Wasn't that obvious? I was the one answering all your questions and then you call this thread dumb.
Kid with 97 average can't figure out he's for sure getting in? I'm pretty sure you're only interested in people's averages so you can say "ok, mine is higher" so you can sleep easier at night dude >.>
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Being a student at University of Toronto and an UofT graduate, I am forced to recommend you to come to UofT instead.
UofT has some of the best computer scientists in the world, including Stephen Cook.
On a different note, since you have a 97% average, you can consider accelerating yourself through your undergraduate degree. Take higher course loads, and take some graduate courses (idealy starting in your third year) and if possible try to do some research and reading courses. Then from either Waterloo or UofT you can go to the best graduate school for computer science in the US for a PhD degree.
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You'll definitely get in, as long as you don't fuck up your supplementary application.
I go to waterloo and im not asian
I'm in bioinformatics (honours co-op)
http://ugradcalendar.uwaterloo.ca/?pageID=10154
Basically, bioinformatics is CS + math + biochem
which is in the faculty of mathematics, and i'm going to get a bachelors of computer science.
My average was low 90's from high school, and I'm in 1B right now.
My roommate is in pure CS, so i can answer some questions.
here is the undergrad calendar for CS:
http://ugradcalendar.uwaterloo.ca/?pageID=655
being part of the faculty of mathematics, you'll have to take all the core math courses, such as Math 135, 136, 137, 138, 237 (algebra and calculus)
Math 239 (combinatorics)
And a bunch of CS courses + electives.
I think the hardest thing is adapting to the type of math they teach u in university. It's wayy more theoretical than high school. I found it very difficult and challenging at first, but now I love this style. But a lot of people hate i and as a result do poorly. High school is a POOR GAUGE of university success. Trust me.
And then you have to apply the knowledge you learn in algebra and calculus, since a lot of the problems rely on you to know how to express things differently. For example, one problem may ask you to write code that takes an integer and outputs the very first digit of the interger.
ex. input 5002 -> output 5. For this you need to know the quotient (not division) function.
Now thats a very trivial example, but it get's harder and it'll get to the point where you need a strong understanding on some of the mathematical concepts taught in Math lectures such as modular arithmetic, integration, and combinatorics.
It's actually really annoying since you don't get to code anything "fun" for a long time; it's essentially solving a bunch of math problems. I still have my CS 135 assignments.
In 1A/1B If you take CS 135/136 you'll be doing Scheme and then a little bit of C. Scheme has little to no practical application, and the most frustrating thing is when you're on your first co-op term you realize you can't apply for a lot of the jobs in jobmine because you don't meet their qualifications (ie. Proficient with SQL, Java, Perl, C++)
Therefore I suggest you choose the sequence which goes 1A 1B 2A (co-op)
By the way, Math 135 is a great intro to university course. It's COMPLETELY different from high school. Try hard and don't slack. I hated it for the first 3/4 of the term, but then grew to love it since you learn to think of things differently. But it was really hard to wrap my head around at first.
I can provide a breakdown of the first year courses you'll need to take if you want, since I had to take them for my program too (as well as pretty much ALL of the CS requirements)
If you want any specifics just ask
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MAT135:
A study of the basic algebraic systems of mathematics: the integers, the integers modulo n, the rational numbers, the real numbers, the complex numbers and polynomials.
I don't see how this is supposed to be hard at all.
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waterloo "basic" != your "basic" most likely
suppose 0 <= c <= 30
find and prove all possible integers x,y such that 52x + 72y = C
Find the remainder of 5^500^500 when divided by 13
find the GCD(5^200,100^5)
Find the value of x,y such that C has only ONE positive integer solution
104x + 65y = C
let a,b,n be positive integers, if the GCD(a,b) = 1, and a|n and b|n, then prove that ab|n.
And those are midterm questions, the assignment questions were 100x harder.
there's a lot of theorem memorizing and applying, a lot of work with gcds which you really haven't thought of before.
what im trying to say is that it's a lot different from high school where the hardest thing is finding the intersection of two planes, or the roots of some polynomial
Even the notation for some of the proofs they did in class was different.
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Thanks Koltz for the useful information and for not being a dick like some other people.
I think I will enjoy CS at Waterloo.
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On February 06 2010 06:01 Echo515 wrote:
Thanks Koltz for the useful information and for not being a dick like some other people.
I think I will enjoy CS at Waterloo.
I know they seem like a dick but they are right.
You need to have the basic idea of what job you want and your degrees aid you in getting it. Not the other way around. :/
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Calgary25981 Posts
On February 06 2010 06:01 Echo515 wrote:
Thanks Koltz for the useful information and for not being a dick like some other people.
I think I will enjoy CS at Waterloo.
I was genuinely trying to help you.
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I think just as long as you are passionate about CS, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do after graduating
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Just keep in mind a lot of the stuff you do in some of the CS courses isn't very... "CS" from a high school point of view.
And that comes with efficiency and optimization.
such as algebraically figuring out the run-time of a certain function
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Calgary25981 Posts
On February 06 2010 06:12 stalife wrote:
I think just as long as you are passionate about CS, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do after graduating
This is the kind of statement I'm trying to defeat!
Let's look at this: "As long as you are passionate about card games, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do for a career."
Now, obviously it's not directly applicable since there are jobs readily available in CS, but you seriously need to consider what you are going to do. Or at least what part of CS you enjoy, but also what your future entails. You need to think if your future career is profitable or even in existence. It's not a good idea to just let your passion take you down one road if it's a dead end. You need foresight. This is what I'm trying to get at - following your passion blindly is a optimistic gamble at best. Yes, a lot of times you have no idea and so that's your best bet, but at least give it some thought!
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I'm in math at waterloo, in 1B term. For the first 2 years, math and CS courses are very similar.
I can tell you with certainty that with a 97.3% average, you WILL get into CS, and you WILL get several thousand dollars worth of scholarship money (apply for many hopefully). however, you are NOT guaranteed to be able to slack and do no work once you're actually in, because the courses are kind of hella hard, and good highschool marks don't make you any better off than anyone else in trying to succeed in university.
To be honest, even if you said you had an 83% average i would say you'd get in for sure.
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On February 06 2010 06:23 Chill wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2010 06:12 stalife wrote:
I think just as long as you are passionate about CS, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do after graduating This is the kind of statement I'm trying to defeat! Let's look at this: "As long as you are passionate about card games, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do for a career." Now, obviously it's not directly applicable since there are jobs readily available in CS, but you seriously need to consider what you are going to do. Or at least what part of CS you enjoy, but also what your future entails. You need to think if your future career is profitable or even in existence. It's not a good idea to just let your passion take you down one road if it's a dead end. You need foresight. This is what I'm trying to get at - following your passion blindly is a optimistic gamble at best. Yes, a lot of times you have no idea and so that's your best bet, but at least give it some thought!
What I'm hoping is that while I'm studying I will get a better feel for what type of job I will want and what exactly I like in CS. I just know that in general it interests me and I like "math-y" stuff. I don't have a great idea of what jobs in the CS field will be like because imo I don't know THAT much about it yet. (at least not on a higher level).
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For example, one problem may ask you to write code that takes an integer and outputs the very first digit of the interger.
oo i am in high school and this question was from our textbook. anyways, me and the person next to me came up with something like # / 10 ^ (Mod (log #))
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I had 97.5% average in high school, and I got into every program I applied (in Canada). UW Math offered me $10,000 scholarship. You should not worry about admission AT ALL, and expect some nice scholarship.
I think UW is a much better choice than any other school in Canada because of its co-op program (I've taken a lot of courses from the CS department, they aren't that spectacular tbh). If you just want a decent programming job (the wife part is really up to you) after graduation, UW co-op can almost guarantee that. Also, unless you are doing research, what you learn from class will be of very little help to you at your workplace, what you learn through co-op is much more valuable when it comes to passing interviews.
I am in UW Engineering, and I have taken a lot of courses from CS, and did all my 6 co-op terms in a CS field. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them 
edit:
Software Engineering vs. Computer Science at Waterloo
Software Engineering is basically CS with a bunch of courses that you hate from Engineering (like engineering ethics and software management). Unless you want an iron ring (it's kind of cool), I would choose Computer Science. You have a lot of electives in Computer Science, and you can take these courses from any department, SE included. CS have cheaper tuitions, and you have a lot more electives to broaden your perspective on subjects outside of Computer Science. You can also have flexible co-op terms should you want to work for a computer for eight months or a year consecutively.
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On February 06 2010 06:35 Echo515 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2010 06:23 Chill wrote:On February 06 2010 06:12 stalife wrote:
I think just as long as you are passionate about CS, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do after graduating This is the kind of statement I'm trying to defeat! Let's look at this: "As long as you are passionate about card games, then you don't need to worry about what you'll do for a career." Now, obviously it's not directly applicable since there are jobs readily available in CS, but you seriously need to consider what you are going to do. Or at least what part of CS you enjoy, but also what your future entails. You need to think if your future career is profitable or even in existence. It's not a good idea to just let your passion take you down one road if it's a dead end. You need foresight. This is what I'm trying to get at - following your passion blindly is a optimistic gamble at best. Yes, a lot of times you have no idea and so that's your best bet, but at least give it some thought! What I'm hoping is that while I'm studying I will get a better feel for what type of job I will want and what exactly I like in CS. I just know that in general it interests me and I like "math-y" stuff. I don't have a great idea of what jobs in the CS field will be like because imo I don't know THAT much about it yet. (at least not on a higher level).
I think that's fine. But be aware, CS is not exactly programming. Computer Science is actually mostly rigorous math applied in a computer application setting. Most of the time, you will be asked to prove the correctness of a well-known algorithm, its runtime, etc instead of writing code.
edit:
I agree with Chill in that you should not live at home. Even if you have financial problems, you should try to live on campus during your first year (that's when people bond the most). Since you think university education is a worthwhile investment, then so is living on campus during your first year. This should not be a big problem financially because you are pretty much guaranteed a scholarship (Renee Descartes iirc) and the earnings from co-op will be more than enough to cover your living expenses for your workterm and your following academic term, if you don't live lavishly.
(I'm graduating with 0 debt, and I lived every term on campus)
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On February 06 2010 06:12 Chill wrote:Show nested quote +On February 06 2010 06:01 Echo515 wrote:
Thanks Koltz for the useful information and for not being a dick like some other people.
I think I will enjoy CS at Waterloo. I was genuinely trying to help you.
dude read your posts in this thread. you come off as pretty uhh closed minded? idk if that says it right, but you're acting like you know what's best for him socially, which is really hard to pin down.
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EPT
