Everyone thinks of summers spent in the great outdoors — and we sure hope you’re doing cannonballs into the lake and eating ice cream every night — but if you’re an aspiring computer science major you’re probably going to want to spend some quality time inside, too. Actually, scratch that — you can go frolic in a meadow if you bring your laptop and a hotspot with you.

You’re still two years from applying to colleges, but this free time is invaluable. You won’t have as many chances as you think in the coming years to focus on personal projects or dive into experimentation without owing teachers homework the next day. Especially as computer science continues to be a popular and competitive major at universities, you’ll want to spend your summer break developing your interest in CS and racking up activities that will set you apart from other applicants by senior year. That may sound intimidating if you’re not sure where to start, but luckily we’re here to give you a push in the right direction.

Educate Yourself

As goes without saying: you should take any computer-related classes your school offers during the academic year, but it also gives you an edge (and shows colleges that you take initiative) if you seek out opportunities to learn beyond the classroom.

You can take reputable online classes or in-person courses at local pre-college programs. If you know topics in computer science interest you, you can choose classes that help you specialize in that niche. If you love computation but don’t really know much about it, this is a great chance to take an introductory class, learn the basics, and set the foundations for future projects.

We especially recommend that you learn to code if your school doesn’t offer coding classes. Of course, you don’t need to know everything before you get to college, but a stated interest in computer science is more believable if you know what you’re getting into and have familiarized yourself with the core languages — Python, Java, JavaScript, Ruby, SQL, C++, HTML, and/or CSS.

For coding, we recommend up.Codeacademy.com, FREECODECAMP, and Code.org (this last one is specifically good for beginners), and you can find our blog listing great online options here. And, as always, there are many accessible and informative online learning options available on Coursera and edX, many of which are associated directly with universities. For example, we frequently refer students to Princeton’s or , at Rice, and Stanford’s .

Try a Pre-College Program

Speaking of programs ~associated directly with universities~, many colleges have summer programs or pre-college intensives specifically for high school students. While these can be pricey, some schools also offer scholarships. Applying to these programs is a wonderful way to 1) expand your knowledge of computer science, 2) get a preview of the college experience or check out a campus you’re especially interested in, 3) start building a relationship with a specific college, and 4) make friends your age with similar interests and goals.

If this sounds like an experience you’d like to have (and frankly, who among us isn’t AMPED for nerdy sleepaway camp?? Oh… just us?), you should make a list of your top colleges, research the standing of their CS department, and find out which have residential summer programs.

Read

We can practically hear the moans and groans about this one from here… Isn’t coding and engineering supposed to free you of the written word and sweep you into the sweet, sweet embrace of those endless 1’s and 0’s? Ha — you THOUGHT!

Reading literature about the field can have a huge impact on your application. Firstly, lots of elite colleges will ask you about your media consumption, and you’ll want to have book references top of mind to show that you do read and to corroborate your academic interests. Basically, even if you’re a coding wizard, it’s not a good look when the last novel you read was Captain Underpants in 4th grade (no disrespect to the Captain, though — game recognize game).

Secondly, reading will help you situate computer science in a cultural and historical context. Most prestigious schools — especially liberal arts colleges — have core curriculum requirements that cover several disciplines. It’s important to know the relationship between your field of study and the world at large. What are the implications of this technology? How does computer science influence society and quality of life? Who are the major players in this arena, and who are computation’s forefathers? We’ve got a full list of book recommendations here, but off the top of our heads we’ll throw out these two examples — The Glass Cage by Nicholas Carr, which investigates the impact of living in a computerized world, and The Man Who Knew Too Much by David Leavitt, which examines the life and legacy of Alan Turing.

Create Something of Your Own!

We don’t believe in stereotyping computer kids, so we’ll take it on faith that you’ve seen Field of Dreams and echo this wisdom: “If you build it, they will come.” No, we are not implying you should go acquire a corn field and transform it into a baseball stadium, but we are saying that putting your computer science skills to use and making something shows how applicable your knowledge is and looks promising for your future contributions to a university’s CS program.

Build an app — a game you’ve always wanted to play but couldn’t find anywhere, or a simple program that helps solve a problem in your community. Want to connect restaurants with local food banks when they have high-quality leftovers? Create a platform for that. Want to make choosing classes from your school’s catalog easier? Make a new system. You could even build your own website, demonstrating your potential in software engineering, web design, or project management while expressing yourself to the world.

When it comes to working on something of your own, and your computer science journey in general, the world’s your oyster! Mostly, that is. Have fun exploring and coding to change the world — all we ask is that you please choose mercy and don’t make another Facebook.

If you want personalized guidance on how to strategize your extracurriculars, contact us here.