#Incoming Freshman planning for Major/Graduation Strategy

11 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

spare basin
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Hey All! I'm a first year going to ASU with an intended major of CS. I'd originally planned on aiming high and trying to break in as a quant but I'm increasingly realizing SWE is more feasible and more applicable to my interests and location (SoCal) as well. I'm coming in CURRENTLY with 49 credits, with that being able to go up to as high as 78 iirc based on how my APs went in May, so I'd be able to feasibly graduate in 2 -3 years rather than 4. Planning on applying to Barrett though so the honors reqs might affect that. My question is how I should plan things out course wise, as I see about three options:

  1. Graduate Early and get into the work force as fast as possible
    Considering how I graduated a year early from HS idk if I want to do this again, since I'm already missing the HS experience a lot and not being a child anymore is a bit sad for me, but long term this has its advantages.

  2. Dual major in another field and grad in 3-4 years
    I was originally intending on doing CS+Finance hten CS+Math, and now obviously I'm posting here, but this seems like it could help a good amount for other fields, though I don't know how much it would for SWE if my goal is MAANG rather than SWE in another industry.

  3. Graduate in 4 years and use the insanely light courseload to stack up in year internships and extracurriculars.
    Seems like it'd be a great way to pad my resume but there is the cost factor

I'm also thinking about doing the 4+1(really a 2 or 3+1 for me) MCS at ASU as well but unsure if its worth doing it accelerated rather than at a different uni, a masters is a must for me regardless since I'm someone who values a large conceptual background.

LMK if there's any info I need to provide to make the ideal path for me more clear

neat valley
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You've forgotten the option of "take classes and have some fun and experiment and figure out what you actually want to do"

spare basin
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I can do that at my CC if i really want to

mild viper
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need more financial information. Are you financially stable and able to do 4 plus years? I've been working full time 2 years, graduated 2021 - and let me tell you, you really should enjoy college as much as you can.

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I took a similar pathway as your number 3 by doing an internship all 4 years, which felt really important/fun/hype in the moment.. but after going in full time you start to realize how useless it all was. just stepping stones to help you get a good initial first full time job after college.

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I agree with xiong - looking back at it now, you shouldn't be "excited" to work full time if you are not in a bad financial spot. You should use college to explore and have fun when you are young before you have to drag yourself into corporate world and beholden to 9-5 grind.

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Here's what i recommend. Do the masters like you said you want to, and do it in regular time if you are financially stable. You can focus on getting internships for every year.

lunar plover
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Wow so the west doesn't have in-state tuition exchange program? 50k is yikes for ASU and Tempe is expensive (to me) maybe it's cheap relative to soCal money ...
You will have more information once you're there, you'll know better if you want to stay 5 years once you feel the vibe. For 4+1 try as early as possible to talk to the professor, many times the first year has few CS classes, so to overcome that be proactive and see which teacher teaches what and decide if you want to work with them. Keep your options open.
Getting the master's at a different place has value also since you get to see "how other people do it" rather than doubling down on ASU approach.

However you're entering nearly sophomore so you're probably the type of person the 4+1 is aimed at.

Proactively introduce yourself to the professors and tease out their industry connections... Align accordingly, maybe they also have project work you can do (paid) if they see you're precocious.

spare basin
spare basin