Computer Science at  WashU

Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Crystal Gamino and I am a rising junior at Washington University in St. Louis (otherwise known as WashU), majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Spanish. I am from the south side of Chicago, IL and had an unweighted GPA of 3.88 and weighted GPA of 5.17 along with a 90th percentile score on the SAT my junior year of high school. My scores from junior year and an abundance of extracurricular activities / volunteering were especially important because I applied to the Early Decision I application. Since I did end up switching my majors from Biomedical Engineering to Computer Science, I will be going over the Computer Science major at WashU.  

Deciding to Attend WashU

Since I applied Early Decision I at WashU, I was already committed to attend if I was accepted. Although I was set to attend WashU, I still applied to other schools on their Early Action Deadline. These schools were:

• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Bioengineering) 
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Biomedical Engineering)
• University of Illinois Chicago (Biomedical Engineering). 

While I was accepted to all of the schools that I applied to, I had to withdraw my applications because of the Early Decision commitment. One of the main reasons I decided on attending WashU is because it is a small/medium sized university, so I believed I would feel more comfortable and would have better access to my professors. 

Overview of WashU and Computer Science

Washington University in St. Louis is a prestigious private research university that also provides a liberal arts education. WashU was founded in 1853 and has several campuses throughout the St. Louis and Clayton area. Students can apply to Arts & Sciences, Business, Architecture, Art, Engineering, or Beyond Boundaries. The Computer Science major is located in the McKelvey School of Engineering and it is one of the most common majors and minors. The Bachelor of Science in Computer Science consists of CS core classes, CS technical elective requirements, math requirements, and some additional department requirements.

The core CS classes are: 

• Introduction to Computer Science (3 credits) 
• Introduction to Computer Engineering (3 credits) 
• Logic and Discrete Mathematics (3 credits) 
• Data Structures and Algorithms (3 credits) 
• Object-Oriented Software Development Laboratory (3 credits) 
• Analysis of Algorithms (3 credits) 

Some possible technical elective requirements are: 

• Introduction to Computer Security
• Web Development
• Video Game Programming 

The Math requirements are: 

• Calculus I 
• Calculus II 
• Calculus III 
• Matrix Algebra 
• Probability and Statistics for Engineering 

My Experience 

After taking my Intro to Biomedical Engineering course, I realized that one of the things I enjoyed doing the most was the MATLab assignments. I, then, decided to take some Computer Science courses to see if I liked it. Despite having no experience in coding, I managed to get a good grade in my Introduction to Computer Science course and learned a lot. It is often considered really difficult to pursue a Computer Science degree if you have no background, but it is totally possible. The professors and TAs in the courses are super approachable and have definitely made it possible for me to succeed. 

Job Prospects
 

Students who have completed a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science at WashU have gotten endless opportunities. Many have completed internships at Capital One, Facebook, Amazon, and NASA and currently hold job titles of Associate Software Engineer, Software Development Engineer, Technical Solutions Engineer, and Program Managers. While these are only a couple of the places the alumni have gone, many have gone to do other things and get different jobs with the help of the Career Center. 

Written by Crystal Gamino, PathIvy Washington University Ambassador