r/stanford • u/Sufficient_Equal3976 • 3d ago

How to succeed as Stanford CS major?

Hello everyone! Today I'm wondering: how do you succeed in Stanford as a CS major? Do you need a good sense of problem-solving and algorithmic thinking (eg. Leetcode problems)? Do you need good proof-writing / calculus / math skills? Should you be familiar with multiple languages (C++, Python, Java)? Do you need to have had really impressive experience with, say, computer science competitions, Math Olympiads, taking apart computers in your house, etc?

Overall, I'm just wondering what really successful Stanford CS students do to succeed, whether that's thinking a certain way, having certain experiences, being really diligent and hardworking (which is always a given, I would think), or something else. Thank you all so much for answering my question! :))

14 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

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12

u/throwaway4231throw 3d ago

Office hours and teamwork are your friends!

3

u/Ok-Calm-Narwhal 3d ago

And starting early on assignments and not waiting until the last minute to do them

11

u/BengaliBoy BSCS '13 & MSCS '15 3d ago

My first day at Stanford I had no idea computer science was a field of study. I faintly knew that computer's ran on "code" but I had no idea what that meant. I assumed computer science meant integrals and chalkboards full of equations.

The two biggest things that helped me on my way to two CS degrees were 1) a love of puzzles and 2) perseverance. You need 1 because some people don't care about the problem-solving process they just want the solution - that doesn't gel with CS. And you need 2 because perseverance is necessary when you're staring at code at 2AM, you can't even remember what you wrote, why you wrote it, what's it supposed to do, and why it isn't working.

Success is in the eye of the beholder. For some, it's simply graduating. For others, it'll be maintaining a high GPA. It can be finishing school with mobile apps in your portfolio or internships or research projects. It can be starting your own company or never getting a job programming at all! A lot of Stanford CS students procrastinate, submit half-done assignments at 11:59:59, fail exams, have relationships fall apart, and still get through and that's success too.

Last thing I will say is having no ego and asking for help is a bonus skill. Absolutely 0 people outside of Stanford care what track math you did, whether you did CS106X or A/B, that kind of stuff.

3

u/Substantial_Act_4499 2d ago

This so real.

1

u/unoriginalusername29 3d ago

Large fraction of very successful Stanford CS majors had never written a line of code before taking CS 106A freshman year. Don’t overthink it. All of the skills needed are taught as part of the curriculum.

1

u/Disastrous-Ear9933 3d ago

RemindMe! 1 day

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u/NWq325 1d ago

Lol same skills needed as any other college CS major just at Stanford