Question

hello everyone!
what do you do in summer to succeed in the cs ?
(i mean more than what you do at the univ)

Answer 1

I would say, you need to do 2 things:
* Study programming
* Learn math
You can spend your time 90/10, 90 percents for programming and 10 percents for math, because you need math for advanced topics, like artificial intelligence, robotics and it's easy to forget math if you do not use it. And, if you do not know math, you can still be good at CS, but if do not know how to write programs, you basically can not apply your knowledge in practice.
You can start learning programming by selecting a simple, but practical programming language like Python, buy a book for beginners and study it. Try to write simple programs. You can even try to write a simple project of your own, like simple text-base game, or program that draw graphs, or a program that displays images or a simple calculator that calculates expressions like 2 + 3 *4. Than if you still have time you can try to learn more advanced concepts, like Object Oriented Programming or Data Bases or Operating Systems. The last advice try to learn how to use your OS better. It will help you working on your tasks and on your projects.

Answer 2

I completely agree with Proger except on the starting language. I would suggest C++. It has a low level that you can easily master and offers advanced functionality for you to build on once you are done with the basics. Also it is more applicable in the future (e.g jobs etc.) than Python. At least this is what I think

Answer 3

The Kulgan is right, C++ is more low level so if you study C++ you will have better understanding of how your computer works. But Python is easier to learn.
Anyway to become an expert in CS you need to know:
* How you computer works, and you will not be able to understand it without programming on C++, C (a subset of C++ that appeared before C++ and was used as a base for developing C++) or even assembler language (the language your processor speak)
* Knowing some dynamic language like Python/Ruby that will give you ability to write code fast without thinking about low level concepts
What to learn first? Anything you like :) DO NOT start with C or Assembler it is hard and boring. Start with either C++ or Python. Python is much easier and simpler to use, while if you manage to learn C++ you will know more about your computer and you may be in a better situation if you know just C++ and don't know Python, because as Kulgan said there are more jobs for C++ programmer.

Answer 4

One more thing to add.
If you study computer science you need to learn a lot of math to really understand all its concepts. During the summer you can learn material from precalculus that will help you to understand basics of calculus.
There are a lot of books/courses about precalculus, You can start here http://www.khanacademy.org/#precalculus