Tim Cook Believes Learning to Code Is Essential

Apple CEO Tim Cook, during a media interview in France, stated, “If I were a French student and I were ten years old, I think it would be more important for me to learn coding than English....this is a language that you can use to express yourself to seven billion people in the world.”

Statistics back up Cook’s emphasis on the importance of coding skills.  More than a third of the highest paying jobs in the U.S. require some familiarity with computer programming, according to a report from the job search platform Glassdoor.

Students trying to gain acceptance to the most elite universities often emphasize their accomplishments in coding-related endeavors.  One of my recent students, who gained acceptance to all seven of the Ivy League schools to which she applied, as well as to Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), did just that.  The former Hillsborough High School student, on her college applications, shared information about her “passion project.”  After her grandfather suffered a stroke, she invented a novel medical device to track feedback on rehabilitation exercise performance.  She presented her research at the Intel Developer Forum and the M.I.T. IEEE Undergraduate Research and Technology Conference, as well as to former President Barack Obama at the White House Science Fair. Her unique skill set, and ability to apply it to the creation of an incredibly valuable medical device, won her additional international and national recognitions and awards. This is the type of story that garners the attention of college admissions officers!

There are many options for students to develop a skill set that may ultimately launch them to national, and even international, recognition.  A visit to the nearest Apple store may be a great starting point as the company offers “Today at Apple” courses, free of charge, at all of its 500 stores worldwide.  Offerings include more than 60 different classes and students can even bring in their personal projects for Apple’s “Creative Pros” (the teaching equivalent of the store’s tech-oriented “Geniuses”) to review.  

Students seeking to develop a skill set from the comforts of home have almost limitless online options. “Udemy” is a website hosting more than 65,000 courses, many at a cost of $9.99, addressing topics including cyber security, software engineering, and artificial intelligence.  Another option is “Treehouse,” a website that offers beginner to advanced courses in coding and allows students to trouble-shoot problems and build a network of coding colleagues within the Treehouse community.

Once students identify an area of passion and start developing a skill set to address its issues, the sky’s the limit.  They, too, may end up at the White House Science Fair one day, deciding whether to attend M.I.T., Stanford, Princeton, or a host of other options!

Susan Alaimo is the founder of SAT Smart. For the past 25 years, SAT Smart’s Ivy League educated tutors have prepared students for the PSAT, SAT, ACT, Subject Tests, AP courses, and all high school subjects. Visit www.SATsmart.com or call 908-369-5362.