U of C: Comp Sci

[ronaldo]

hey i am attending u of c next year in the comp sci program and i was just wondering if there are any ppl on here that are currently in that program or going into it next year as well. i was hoping someone could maybe help me out with a few things too...

[5hift]

As a Comp Sci student kind of in between 2nd and 3rd year all I can say is good luck because its not going to be what you expect.

[ronaldo]

is it really that bad?

[5hift]

Well they pretty much expect you to know how to program coming right into Cpsc 231 (the intro class). Most profs will start off slow and then kind of skip some stages of learning to program, they expect you to do on your own time. You'll spend a lot of your free time in the Computer Labs and a few late nighters if you want to pass. Unless your already familiar with Pascal/Java, your best bet would be to make some friends fast as doing a program completely by yourself is pretty hard and takes forever.

[00sir2]

I took the first 2 years of this program and it's definately tough. I had more than my share of overnighters in the lab tryin' to get my projects done. Good luck.

[ronaldo]

haha uhh is it to late to change faculties/programs

[5hift]

^^ Your best bet is to take classes from either Lenord Manzara or if he's not teaching that class, then James Tam as those are the best two profs I've found so far for the intro level classes.

[Impreza]

My suggestion for you is to make friends that are very knowledgeable in programming (usually the really nerdy kids). If you don't have any background in programming, first year can be kind of rough. So make sure you have friends to help you and start on your assignments early!

In CPSC, you will either love it or hate it. I hated it...

[5hift]

Originally posted by ronaldo
haha uhh is it to late to change faculties/programs

If your going into Computer Science and dont know what to expect or have no real reason for going into it, you most likely will join about half the students who dont make it out of first year,

[Nav13]

Dont worry too much about switching faculties, if you have a second choice in mind, you can most likely take courses in that choice while being enrolled in comp sci. However if you really are worried you can go down to the office of the registrar and submit in writing which choice you want to change and to what you what to change it to, along with a reason ( very simple can just make any bs up like my intrests have changed and feel this faculty will better suite my intrests, or something along those lines) and they will change it for you. If I had know this last year I wouldnt have wasted a year

[Street_Soldier]

Dont stress over it. Just do your homwork and dont leave things till the last minute. Its like everything else, work hard and do your best and you should be fine. Every faculty is going to be hard this one is no different.

[RiCE-DaDDy]

the only thing that will kill u are the theory courses: theory of computability (even tho i found that easy), algorthim analysis and dseign, discrete mathematics, philosophy/logics.

[5hift]

Originally posted by RiCE-DaDDy
the only thing that will kill u are the theory courses: theory of computability (even tho i found that easy), algorthim analysis and dseign, discrete mathematics, philosophy/logics.

all the classes mentioned seem to have around a 40% pass rate

[Orbie]

Ronaldo, don't get disheartened. It's really not that bad man. Like someone mentioned before though, just make sure this is the direction you want to go. That will provide enough motivation for you to put in the hard work and make it through. Putting in late nights or working on your own time is a given, same with many other faculties. Do you think when/if you get a programming job after you grad it's going to be straight 8-5 haha....no. Just work hard and you'll be fine man

[5hift]

Originally posted by Orbie
Ronaldo, don't get disheartened. It's really not that bad man. Like someone mentioned before though, just make sure this is the direction you want to go. That will provide enough motivation for you to put in the hard work and make it through. Putting in late nights or working on your own time is a given, same with many other faculties. Do you think when/if you get a programming job after you grad it's going to be straight 8-5 haha....no. Just work hard and you'll be fine man

Orbie is right, I wasnt trying to scare you away, more to let you know what you are in for ahead of time. When I started CompSci I was so clueless and had no idea what was going on at first. I wasnt ready for the workload or the amount of personal time you would have to sacrifice. But somehow, even I made it to 3rd year classes so that means most ppl have a shot if they put in a honest effort.

[Chester]

Like these other guys said, expect to spend a lot of your free time in the computer labs

[5hift]

So back to what Ronaldo was orignally asking who is actually in the Cpsc faculty and what year are you in?

Im stuck in between 2nd and 3rd year classes as of now.

[Impreza]

Like someone mentioned earlier, try to stick with James Tam. He is much better than the others. Also, have fun in MATH271, Thi Dinh is...well, different! Do a search on MATH271 and you will find some interesting threads that will give you an idea of what is in store for you.

Good Luck!

[the_fornicator]

I'm a graduate from uofa com sci.

best advice that I have is to try and hash things out for yourself. things really aren't as hard as people make it out to be.

it *is* a lot of work, but with that said, if you start everything early you will have noticibly less stress.

newsgroups are your friend.

[badMotoFinga]

i'm a 4th year student finishing up whats left of this nasty degree.
For one thing .. I now hate programming with a passion ... I never ever want to be a programmer .. makes me ill thinking about it .. but hey if thats what you like .. then CPSC is definetly for you ... I entered CPSC expecting it to be an easier route into a nice high paying career rather than going into engineering. I do kinda regret it. Theres alot of brainstorming and problem solving .. if you wouldnt mind spending your days infront of a computer in a cold and sterile lab .. give it a try ... they say cpsc gets easier around the 3rd and 4th years ... in my experience it always got harder ... I noticed in my fellow compsci'ers that you either have the ability to think like a programmer or you dont. I suggest you try and figure out if you are a programmer before you follow thru this degree to the end ... sure theres other sides to cpsc .. but they're not really emphasized in UofC ... If you manage to make it far enuf .. then do the internship thing