First Year of Waterloo Computer Science

[@marclevy1506]

Man… as a former CS grad (class 2010), watching your videos really make me feel for your experiences as a pure remote student. I’m glad you got a lot of out the classes, but you need to up the social aspect of your University! Idea. Try to create/find a small group of other people in your classes (I guess in the same co-op steam as you). Make group zoom calls. Do homework/assignment together over zoom. (Even if no one is asking help, just having each other there LIVE in front of you keeps should keep you more in it.) How to find these other people…? Reddit? Message boards? The reason I suggest upping the social aspect is… 10 years out, I only fondly remember that part of University. The connections I made, still stay with me. The long days/nights we spent studying together, working assignments, etc I’ll never forget and it’s what binds us. Working as a group helped all of us. Those who knew taught and reinforced their learnings, those who didn’t found the answer instead of treading water looking for an answer. Growing together with your peers is what will make University a more worthwhile experience. Good luck in your co-op!

[@nicholast]

wow that was super insightful, thanks for the sharing! i'll definitely try to up my social experience in uni haha

[@clamier]

+1 Class of 2017 Comp Eng here, and 4 years later I only remember good & fun times at the university. I still hang out with my uni friends all the time, including the ones I made during frosh week in my residence

[@ishaanivaturi2387]

Wow, that CS136 one seems to cover a LOT of content for a one-semester course!

[@nicholast]

it was pretty packed!

[@raysun4554]

Pretty nostalgic seeing this. I think there was a turning point late 2nd to early 3rd year where they finish fundamentals and move into the more interesting cs topics, hope you're excited for that. Enjoy the the next few years and remember to flex hard in CS488 if you ever get the chance!

[@nicholast]

Thanks, looking forward to taking upper year CS courses!!

[@yunqianchen192]

The tutor of my thesis also graduated from waterloo. It's a great school. Hope you doing well in the incoming new semester.

[@nicholast]

Wow that’s cool to hear! Thanks :)

[@lucasalba7570]

Love these vids, i’m a up incoming cs major and ur vids are rly giving me confidence. Thank you

[@nicholast]

glad you enjoy them :)

[@Youtubeusermann]

good videos, don't give up on the tech stuff. This is your ticket.

[@dumbdev9795]

I'm studying in germany at the RWTH for 2 years already. The first semester had an mandatory lecture for finding friends and groups to learn with. Was weird when i first heard of it, but it saved me so much. Found amazing friends which helped me until now. For everyone reading this, trust me find some friends to learn with. It makes everything so much easier. Even though i was one of the most lazy people on earth before university, those guys made me so motivated.

[@nicholast]

Solid advice 💯

[@skyhappy]

I remember first year as well. I'm entering third year now. First year was a shock to the uni grind. Same with second. I still don't have a proper sleep schedule haha, I sleep late like you. Am also trying to exercise more to keep my body and mind in tip top shape. Uni has taught me mental discipline is the most powerful tool someone can have.

[@nicholast]

so true, self discipline is 🔑

[@db01brighton]

This is a great video - very interesting to see how Canadian degree courses are structured vs the structure of UK CS degrees. I think new students would find this reflection really useful!

[@nicholast]

thank you!

[@floguo]

but yes congrats on finishing first year! we really did it

[@nicholast]

🥳🥳 congrats to you too!

[@epijaxixiwoaa9836]

Goodness I see a bright future for you man! Goodluck on your career!

[@nicholast]

Thank you, appreciate it :)

[@realanimus]

funny how the video quality drastically improves when he changed to his phone cam :D

[@nicholast]

Yea I was recording with a DSLR through my laptop and didn’t know it recorded at 480p 💀

[@Flame491292]

I went to comp eng with coop at UW during 2013-2018 and I get the same vibes but it's unfortunate for not only you but everyone else affected by covid because taking courses online really hits different than being on campus and interacting with people. When you talked about it being hard to meet people online I can relate because I literally never logged on to D2L or whatever you use now for the student portal and I also never read the group convos for my classes. If I could give you any advice, it would be to focus on your coop experience and landing a good offer by your last couple of placements. Your grades are pretty much to help you secure a good coop placement, but that's pretty much it because they don't do too much for you after grad. Good luck, I'm sure you'll do well!

[@igboman2860]

Reminds me of my first year in 2005. I barely remember any details now

[@nicholast]

hope this was a nice throwback!

[@ryanjhbae]

Definitely a relief to hear that I’m not the only one who found this sem way harder than the last (esp calc). Great video btw, from a fellow first year cs student

[@nicholast]

yea this term was def tough. glad you enjoyed the video!

[@natashajchen]

can we expect a bet 100 project launch soon? 🚀

[@nicholast]

keep an eye out 👀

[@hulkraz1476]

Also a first year CS student, currently taking the exact same class as CS 136 except it’s in Java… it’s a lot but I feel that it’s super useful for everything in future classes

[@nomaanalwi9495]

EE grad here (2012), for your second year definitely look at joining clubs. I wish I could go back in time and join as many clubs as I could. They'd serve as your "sanity anchors". I also feel that while it is convenient to live near the univ campus, living a bit farther makes you feel like you're insulated from the craziness at university. Your room mates may not agree so upto you how you handle that. FInally, enjoy your time at university. This time period in your life in precious and will never return once passed.

[@seansong4513]

Congrats man, I've also just finished my first year in SE, and on my first co-op term as well. Honestly speaking, co op actually feels like "summer"

[@nicholast]

coop term >> school term

[@seansong4513]

@@nicholast Yeah, co op is more important, but also a lot more fun

[@Bankoru]

I'm PhD from UW's IQC. I had to work with a lot of UW CS graduates and at this point it's really nostalgic seeing this.

[@wonjunlee2068]

3:02 I never leave comments, but I just have to subscribe u after seeing this. Ur humor is just too good

[@nicholast]

hahaha thanks :)

[@TheGnarTube]

online life is the death of true bonds. True friendship comes from shared experience, going through a thing as a group. This is why sports are crucial in early life

[@eti-iniER]

Wrote my C Programming final today; also in first year second semester. In all, first year was okay. Learnt I'm not as smart as I thought I was, and that sometimes you just have to suck it up and study to not fail lol 😅

[@big-anvil]

I'll hopefully be joining Waterloo CS in Fall 2021 if I meet my conditions. And damn those first few seconds of the video make my heard drop lmao

[@nicholast]

LOL dw I’m sure you’ll enjoy it (and congrats on getting in!)

[@huhulili9021]

cant wait for the "first CS degree" video

[@purpl3grape]

Earth 122 is a classic extra-curricular artsci course tailored to boost your gpa. Low key comes in clutch.

[@nicholast]

Great course

[@aidandrekic]

Bro I feel you🤣 I’m in UW CS aswell

[@AdamMohamed-cq9fv]

I just finished my first year in CS today, wasn't a fun experience sealing it with a physics exam

[@nicholast]

well at least you made it through first year!

[@floguo]

the geese rating system is a win - i may or may not borrow that 🤣

[@nicholast]

haha feel free to!

[@floguo]

eyyyyyyy new upload 😎

[@JustinK0]

weird, im at fanshawe in London for cs and its mostly coding all day everyday, a lot different than all the theory stuff (which i dont like )

[@nicholast]

😮

[@ahmedkabir998]

Helpful video 👍 would you be able to advise what kind of skill or courses help to make the coop job hunt easy in the first year.. thanks

[@anmo9312]

same happened with me in first term! 4 exams in 3 days.. 3 main courses 1 elective

[@rohannair2104]

Great video!

[@nicholast]

thank you!

[@bhawnapatnaik7903]

You're genuinely funny. Thanks for making these videos ❤️🌈

[@nicholast]

Thanks :)

[@bhawnapatnaik7903]

Pleasure 😁🌈

[@affanalvi6290]

@@bhawnapatnaik7903 what is the reason behind using the rainbow after each sentence

[@georgeyu26]

I’ve finished CS 3A and MATH 138 was my all-time lowest mark in any course too 😂

[@nicholast]

calc is just too hard 😭

[@whateverforever3240]

Thanks for creating such a good video, do you know anywhere that reliable website that I could find a place to rent in waterloo.

[@xenwraithtealix1075]

Hey, I'm in 3A CS now. Don't worry, it gets better. You won't have to look at Racket again (unless u really want to for CS 241)

[@nicholast]

Thank god

[@wilsonwang3719]

@Nicholas T. I'm not sure if you will see this, I'm in waterloo too! I'd love to link sometime, sequence 1 btw, I also struggled with math and everything!

[@nicholast]

hey wilson! i'm not in waterloo this term but maybe when i'm back! math was hard :(

[@HenryBJuer]

I'm not a com sci guy, man I don't even study anymore. But I rate your video my guy, keep it up

[@officiallyRitterLost]

Your phone camera produces better quality than your normal one xD

[@JohnDoe-he2gx]

Great Vid! I'm kinda curious though, what are your thoughts on CFM? I know that CS and CFM majors have somewhat of an identical first year so would you say its a good program to go into? Do you know a lot of people in CFM? Thanks and keep up the good work!

[@nicholast]

CFM is a great program that's basically a double major of CS and AFM. If you're interested in both those areas, then you'll probably enjoy the program, however, my main interest was in CS, so I ended up going into that instead of CFM. CS and CFM do have similar first year courses, but CS students get two electives in 1A and two in 1B, whereas CFM students have two required AFM courses in each term instead. I don't actually know many people in CFM so I can't really comment on it. Hope that helps!

[@JohnDoe-he2gx]

@@nicholast Helps a lot! Appreciate it! In that case, I'll probably accept my offer soon for CFM. Since CFM and CS students have similar first year courses (Both take CS 135/136 and MATH 135/136/137/138), do you have any advice for those courses and how to be successful in them? Also, do you know anything about the transfer process from CFM to CS? Thanks

[@nicholast]

@@JohnDoe-he2gx for all courses, make sure to START ASSIGNMENTS EARLY (you will thank your future self). doing this gives you more time to seek help if you need it and makes it less stressful overall. for the math courses, i think it's important to do a lot of practice once you understand the material well. there were some extra practice problems/assignments but i only did them occasionally haha. for the cs courses, be very thorough in your testing. most of your assignment marks come from whether your code passes correctness tests, so if you write very comprehensive tests, then you'll likely pass those correctness tests too. i don't know much about the cfm->cs transfer process but i don't think it's hard to transfer. see here for more details: cs.uwaterloo.ca/current-undergraduate-students/cstransfer

[@s0n1kn0va2]

would you say you learned more programming at the University or by yourself? I was wondering what could help me understand programming better.

[@nicholast]

i definitely learned a lot more during university, from functional programming, to object oriented programming, and a bunch of data structures + algorithms

[@ethanmisa]

How many hours total per day would you say you spent doing work? Did you have time for yourself and for personal projects, or was it just school that was taking up your time? I guess with good time management it may vary, but just in general how was the workload? Thanks!!

[@nicholast]

it varied between 2-8 hrs, but i'd say the average day was 6 hrs of work. i had free time but i didn't manage my time very well so didn't end up working on projects during the school year. overall, workload is definitely manageable and you'll have time for lots of other things as long as you manage your time properly. hope that helps!

[@ethanmisa]

@@nicholast helps a lot! I appreciate it

[@JamesChugh]

Hey wanna know, I got into Waterloo mathematics regular. May I know how to shift from regular to coop after 1st year. What are the marks required?

[@nicholast]

in recent terms, you'd need a cumulative average of 85%+. see here for more info: uwaterloo.ca/math/current-undergraduates/co-op-information/transferring-regular-co-op

[@dodobird809]

is there an industry standard programming language? c maybe?

[@nicholast]

idt there's really an industry standard. different languages are used across companies for different reasons. some of the more popular ones these days include python and javascript though

[@eth782]

Wait a year ends at may? Not end of June?

[@xuebrent3066]

Winter term from Jan to the end of April. Spring term from May to the end of August.

[@nicholast]

yea (see Xue Brent's comment)

[@eth782]

Okay, are there two terms in a year?

[@floguo]

@@eth782 three terms, four months each -> fall, winter, and spring

[@eth782]

Do you have Troy varsin

[@arandom1105]

If I’m going to be freshman in college(still undecided) n know nothing ab computer science do ur think it’s worth it to major in it, n if it is what should I start learning independently?

[@tango8011]

I think this is standard tbh. My first year I was getting high 50s, low 60s...then my second year I was getting high 60s and 70s. I enjoyed the course a lot but I quickly learned that being a programmer was not for me.

[@crazymonkey60123]

Same and I changed degree and finished. I got a job in my major but I enjoy doing coding as a little hobby for me

[@amitaabhbhandari8788]

Can you share your perspective, which is better UW Software Engg or UW CS program? Have been admitted to both & unable to decide.

[@nicholast]

first off, congrats on getting into both programs! i dont know much about the SE program (didn't apply) but i think you can easily switch from SE to CS (not vice versa though). both programs have similar job prospects, CS has more flexibility (more electives), but SE has a cohort system. both are great programs though! here are some resources to help decide: www.linkedin.com/pulse/software-engineering-vs-computer-science-uwaterloo-havin-leung?articleId=6661284730522087425 bopeng.io/why-I-transfered-from-SE-to-CS

[@ayman4490]

You got an internship in your first year? 😩 can you make a resume vid and describing how you landed your first internship?

[@nicholast]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoa9k3uYo9mMasU

[@ayman4490]

@@nicholast oh wow how did I not see that vid, sorry my bad .

[@nabirislam2614]

should we buy macos or windows

[@maganhassan2627]

Ahhh yes the maths of computer science it's a pain for me for doing this back when I did my computer science degree lool

[@liamwelsh5565]

11:40 Dood your phone looks better then your camera lol. Your phone was so much brighter unless you turned a light on or something.

[@sushipackdushi1]

Are you guys going back to real-life lessons anytime soon?

[@nicholast]

some classes are offered in-person this fall!

[@theluckygamer5236]

Hey Nicholas, I need some help choosing a university. Right now I have cs offers from uoft(Scarborough), Ryerson, Mac, and Guelph....still waiting on waterloo. If I don't get into waterloo where would you advise me to go???

[@nicholast]

i dont know too much about the cs programs at those schools, but i'd go with utsc because they have a decent coop program. mac is also pretty good with a coop program as well, but i don't think it's as well developed as utsc's. take my advice with a grain of salt since i didnt do much research on these schools haha

[@theluckygamer5236]

@@nicholast oh man i hope i get into waterloo then. Couple more questions i appreciate your help. 1. When did you get your offer from waterloo? 2. The program is regular/coop how does that work out?

[@nicholast]

@@theluckygamer5236 yes you can do it! 1. i got my offer in april last year 2. coop means you alternate between school and work terms, so it takes 5 years to complete the program. regular means you don't do coop, so you'll do two terms of school followed by one term off. as a result, it takes 4 years.

[@dehu3010]

So based on your first year, would you say that university is worth it or not?

[@nicholast]

i learned a lot of cool stuff this year, but it was quite expensive. however, i see university as an investment into my future, so i think it's worth it

[@invictuz4803]

That's too broad of a question. University for computer science is probably the most worth you will get compared to something like business.

[@Sanyu-Tumusiime]

i got into softare engineering is it worth coming?

[@nicholast]

haha yep

[@fulano31231]

I think Waterloo has a bigger concentration of KZbinrs than southern california

[@invictuz4803]

How'd you land a job as a frontend engineer? Do you already have frontend knowledge?

[@nicholast]

i had some frontend knowledge (more than i did backend), but it wasnt too extensive more on how i landed the internship here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eoa9k3uYo9mMasU

[@maxdegreat566]

U learned all that in ur first year?!?!?

[@uditkhattar6219]

Hey! First of all, your videos are great, relatable af and really helpful! I am an incoming freshman at UWaterloo CS and I was a bit confused between the 4 sequences. What sequence do you recommend for someone who has little coding experience? Also, I was planning on taking ECON101 in 1A but after watching your video, I'm back to square one😂 I also have no background in economics whatsoever and I'm trying to decide between pysch/phil/econ/afm courses. If given an opportunity to redo 1A, would you take some other course rather than econ101? Thanks! Hope to see you on campus this fall!!

[@nicholast]

hey Udit! if you want some more time to prepare for your first coop (by doing side projects or learning stuff on ur own), then i'd go with seq 4 (first coop is Fall of second year). econ101 wasn't too bad tbh, i just didn't find it very interesting. in 1b, i took 2 electives which i enjoyed much more than econ, namely earth 122 and bet 100. i talked about them in this video kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3OQm2h5j7R8qpY. hope that helps :)

[@soorajkj1564]

Joma Jr

[@nicholast]

joma's videos are great

[@BOOFSIDEPINS]

@@nicholast And he's a great guy. Especially the time he tried to rip off Algoexpert and got sued.

[@moumitamitra4239]

What is your overall grade?

[@nicholast]

~90

[@moumitamitra4239]

@@nicholast Excellent. Did u take Chem? Is it mandatory

[@nicholast]

Nope and it’s not mandatory

[@moumitamitra4239]

@@nicholast Your all videos are extraordinary and amazing. I would like to ask a couple of questions please if u don't mind

[@nicholast]

@@moumitamitra4239 haha thanks, feel free to ask

[@Roblox22r]

Hi

[@hectorpl]

Hi!

[@nicholast]

hey!

[@Dwika34]

Oh wow I’m also a first year from an overseas university, and you already am applying for a job. I feel defeated damn hahaha,

[@StrikerSly]

I’m in UW CS too, if u need a friend or a chat HMU! Love your channel

[@nicholast]

Thanks! Always nice to meet fellow uw cs students :)

[@RawBert]

bro what is that sleep schedule

[@nicholast]

i was really living in hawaii time

[@8c_run_qil1_co_ncob_z]

Waterloo = Geese

[@cranjismcbasketball5366]

Me after seeing that Math syllabus at Waterloo is the same as that of Indian High Schools: *laughs in Indian*

[@nicholast]

😳

[@cranjismcbasketball5366]

@@nicholast yeah buddy I'm not kidding. All those topics you mentioned are a part of the SAT of India, if that makes sense(it's called JEE). Matrices, Determinants, Integration, Differential Equations, Area Under Curves, all of it and even more complex topics. There's a reason why JEE is considered the toughest undergraduate in the world. :)

[@babitonggek148]

I just want to say..you are very cute☺️

[@printchannel_name3371]

Feels like you learned more in your first year than my three years at university 😂

[@nicholast]

No way 😂

[@imanahsan2042]

hey my bestie is such a big fan of your videos and she just got into waterloo recently! her birthday is coming up soon and i wanted to plan something special for her. am i able to contact you via email or something to plan something?

[@nicholast]

feel free to shoot me a dm @tao.nick