Main Takeaways / Reflection

One main takeaway that I learned today was that a CS degree is very versatile, and you can use cs no matter what stem field you study. For example, Ashley is a physics major, but she says she still uses Python language to read her data. This is extremely relevant to me as very soon I have to decide what college I want to commit to. Depending on what college I go to, I would either be a CS major or a pre-statistics/data science major. John and Ashley’s input is very helpful and is helping me gear more towrads choosing CS. CS is more applicable to different areas compared to data science; I would still be utilizing cs as a data science major. However statistics and data isn’t nearly as applicable. Hearing about John and Ashley’s stories is also somewhat motivating. Even though Ashley failed multiple classes and John called himself a delinquent, they were still able to be successful. It’s never too late to straighten yourself up and get to work. The information regarding different types of loans was also very helpful and something that I think is not talked about enough. Before this event, I did not really even know what subsidized verseus unsubsidized loans were. I’ll make sure to keep John’s words in mind if I have to take out student loans for college.

Notes

Ashley

  • from palm springs
  • majored in applied physics at CSUSM, 2017-2022
  • phd at USD for material sciences and engineering
  • failed some classes, but that doesn’t define you
  • CSUSM has a smaller campus, felt that it had a great support system (especially for stem) and opened many
  • gets paid 41k a year to go to USD

John

  • from palm springs, called himself a “delinquent” in high school
  • attended palomar for 3 years, then transferred to CSUSM during the pandemic
  • first time on campus was his last semester
  • majored in CS, took him 6 years to get a degree
  • says a CS degree is versatile
  • now works at CSUSM
  • since he went to community college first, he is not in debt (he took one subsidized loan)
  • JOHN IS DEBT FREE!
  • He had an internship at the safari park

CSUSM

  • Used to be a poultry farm
  • Has a new engineering building
  • Going to build another science building for engineering etc
  • National leader in social mobility
  • Highest turnover to socio-economic status
  • There are a lot of companies that want to hire from CSUSM
  • Computer engineering starting this fall
  • Smaller campus = constantly change curriculum to adapt
  • Can transition between comp engineer/computer science etc (the classes are very in sync)

Clubs

  • Very important to be involved in your undergrad career
  • Cyber security club, robotics, Women in stem
  • Ashley was in Society of physics students
  • Gives opportunities

Internships

  • How to find: Networking, Campus events, join clubs, check emails, and google
  • you can intern at other universities (don’t have to be a student)
  • try to avoid unpaid internships (earn money when you can)
  • the worst thing someone can say is “no”
  • Ask faculty members to help read your essay

Paying for College

  • Grants vs Scholarships (Depends how much your parents earn)
    • Grant: government loan of money
      • Some grants go towards paying for textbooks or other things that can help you be successful
    • Scholarship: privately funded
      • full ride for playing a sport
      • how to find: it is on you to search them out, you can get a scholarship for virtually anything (grades matter though)
  • Avoid taking out loans
  • Two types of loans
    • Unsubsidized: Start gaining interest immediately
    • Subsidized: A loan that is partially funded by the government, You get a grace period to avoid interest