Alumni Albert

What year level are you in at college right now?

Sophomore

What college are you currently attending and what was the major you were admitted into?

NYU – Undecided in College of Arts and Sciences

Have you changed your college major, or are you planning to change your major, and if so, why?

Declared CS, which was the original plan

What is your career interest?

SWE or game design

Did you join any research/internships in college that are related to your career? And what was it?

I am with a start-up project now.

What kinds of majors or programs would you recommend to current high school students? And why?

Depending on interest, I’d say the majors and programs with the most lucrative job opportunities include premed, business, law, some forms of CS and CE, and nursing/dentistry.

How would you advise current high school students to prepare for such majors academically?

For current high school students, make sure to do exceptionally well in the classes you are taking that are most relevant to your prospective major, which mostly involves actively engaging with and reviewing the academic material, thoughtfully seeking out new information about topics in these classes not necessarily covered in the classes themselves, and constantly asking meaningful questions that could help you improve your understanding of the material.

How would you advise current high school students to prepare for such majors from an extracurriculars perspective?

For all of the above-mentioned majors, play an active role in seeking out and participating in clubs, extracurricular programs, and internships that are relevant to your major and can show colleges or future employers that you have developed the necessary foundational skills before your peers. For example, to focus on CS/CE, create a passion project that has to do with coding or engineering to show your interest and prowess in the field, or to focus on premed, start early

Alumni Ishan

What year level are you in at college right now?

Sophomore

What college are you currently attending and what was the major you were admitted into?

Emory – Finance, Biology

Have you changed your college major, or are you planning to change your major, and if so, why?

Yes, I changed my major as I was admitted to study biology but enjoyed the finance and business classes I was taking more than my major’s core classes. As such, I decided to pursue the major I most enjoyed, leading me to focus on Finance.

What is your career interest?

I hope to become an investment banker or a private equity analyst. I am currently recruiting for banks, and hope to turn these aspirations into reality by leveraging my education and college experience.

Did you join any research/internships in college that are related to your career? And what was it?

I am currently doing a private equity internship (started 6 months ago) to give me the related work experience I need to become an investment banker. Additionally, I was selected to be a member of Emory’s investment management group, which has given me a lot of related experience to the finance industry.

What kinds of majors or programs would you recommend to current high school students? And why?

I would recommend studying either one of the sciences, engineering, or math with a minor in either finance or business administration. From my personal experience, I have seen that these majors allow students the most flexibility when looking for a job, as many careers like to employ those in the STEM fields who understand the business aspect of the field.

How would you advise current high school students to prepare for such majors academically?

I would advise students to take as many STEM-related AP courses as they possibly can. Doing this will not only give you a head start on college credits, but will also give you exposure to the course difficulty of most college courses, as AP courses prepare one for college academics better than any other type of course available.

How would you advise current high school students to prepare for such majors from an extracurriculars perspective?

I would tell current high schoolers to engage in STEM-related extracurriculars such as COSMOS, RSI, etc. if they are pursuing a STEM related major. If they are in the humanities, I would advise them to research nearby people who are professionals in the career they desire, and try to obtain internships with those people. Outside of internships related to their prospective major, I would tell them to stay engaged in the activities they enjoy doing, as these are needed to ensure balance in one’s life.

Alumni Juji

What year level are you in at college right now?

Senior

What college are you currently attending and what was the major you were admitted into?

Cornell University, Human Biology, Health, and Society

Have you changed your college major, or are you planning to change your major, and if so, why?

I have, biology was not a good match for me

What is your career interest?

Computer science

Did you join any research/internships in college that are related to your career? And what was it?

No

What kinds of majors or programs would you recommend to current high school students? And why?

Pick something you genuinely enjoy, something that shaped a large part of who you are so you can write about it.

How would you advise current high school students to prepare for such majors academically?

Get into an easier, less popular major, and switch to the harder one once you’re in.

How would you advise current high school students to prepare for such majors from an extracurriculars perspective?

Pick stuff that bring you joy so you can write about it. They probably read way too many “I was president of XYZ, captain of the “insert academic sounding subject” team.

Alumni Vivian

What college did you graduate from, and what is your career interest?

UC Santa Barbara, software development

What is your college major? And have you changed your major and if so, why?

I majored in computer engineering. I changed from chemical engineering because my interests changed as I explored different college courses.

What did you think was most valuable from your college major coursework?

My most valuable courses in computer science were all project-based courses, such as my college capstone course. Project-based courses taught me to work on a team and most closely resembled my real-life industry experiences out of all of my other courses.

Do you feel you were adequately prepared for your career from your degree program? And if not, what was lacking?

I felt adequately prepared due to the summer internships I took on during my college experience. Those internships gave me a glimpse of my future work in industry, which allowed me to tailor my college experiences to better prepare for my future.

Did you join any research/internships/job opportunities in college that are related to your career? And what was it?

I completed one summer internship at a small startup and two summer internships with Amazon. These experiences gave me valuable insights into what my career in industry would look like.

What is your current outlook on your career field?

I feel positive and excited about my career, and I am looking forward to continuing to learn more and educating myself further after college.

What is your current job/position, and how has your college education contributed towards getting the job?

I have just started my job as a software development engineer at Amazon. My college experience led to my prior summer internships at Amazon, which directly led to my full-time position. The skills and knowledge I gained in my college coursework prepared me for my career.

For your career field, what kinds of majors or programs would you recommend students to consider?

I would recommend computer science students take as many project-based courses as possible. Computer science will continue to change at a very rapid pace, and any programming skills taught in college may become obsolete at any time. A much more valuable skill to learn is the ability to educate yourself in the necessary skills to complete a large project and work in a team to achieve a goal.

Alumni Yawen

What year level are you in at college right now?

Sophomore

What college are you currently attending and what was the major you were admitted into?

Dartmouth College; we aren’t admitted by major, technically, but I indicated neuroscience as my prospective major on the application

Have you changed your college major, or are you planning to change your major, and if so, why?

I decided to double major in cognitive science and CS instead. I’m more interested in the processes of cognition than the minutiae of the (micro-)biological and chemical basis thereof. After intro CS classes I realized also that coding is really fun!

What is your career interest?

I’d love to do something that combines cognitive science and computer science — perhaps in the field of design or AI. Product design, UI/UX design, and full-stack web development all seem quite interesting right now, and so does research into cognition.

Did you join any research/internships in college that are related to your career? And what was it?

I’m currently conducting research with the cognitive science of learning lab, where I code stimuli for fMRI brain scans. I’m also part of a lab on campus where we design and develop mobile and web applications. Additionally, I’m a TA for a course on human-computer interaction.

What kinds of majors or programs would you recommend to current high school students? And why?

Whatever interests you! But also, be realistic about whether or not you think you can study that full-time. For example, I love creative writing and art, but I definitely would not have fared well majoring in either full time as I know I get very obsessive and perfectionistic over them, and I want to have the option to not do art for months at a time. Also, don’t be too quick to write off something you don’t know much about as uninteresting. I was heavily biased against CS in high school, but it’s actually so much fun. My school also has an excellent digital art program within the CS department, which combines some of my multiple interests. Keep an eye out for cool combinations like this.

How would you advise current high school students to prepare for such majors academically?

Cognitive science has been quite easy for me so far since I took AP Psychology in high school, read a neuroscience textbook, and know a fair bit about linguistics from my interest in language learning. I’d say AP Psychology and just a bit of computer science knowledge (like maybe half of APCSA) would be helpful. As for computer science, I knew a little bit of Java (again, from doing half of APCSA) beforehand and that has been very helpful, as for students who’ve never coded before, there can be a fairly steep learning curve. Talk to professors and take advantage of opportunities when they come up. Additionally, at least in my college, some classes have syllabi posted online. Might be a good idea to look through them before class starts.

How would you advise current high school students to prepare for such majors from an extracurriculars perspective?

I’d say it’s a good idea to keep spending time on your hobbies if you have the time and energy to do so! Art has helped me get a job in mobile and web UI/UX design, for example, and there’s a German language residential center right next to the CS building at my school that I can apply to live in if I didn’t want to walk 15 minutes to class every day in the snow. It’s also just plain fun. Join clubs not related to your major and make friends. It’s also really nice to spend time in nature or exercise if you want to stay sane. And lastly, know how much you can handle and plan accordingly.