CS Advice

Below are feedback in response to this guide from seniors. I am not disclosing any seniors identity without permission.

You might be overselling Leetcode practice. It's very valuable, but there are companies that don't go very hard on it too. I've never studied Leetcode but gotten by at VMware and Nutanix (got an offer from IQVIA also a long time ago but did VMware instead); it's probably to my negative overall honestly, but it's not necessarily a requirement. I think the division between "theoretical" and "practical" is complicated. People describe 311 as theoretical for example because it talks about computers in a very general way, and sometimes people argue that it isn't "practical" or "useful" because you don't program in MIPS or whatever in most jobs. "Usually, students do 3 internships in the summer" is definitely news to me, most students I know have done 1-2. "I believe that through your CS degree at UNC, you should try to gain at least the basic knowledge of AI/ML (even if you don't pursue a career in AI/ML)" - I think this is an interesting one I wouldn't beat myself up if you didn't take an ML/AI class, but I also think that even not considering current trends, ML is a good tool in many domains. You can pretty much take "Fundamental concepts of network communication (optional)" off 211 lol. Maybe one day 550 was pretty diferent for me (Majikes). But I imagine future 550 will be more like Kevin's version (even if someone else teaches it). If you want a career in AI/ML, I think taking graduate courses is highly preferable. It's an extremely competitive field, much more tied to research, and jobs go to people with a really deep understanding of the field (plus experience). I think that's all my thoughts on the content. I guess there's stuff I'd add too. You could probably talk about UTAing/research, although I understand if you didn't do those. Some non-CS advice is that I encourage people to be social, and go to clubs and such, including non-CS stuff. I was on the marathon club and that little community meant a lot to me. I went to a club showcase last spring and there were some really cool clubs. There was one club that like played outdoor games like frisbee and tag with glow-in-the-dark toys and damn that sounds fun and a great way to make friends. Wish I had done that instead of playing league when I was a freshman.