Why Computer Science at William and Mary

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- Recently a rising high-school senior asked for input on what going to - the College of William and Mary was like for a Computer Science degree. - They were asking about the program itself as well as what it's like on - and off campus. Here's what I sent to them. -

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Quick Intro

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- I graduated with a Bachelor's in Computer Science from W&M in 2018. - I'm a couple years in the workforce now but can still remember my - experiences well enough to hopefully add my honest opinion on my time - there as well as how it prepared me for my career. I will also add a - little bit about my time on campus in a dorm and off-campus in Colonial - Williamsburg. -

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Courses and Curriculum

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- I felt very positively about the array of courses that were offered - while I was a student. I took a variety of core prerequisites, just like - everyone else, and a good mix of electives. The courses I took include - Data Structures and Algorithms, Software Development/Engineering, - Computer Organization/Architecture, UNIX Systems Programming, Computer - Graphics/Animation, and Computer and Network Security. This list is not - exhaustive and I'm sure they aren't all offered anymore. I was also - required to take a few math classes (Calc I, II, Discrete Math, Linear - Algebra, and Finite Automata). -

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- It is true that the courses listed at cs.wm.edu aren't all - offered at the same time. And it is also true that the higher-level - electives pretty much all required my core prerequisites to be - completed. The result is that the electives all came in my final two - years. My understanding is the curriculum is designed to give someone - the best possible background in computing as a whole. A lot of the - topics may seem like they would never be useful in the "real world" but - I have found the opposite is true. I am an application developer at a - three-letter company. My day-to-day work is building and debugging web - apps, but there's been a lot more to it than that. My first assignment - on the job was scraping bytes off a remote shell and writing a parser to - sift through them. The level of understanding I gathered from my core - classes helped more than I expected they would. I think as a whole they - give me an edge at work and help me teach my colleagues about - algorithms, performance, and systems administration. -

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- That being said, course registration was always nightmarish. It was very - difficult to get into the limited seats in the classes I was most - interested in. Eventually the heads of the department had to pass around - a sign up sheet and organize every student into courses, classrooms, and - professors so that seniors would graduate on time and we could all get - something on our schedules. I hope the shortage of teachers has - caught up since I graduated. I learned from a long-time faculty member - that this is largely a result of the exponential growth of incoming CS - degree-seekers. The program has grown very popular in the last ten years - and I like to think grads are catching on to that. -

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Teaching

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- CS@W&M had neutral to good instructors for me. Some were far worse - than others, as with all subjects. When I was there, lots of the older - faculty were retiring and quickly being replaced with younger, newer - instructors, which added to the growing pains of the program. The most - important thing again was making sure there were enough teachers to - teach all of the students. -

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- I know a few of my peers were very upset about what they described as a - lack of communication or availability from their professors. Some have - also mentioned they didn't like having to learn material on their own - and wanted more to come from instruction. I don't deny that the material - itself was difficult and there was a lot of hard work I had to do on my - own to understand very involved concepts in intense, fast-paced courses. - I think that hard work has paid off. I don't think there's realistically - anywhere someone can learn about computing where they won't do any - learning on their own. I am also a very visual, and hands-on learner so - I suppose your mileage may vary. -

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- The most important takeaway from this for me was the ability to pick up - new concepts and technologies quickly and apply them productively. The - majority of professors had project-driven courses. Lots of due dates - meant learning how to transform what I read or learned in class into - practical applications in short amounts of time. This has become, - according to those I work with, one of my greater assets. I am - constantly learning new things in my career and I don't have a lecturer - to explain things to me. It's very powerful to have that and I am - thankful for it. It also helps me teach that knowledge to my colleagues - so we can move faster as a team. -

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Campus

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- I agree with my peers about the conditions of classrooms and buildings - on campus. Some are old. I guess that comes with an old university but - there are a choice few that haven't been kept up as best they could. - Since CS is growing so fast it's also long outgrown its own offices. - Classrooms are scattered throughout every academic building on campus - and I probably had a CS course in at least 80% of them. That meant - jumping from one side of campus to another and back again in between - periods. -

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- The College itself isn't too sprawling. I am long-legged and I found I - could get from one end of campus to another in fifteen minutes on foot. - I rode bike a lot to get to classes where I only had ten minutes to do - it. It's also pretty marshy and woodsy in a lot of areas, so during the - rainy season some walking paths got muddy or flooded. Good boots - required. I have never been in as good shape as when I had to do all - that walking but I definitely got soaked and winded making those - transitions. -

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- I appreciate history and architecture and was drawn in by the look and - feel of William and Mary as a result. Without getting too romantic, it's - definitely a beautiful place to attend classes. The ancient Wren - building still holds classes and it's a monument to the College's - tradition. However, I really appreciated the modern academic buildings - on the other side of campus where all of the new construction was taking - place. Modern lab equipment and the library lived there. -

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- The dorms were nothing to write home about. Lots of them were nested in - the woods and built ages ago so they were a little tired and even dingy. - Others are brand new and well maintained; ask around and get opinions on - which ones to go for first chance you get. I made do with what I got for - the first couple of years by keeping it clean and decorated. My last two - years I lived in a couple of off-campus apartments. It was well worth - the switch. Depending on where you are on campus you may need at least a - bike to access local restaurants, shops, and the grocery store. A bike - is a good idea anyway but it's not necessary for every dorm. -

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Colonial Williamsburg

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- Lots of my peers didn't appreciate CW as a "college town" but I enjoyed - my time there. I can't speak about parties or clubbing, I was boring and - didn't do any of that. I made a great group of friends and we would walk - into town to get ice cream, see historical attractions (most of which - are free as a student, IIRC), and see movies or plays when we weren't - studying or playing video games in the dorm. There are some good, - sort-of-affordable restaurants but they're kind of driving distance. -

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- The best part about living there was meeting my wife. We would go on - long walks to get away from studying and wound up seeing - horse-and-carriages and the Governor's Palace and things like that. We - would also escape with her car to go to some of the surrounding towns to - get away to nice grocery stores and fun places to eat and explore on the - weekends. I also have family in the area so it was easy for me to stop - by home and say hi, although I know lots of students wanted to get as - far away from home as possible. -

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Parting Words

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- I don't consider myself a gung ho alumnus. There are lots of things I - think could be improved, both in CS and at W&M as a whole but I do - not regret my going there. There is no such thing as "everything is - great" or "everything is terrible". It's not so definitive. I had my - fair share of gripes and at times it strained me. There were pros and - cons but I think I have a lot to be thankful for (I landed my job - through W&M recruiting and the career center as well, which are - fantastic resources). I cannot say "do this instead of that." I haven't - gone to any other colleges and don't know enough about them to recommend - them as better or worse. What I can recommend is the same path I took - for folks who want to pursue a degree in Computer Science. I think - you'll come away from it all the more knowledgable, resourceful, and - dedicated. -