5 Tips for Computer Science Freshmen (2013) .

I'm Kat Miller and this is Dice TV. Alright, you're in college now, so I'm skipping the basics. The go to class, do your homework, study for tests, don't party yourself into the hospital. Not that those aren't all important pieces of advice, but I'm sure you've heard them. Instead, let's talk computer science. Here are some tips I've specially collected by talking to former CS students who wish they'd heard them when they were in your shoes. Seek help when you need it and don't be too proud to do so. This can apply to everyone, but it's especially true for CS majors. Your classes are going to get hard, they're going to test your knowledge, but that's what you're there for. Some people find attending office hours or seeking extra help to be embarrassing, but those resources are there for a reason. Taking advantage of the help you're offered will not only help you prepare for future classes and learn the material better, but it'll be a lot less harmful than bad grades or any other consequences of struggling. Don't let yourself get intimidated by large projects. The best thing to do, sit down the day you get the assignment and break it up into smaller tasks. A lot of times it's looking at the smaller tasks that helps you realize the solution. And even if it doesn't, you'll only have to face one small problem at a time instead of one huge and overwhelming one. Error can be unpredictable, so don't procrastinate. Even if you see the solution right away, you still can't really predict the types of errors you're going to face when it's time to compile, or if there will be logical errors when you run it. Sometimes it's the slightest errors that can be the hardest to catch, so make sure you leave yourself enough time to tackle it. Which reminds me, silly errors are no small thing in CS. One silly error can derail an entire program and likewise your grade. It's not uncommon for CS classes to skip partial credit. If your code doesn't work, you may get nothing for it. A more compassionate professor might throw you 50%, but the truth is that one little missing semicolon that you were too tired to find before turning in your homework can be all it takes to turn an A into an F. So, don't miss the semicolon. Which brings me to stop and compile regularly. If you compile your projects on a regular basis, you can solve errors as they appear, and locating them will be easy because they could only have happened since the last time you compiled. I know it can be annoying to get your program to a stopping point where you can do this, but it's definitely worth it. The alternative is getting all the errors at the end, and there could be a lot of them, all hidden throughout your code. Code you wrote who knows how long ago. And make sure to always test sample code before you use it. There's nothing worse than just assuming it works, only to find out it's the source of your problems and the one place you didn't look. Don't worry too much. Freshman year is when you're supposed to be figuring all this stuff out, so just stay on top of your assignments and you'll be just fine. And if you keep these tips in mind, you'll already be ahead of a lot of your classmates. I'm Kat Miller and this is Dice TV.