David - Computer Science
Name: David Tattersall
Subject: Computer Science (50% option)
Year: 1st
A-Levels taken: Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry
50% or 25%? What's the difference?
For the first year CompSci falls under the umbrella of Natural Sciences (‘NatSci’). NatSci consists of 3 science subjects and maths. At Cambridge you have the choice of taking 25% CompSci (where only one of your science subjects is taken up, for example allowing you to also study physics and chemistry) or 50% CompSci (where you can only study one extra science on the side). The 25% option is for people who want a taster but ultimately will end up doing another science, whereas the 50% option is aimed at people who will go on to study pure CompSci in the second year.
What does your working week entail?
Three things: lectures, practicals and supervisions.
Lectures are Monday-Saturday, 9am every day. While many people see this as a downside, it does mean that you are up bright and early on a Saturday and so get a lot done! All lectures are just round the corner from Christ’s (making bed to lecture times of 5 minutes possible) apart from Physics, which is a 10 minute walk away. On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays you only have one lecture meaning you are free from 10 – otherwise lectures finish at 1pm but you do get a handy 1 hour break at 11am – useful for catching lunch, going back to college for a nap or checking your email.
Practicals
Physics: Fortnightly, Friday 2-6 at Cavendish Lab (about a 30 minute walk from college, or 15 minute bike ride).
Hardware (electronics): Fortnightly, either Thursday morning or afternoon.
Programming: One exercise every fortnight (each exercise is called a ‘tick’). Languages covered in the first year are ML and Java. Readouts and source code need to be printed off and handed in by Wednesday 5pm and you spend about 5 minutes or so talking through your code with an assessor the following Thursday afternoon (this will be the Thursday you aren’t doing Hardware).
Finally, you have four 1-hour supervisions each week. Two CompSci, one Physics, and one Maths. You’re expected to spend a few hours preparing questions for each one, which you normally hand in the day before.
How easy was the transition from A-levels to the first year of your degree?
I found doing A-Level Further Maths was a massive, massive help (although don’t let it put you off if you don’t have it). Most of the Physics I had already covered before in either Mechanics or Physics (albeit not in the style or depth Cambridge teaches it) but it did mean that I had an idea what was going on and why it worked rather than the material being completely alien.
How easily can you fit social activities into your working week?
Like NatSci the workload in incessant and fairly large but also doable. I found that if I worked during the afternoons I was able to finish work at 6pm and have all evenings free to do whatever I wanted - be it a night out at Cindies or a quiet night in watching a DVD with friends. However, some people prefer it the other way round and do all-nighters working on question sheets but spending all afternoons chilling. Either way, there’s plenty of time to socialise.
What sort of things did you talk about in your interview?
I had three interviews - Maths/Physics, General and Computer Science. All the Maths I had done at A-Level and the Physics was familiar off the A-Level Mechanics syllabus. The Computer Science interview is more difficult to prepare for - my DOS posed me a series of logical problems and we worked through them. They're designed to test how you think, not how fast you can get the right answer - in fact I think I only worked one through to completion!