Computer Science in High School: Tips for Preparation

Are you high school student interested in computer science, but not sure where to start? Read on to find out how to prepare!

To start off, I’ll start by giving a brief explanation of CS and AI.

What is Computer Science?

Computer Science is the study of computers and computational algorithms. It involves coding, problem solving, analysis, and many other skills that can be developed as time goes on.

What is AI?

AI is the ability for a computer/system to effectively do things that require human intelligence. It is a system that can think at near human levels and can be used to perform all kinds of tasks (e.g. facial recognition, detection of fake news, Netflix’s predictive algorithm, etc.)

Now that that’s done, let’s move onto the main topic of this blog: What you can do to prepare for computer science in high school and college!

How can I prepare for computer science in high school and college?

Have a Solid Background in Mathematics

One way to prepare for computer science in high school is to have a good base in mathematics. Computer Science requires quite a lot of thinking, and that thinking almost always require math. Math (mostly stats and calc in terms of doing CS) in CS can be used for things like variables, functions, and loops.

Learning stats and calculus will definitely help you a lot by saving you the trouble of going back and forth between windows trying to find math concepts you’d need for a specific system. By learning math, lectures in college about CS might sound more easy to understand and the content can be taken in more effectively.

Choose a Programming Language

Another way to prepare for computer science in high school could be finding your programming language of choice. There are many programming languages that are utilized (java, c#, or python just to name a few). Knowing even a bit of that programming language means that you understand the basics which will already give you a small head start apart from the others.

Choosing a language also needs to suit your preference. You’d probably want to choose a language whose structure fits your work-style. Take Java for example, it’s easy to code and debug but runs slower than other languages’ compilations.

Code with Friends

Another way could be to learn/code with others. If you have any friends or know someone in general that wants to code, you and them can meet and start together. It’s always helpful to have someone that you can discuss with. There might even be times where you don’t know how to write something but they do (and vice versa). Although going at it alone is a totally suitable option, having someone to discuss with can be a very good thing.

Plan Out Your Computer Science Projects

The last piece of advice I’ll give is to learn to design and plan. When you code, it’s usually very good to plan ahead and write down what’s going to happen.

For example, if you wanted to create a program that detects whether a word is a palindrome (e.g. words that are spelled same as they are backwards - Hannah, level, pop), you could write down the steps on how to effectively break the word down and then write out how you’re going to check and with what loops.

Remember, at the end of the day, these are all optional, but if you do try these, you might just be a bit better prepared for college than if you didn’t. Thanks for reading this and have a nice day!