The University of New South Wales, Computer Science / Economics, Lisa Lin

Name: Lisa Lin

Age: 19

College / University: The University of New South Wales

Major: Computer Science / Economics

Country origin: Australia

What did you do in high school to prepare you for this major? Tell us about your extracurricular activities and any honors/awards you received while preparing for university.

During my final two years of high school, preparing for the HSC, I chose to study economics. Honestly, at the time, I disliked it as it was content-heavy and very nuanced. But in retrospect, I enjoyed how the subject was a labour of love and the satisfaction I received from understanding the topic as well as the world around us on a more macro level. In terms of computer science, I did little to prepare and, during the summer before the course, looked up free computer courses online to complete to feel more prepared. However, I never ended up completing any of these online courses before the commencement of university.

Please tell us your daily life schedule as a student with this major in your university.

I don't believe my daily schedule is particularly different from any other university student. Typically, my schedule revolves around Wednesday with economics tutorials (where the lecture material is reviewed and weekly problems are solved in depth) in the mornings and computer science tutorials and labs (a session to complete weekly problems and mark them off) in the afternoon. The majority of my work is completed on weekends and centred around a lot of late nights due to unfortunate procrastination.

How do you manage your stress? What's the secret?

I don't believe there is a particular secret to managing all the stress, honestly. I think the mentality is to take it one step at a time and acknowledge your small achievements. In a quickly growing space such as technology, it is easy to get overwhelmed and lost in comparing yourself to your peers and other high achievers. However, I've learnt the hard way that this more often stunts your growth and progress rather than fosters it.

What advice would you give high school students wanting to study this major?

Be consistent and diligent. I think the most important part of being a computer science student / major is the consistent willingness to learn and apply yourself. As with the continually evolving technological industry, you need to stay up to date and keep moving forward in terms of your skills and progress. :)

What was the most helpful when applying to college for this major?

Unfortunately, I did not have any extracurricular activities relevant to computer science in high school, nor were there any particular requirements needed from my university.

Thank you to Lisa Lin!

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