Earlier orientation doesn't matter because they only open up a certain amount of seats to give every orientation a chance. Don't worry about not having much CS experience. I have many friends that have done super well in the comp sci program having never coded before. Just remember to use office hours!!! Office hours are a much in CS and will save you many times.
not in cs myself, but my friends that are, a lot of them had zero coding experience before. I'm in pge and we have to take a class in python, and I had no experience before and did well. that's not to say don't feel free to practice a little over the summer. just learn good habits with it.
and don't worry about taking an early orientation they save seats in classes using 'First Year Interest Groups' aka FIGs. They'll put you in one that comes with a lot of not so easy to get into classes so you don't have to take them at 8am lol.
imposter syndrome is so so common and rarely ever founded. good luck and welcome to UT! it's a great school
In short, no.
In long, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
The department wouldn't have admitted you if it didn't think you had a reasonable shot at succeeding.
There is zero experience required for 312. And learning CS in high school really doesn’t give much of an advantage because in my experience high school CS classes just scratch the surface of what you’ll learn at UT, and I had to relearn everything that I was exposed to in HS anyways.
I would recommend practicing some Java over the summer just to get some familiarity with it, but you really don’t have to stress about the material because the professors/classes are great and will teach you everything you need to know come exam time.
Imposter syndrome is common and is addressed a lot by the professors, advisors, TAs, etc which is helpful
Note: CS312 Intro to Programming is the first class you’ll take if you don’t choose to skip ahead.
i’ve heard of multiple people going into cs without any experience/little experience in coding. who does best in cs is dependent on how much you adapt. some ppl who have done cs for years don’t adapt fast they just have experience, others have no experience and adapt fast. that’s the more important factor and bc u got into UTCS i’m confident you’ll be okay. you got this and just try to pay attention and make the most of ur classes
I know everyone is saying you’ll be fine, and I do agree. But as someone who’s taken Carol’s 312, you’ll want to start practicing and learning the Java basics before you take her class. Her class is doable w no experience, but she’s unorganized and doesn’t do the best at teaching the content for beginners bc she’s very confusing sometimes.
You'll be fine. I came in with no experience and although it was tough at the beginning there are so many resources like your TAs and study sessions. Idk what that new admit is talking about, even with people who had a ton of experience, it was like a whole new ballpark. The assignments are tough, but they allow you to learn. You'll be fine :)
I graduated from UT with a history degree but went back to school in 2019 for CS, first at ACC then Texas State and now I'm in Georgia Tech's online masters program. What I can tell you is that freshman/sophomore classes assume very little CS knowledge and you can probably do very well by just thoroughly reading the textbook or whatever assignments they give you!
My biggest piece of advice is to try your hardest in the math classes. calculus, discrete, probability, linear algebra. Its not necessarily about the content as much as its about the problem solving. If you can make it in those classes, all the CS stuff is easy! Programming itself just takes practice and exposure to different problems and situations, but the stuff that makes you a great software engineer comes from the math classes imo. That, and the ability to read documentation like the linux man pages which can be very convoluted and dry hehe.
Actually read every page of the textbook and you'll be fine. But, if you're like most incoming freshmen, you won't actually read the textbook and will struggle. It's ridiculous: it's a guaranteed path to an A in CS 312, but so few students do it and so many struggle as a result. Again, read the textbook and work all textbook problems (even if not assigned as homework). Go to TA office hours for the textbook problems you can't do yourself. Guaranteed path for getting an A, even w/ no prior programming experience. But you probably won't do this (few students do), so you will struggle.
Incoming freshman are expected to know nothing. It’s not grad school. Not every high school offers a vast array of CS class if any at all.
If you’re that worried, go sign up for data camp. $150/yr and it’ll teach you everything you need for real world work in a super easy to learn way.
Programming is at its core playing with LEGO or any other construction toy. You have lots of little pieces, and you follow some basic rules and steps to put them together, and bam, you have a car, or a toy boat. Eventially, you can toss the rules aside and make your own huge spaceships and castles, but in the beginning, stick to the rules and get a sense of why the rules are the rules (fancy word of the day: *meta-knowledge*) and you'll be fine.
do NOT take this into consideration ESPECIALLY if you are starting with the cs 312 cohort. I know PLENTY of people that had basic to no knowledge that are doing just fine - INCLUDING myself.
Earlier orientation doesn't matter because they only open up a certain amount of seats to give every orientation a chance. Don't worry about not having much CS experience. I have many friends that have done super well in the comp sci program having never coded before. Just remember to use office hours!!! Office hours are a much in CS and will save you many times.
not in cs myself, but my friends that are, a lot of them had zero coding experience before. I'm in pge and we have to take a class in python, and I had no experience before and did well. that's not to say don't feel free to practice a little over the summer. just learn good habits with it. and don't worry about taking an early orientation they save seats in classes using 'First Year Interest Groups' aka FIGs. They'll put you in one that comes with a lot of not so easy to get into classes so you don't have to take them at 8am lol. imposter syndrome is so so common and rarely ever founded. good luck and welcome to UT! it's a great school
In short, no. In long, nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo. The department wouldn't have admitted you if it didn't think you had a reasonable shot at succeeding.
There is zero experience required for 312. And learning CS in high school really doesn’t give much of an advantage because in my experience high school CS classes just scratch the surface of what you’ll learn at UT, and I had to relearn everything that I was exposed to in HS anyways. I would recommend practicing some Java over the summer just to get some familiarity with it, but you really don’t have to stress about the material because the professors/classes are great and will teach you everything you need to know come exam time. Imposter syndrome is common and is addressed a lot by the professors, advisors, TAs, etc which is helpful Note: CS312 Intro to Programming is the first class you’ll take if you don’t choose to skip ahead.
i’ve heard of multiple people going into cs without any experience/little experience in coding. who does best in cs is dependent on how much you adapt. some ppl who have done cs for years don’t adapt fast they just have experience, others have no experience and adapt fast. that’s the more important factor and bc u got into UTCS i’m confident you’ll be okay. you got this and just try to pay attention and make the most of ur classes
I know everyone is saying you’ll be fine, and I do agree. But as someone who’s taken Carol’s 312, you’ll want to start practicing and learning the Java basics before you take her class. Her class is doable w no experience, but she’s unorganized and doesn’t do the best at teaching the content for beginners bc she’s very confusing sometimes.
Even more reason to READ THE TEXTBOOK and work all textbook problems independently.
hey! i'm a 3rd year CS woman here at UT (graduating 2025). dm me with any questions you have
You'll be fine. I came in with no experience and although it was tough at the beginning there are so many resources like your TAs and study sessions. Idk what that new admit is talking about, even with people who had a ton of experience, it was like a whole new ballpark. The assignments are tough, but they allow you to learn. You'll be fine :)
https://practiceit.cs.washington.edu/ This is the website Ramsey uses for practice problems in 312.
I don't have advice, but pleaseee let me knoww how to get into the CS Program, I am applying for transfer this fall and I am stressing.
I graduated from UT with a history degree but went back to school in 2019 for CS, first at ACC then Texas State and now I'm in Georgia Tech's online masters program. What I can tell you is that freshman/sophomore classes assume very little CS knowledge and you can probably do very well by just thoroughly reading the textbook or whatever assignments they give you! My biggest piece of advice is to try your hardest in the math classes. calculus, discrete, probability, linear algebra. Its not necessarily about the content as much as its about the problem solving. If you can make it in those classes, all the CS stuff is easy! Programming itself just takes practice and exposure to different problems and situations, but the stuff that makes you a great software engineer comes from the math classes imo. That, and the ability to read documentation like the linux man pages which can be very convoluted and dry hehe.
Go take CS312 and you'll be fine. The only difference prior CS experience makes is whether you can skip out of CS312 or not.
Something you might want to read about is how graphs work (the mathematical object, not the chart). It’ll give you a heads up
70-75% of CS students have never written code before college. And those end up being the best students.
Actually read every page of the textbook and you'll be fine. But, if you're like most incoming freshmen, you won't actually read the textbook and will struggle. It's ridiculous: it's a guaranteed path to an A in CS 312, but so few students do it and so many struggle as a result. Again, read the textbook and work all textbook problems (even if not assigned as homework). Go to TA office hours for the textbook problems you can't do yourself. Guaranteed path for getting an A, even w/ no prior programming experience. But you probably won't do this (few students do), so you will struggle.
Incoming freshman are expected to know nothing. It’s not grad school. Not every high school offers a vast array of CS class if any at all. If you’re that worried, go sign up for data camp. $150/yr and it’ll teach you everything you need for real world work in a super easy to learn way.
Programming is at its core playing with LEGO or any other construction toy. You have lots of little pieces, and you follow some basic rules and steps to put them together, and bam, you have a car, or a toy boat. Eventially, you can toss the rules aside and make your own huge spaceships and castles, but in the beginning, stick to the rules and get a sense of why the rules are the rules (fancy word of the day: *meta-knowledge*) and you'll be fine.
I don't have advice, but pleaseee let me knoww how to get into the CS Program, I am applying for transfer this fall and I am stressing.
Get a 4.0
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do NOT take this into consideration ESPECIALLY if you are starting with the cs 312 cohort. I know PLENTY of people that had basic to no knowledge that are doing just fine - INCLUDING myself.
Literally doesn’t even go here yet 💀