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. +