An Introduction to College

Amongst the tech community, especially those in High School, the big question is: “Is College Worth It?” While I can’t say if college is worth it, I can share my experiences from my first year as a Computer Science Student at San Diego State, a large public state university. From why I chose San Diego State, to the horrors that are graduation requirements, to the awesome opportunity I had to travel to Finland, and study at the University of Jyväskylä this past summer. College is both just like I thought it would be, but also very different.

Transcript

1. An Introduction to College
   My First Year as a Comp. Sci. Student at SDSU
   

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2. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
   The Two Questions I Get Asked Most Frequently
   Why did you choose to go to SDSU?
   What do you want to do after you graduate?
   

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3. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
   https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus Photo: SDSU Marcomm
   Part 1
   The Journey (Fall 2014 - Spring 2015)
   

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4. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
   Who was I?
   ➤ Rigorous Student
   ➤ Overall GPA: 4.28
   ➤ 15th out of 393
   ➤ AP Student
   ➤ During High School, I took 9 AP
   courses. And because of that, I
   started as a Sophomore (44 units)
   ➤ Slightly Above Average Student
   ➤ SAT: 1850 (CR 560; Math 710; Write 580 [7])
   ➤ ACT: 30 (Eng 28; Math 34; Read 24; Sci. 34)
   Photo: Wolf Paulus
   

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5. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
   I applied to 10 different Universities
   ➤ UC Davis
   ➤ UC Santa Cruz
   ➤ Cal Poly SLO
   ➤ Cal Poly Pomona
   ➤ UC Irvine
   ➤ UC Riverside
   ➤ USC
   ➤ Cal State Fullerton
   ➤ San Diego State
   ➤ UC San Diego
   

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6. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
   I was accepted at 6 of them.
   ➤ UC Santa Cruz
   ➤ Cal Poly Pomona
   ➤ UC Irvine
   ➤ UC Riverside
   ➤ Cal State Fullerton
   ➤ San Diego State
   ➤ UC San Diego
   

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7. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
   SDSU
   ➤ Enrollment:
   ➤ 29,000 Undergrads
   ➤ Student-Faculty Ratio:
   ➤ 28:1 (Avg. Class Size ~ 30)
   ➤ Program Size:
   ➤ ~250 Undergrads
   ➤ Honors College!
   UCI
   ➤ Enrollment:
   ➤ 25,000 Undergrads
   ➤ Student-Faculty Ratio:
   ➤ 19:1 (Avg. Class Size < 20)
   ➤ Program Size:
   ➤ 2,000+ Undergrads
   

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8. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
   Enrollment Services Online Payments
   Thank you for your payment.
   Your credit card has been charged. Please do not enter your credit card
   information again or
   your credit card will be charged multiple times.
   Receipt Number: 1591958
   Click­2­Pay
   Current Date: 04/17/2015
   Description Amount
   $400.00 Intent to Enroll Fee $400.00
   Total $400.00
   Payments Received Amount
   Web ACH Payments
   Savings Account XXXXX5905
   Routing # 031176110 CAPITAL ONE N.A., ST. CLOUD, MN
   $400.00
   Total $400.00
   Thank you for the payment.
   

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9. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
   https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus Photo: SDSU Marcomm
   Part 2
   The SDSU Experience

   (Fall 2015 - Spring 2016)
   

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10. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    Fall 2015
    RWS 200
    ECON 101
    MATH 245
    CS 107
    HONOR 113
    

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11. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    Fall 2015
    RWS 200
    ECON 101
    MATH 245
    CS 107
    HONOR 113
    Spring 2016
    COMM 103
    GEOG 102
    MATH 254
    CS 108
    CS 237
    

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12. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    

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13. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    

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14. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    

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15. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus Photo: Jeff Ernst via SDSU Marcomm
    Part 3
    Beyond Freshman Year

    (Summer 2016 - Present)
    

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16. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    On one of the many piers on Lake Lake Jyväsjärvi in Jyväskylä.
    

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17. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    The Iconic Bridge by the University of Jyväskylä.
    

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18. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    Taking a weekend vacation from Finland. Walking along the beach in Tallinn, Estonia.
    

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19. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    

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20. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    The Questions I Wished People Asked
    Do you like it?
    Are you happy?
    What is it like?
    What did you wish you
    knew before starting?
    What advice would you give to
    someone about to leave to
    college for the first time?
    What do you do in your free time?
    Do you even have free time?
    

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21. https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus Photo: SDSU Marcomm
    Questions?
    https://tompaulus.com @tompaulus
    

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22. Thank You!
    Slides and other materials from this
    talk can be found on my website at
    https://tompaulus.com/talks
    Photo: Paul Lang via SDSU Marcomm
    

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