What do I major in?

[strangerlove]

So I'm a freshman in high school but I've already been given private tours and summer classes by MIT and Harvard who approached me earlier in the year. I'm fairly sure I'm going to attend one of those schools and so I have a question. Computer Science or Computer Engineering?

I'm tempted to go into Computer Engineering because I really like hardware but I also really enjoy programming and I'm worried that I won't get enough programming in Computer Engineering. Another thing I'm really REALLY interested in is Networking/Hacking. I've done research but I can't really find which major covers Networking/Ethical Hacking more. And my use of the term "Hacking" includes reverse engineering and cracking but obviously also network based Hacking, be it ethical or not, I'm not really one for ethics. So to sum it up I'm interested in

 

-Hardware

-Programming

-Networking

-Reverse Engineering/Hacking

 

Which major do you think covers these topics more/better? And which of said schools do you think would be better for the chosen major?

 

                                                                                                                                                                                --Thanks mates 

[DoubleY]

If you REALLY want, you could just do both. I mean, that's A LOT of credit hours. But what the heck  

[Fred Castellum]

Freshman? You still have years to decide what you want to major in. Just try em out and find out which of the 4 you want to focus on.

 

Whatever is fun to you.

[GeekySole9354]

Both of them

[Rorgash]

24 hour days, do all

[wing2k5]

Why not spend your spare time trying out some online programming courses? I like to think that those are more readily available than what one could find for computer engineering. This way, you could get a head start on programming, rather than wait until your college/university years.

 

Linus has been pimping Lynda.com lately in his videos. That is a good resource to have.

[wolfsinner]

Between MIT and Harvard you should have no doubt in choosing MIT. A better alternative to Harvard is Stanford.

 

I've been to the MIT, Stanford and Carnegie Mellon University for research purposes, and all have top-notch Computer Science programs.

I'd say it's still too early for you to decide on what you want to do, given you're a freshman. Try out Problem Solving (maybe the challenges available here in the forums?), read up on your favorite topics, do a personal effort to learn. You're still in high school, and from my time in High School, I remember I had time to do whatever I wanted to do and still ace everything.

 

 

I'm curious now though. These schools don't usually reach out to freshmen personally unless they've done something noteworthy. What have you done to gain their attention?

[strangerlove]

I'm curious now though. These schools don't usually reach out to freshmen personally unless they've done something noteworthy. What have you done to gain their attention?

 

I've done significantly well on the FIRST robotics team and received a perfect score on the practice SAT. I also attend a Technical High School(Staten Island Technical High School) which requires applicants to score extremely high on the admissions test known as SHSAT. My high school is quite well known among colleges. I was also tasked with defending my schools server with a partner, albeit there were no attacks. I also scored perfect on all of my Regents tests and have a 4.05 GPA so far, though it is obviously very early on.

[wolfsinner]

I've done significantly well on the FIRST robotics team and received a perfect score on the practice SAT. I also attend a Technical High School(Staten Island Technical High School) which requires applicants to score extremely high on the admissions test known as SHSAT. My high school is quite well known among colleges. I was also tasked with defending my schools server with a partner, albeit there were no attacks. I also scored perfect on all of my Regents tests and have a 4.05 GPA so far, though it is obviously very early on.

 

That's great!

Like I said, if you like Computer Science and want to write code it is a must (especially for those schools) that you can solve problems, so I'd recommend that you focus on that for a while. I can point you in the right direction if you want.

Reverse engineering is improved through practice. Packet sniffing/bus analysis and disassembling/decompiling software are some of the most used techniques. You don't really study this as a field, but you can use everything you've learned along with your own smarts to deduce what is done. There have been lectures on the topic, and there are plenty of quality books on the subject.

Hacking should be approached in the same way as reverse engineering.

 

You will be able to study and specialize in networking in any University you go for a Computer Science program. As for hardware, it depends on what you want to know about hardware.

As a Computer Science graduate, I can tell you exactly how most modern architectures work at a logical/semi-physical level. But Computer Engineering also studies the physical realm at a very detailed level.

 

I personally prefer Computer Science, and from what you're saying I think it fits you as well. But you should take your time and find out for yourself.

[Maximation]

I remember I had time to do whatever I wanted to do and still ace everything.

This basically applies to me right now, it is awesome