How I Survived Computer Science at UofT | Tips & Horror Stories

Decided that it was finally time to hop on and talk about my past 3 years as a computer science student at UofT. There was a lot of good and, of course, a lot of bad. Hope this video helps incoming and current curious students :)
Timestamps:
0:00 - 1:20 Intro & Updates
1:21 - 1:39 SUBSCRIBE (ft. roommate)
1:40 - 2:52 Do you need prior coding experience?
2:53 - 5:51 First Year Courses
5:52 - 7:13 Second & Third Year Courses
7:14 - 8:09 Fourth Year+ Courses
8:10 - 9:56 POSt & Horror Stories
9:57 - 14:05 Tips for Students
14:06 - 14:51 Final Remarks
ABOUT ME:
I'm a CS student based in Toronto/Vancouver studying at the University of Toronto. I make daily life vlog content, university content, and tech work content.
- name: Jasper Mai
- age: 21
- school: University of Toronto
- program: specialist in computer science
- camera: SONY ZV-1
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Music by Blue Sirens - In Passing - thmatc.co/?l=F1A6B30C
Music by Mark Generous - Softer - thmatc.co/?l=379D09BD
Music by Bmyshadow - Dream On - thmatc.co/?l=F2E3033F
Music by Mark Generous - Sleepless - thmatc.co/?l=0E3D9DA7
Music by Mark Generous - Free Stuff - thmatc.co/?l=02B7B897
Music by Jonah Zed - 16always - thmatc.co/?l=40023B0E

[@NathanWu]

Love the sit-down videos! Do more 🤩 Also... I see a familiar face

[@haylee.k6922]

This helped me so much for considering u of t for next year :) I'm excited for it

[@derinbecel]

Thank you for this video! I'm at UTSC, 2nd year, majoring in Astrophysics and I've taken CSC A20 (beginner intro to programming). It's fantastic to hear your story and you've made it to where you are today. Truly inspirational! Also, the editing is great too, you are a very talented individual.

[@jmai]

That's awesome! Hope you're enjoying your intro to cs

[@lakss8672]

Hey @jmai and thank you for that video ! I just want to ask if you were sure about the end of POSt at u of t because I can't find anything online that says they removed POSt... Hearing all of your experiences with POSt makes it an important factor to either choose or not U of T for next year

[@raytzeng9217]

Ur fr the best uoft content creator ur videos are soooo useful

[@jmai]

thanks man, glad to hear:)

[@oyehanakeem8201]

very helpful thanks for making the video

[@Shaangill-xs1um]

Can you please drop a video on how you got so many internships and what made you stand out? As a first year cs student here im tryna be just like you lmao

[@nicholaschoi8096]

Great video! Is UTM CS courses more challenging than UTSG courses in your opinion/what you heard?

[@prodDA]

that one comment about not being intimidated by that one guy who's been coding projects since he was 10 rly helped me lmao, one of the big stresses of being in this is that I feel behind because of those people. and also discrete math. so glad i survived that course lmaoooo

[@rhythmsplays583]

Hell yeah brother, I just did that spiraling shit this week for my Calc 3 class lol

[@jmai]

It's a universal experience

[@cerensahin6327]

Thank you for this amazing content! I will be an incoming cs student at Uoft this year. Would you mind sharing how you were able to find internships over the summers even in the first year? Did you do ASIP? And does taking a gap semester helped you support your next years of study financially?

[@jmai]

Welcome to UofT! Internships are very situational for each person, but I'd recommend (1) attending career fairs, (2) reaching out to ppl you know, and (3) just applying. Unfortunately ASIP wasn't a thing during my time, but take a look into that opportunity as well! As for the gap year, yes my gap semesters definitely helped me save up for upcoming years of study :)

[@kazuma8492]

thanks a lot for the video! I just applied to cs at uoft, but I've been quite worried about the courses; your personal experience with the major cs courses really helped me better understand what I might be getting myself into. One last thing: do you have any tips for anyone going into first-year cs? would you recommend preparing anything before going into the first semester?

[@jmai]

It's definitely a lot of work at the beginning, but it pays off in your later years for sure! (hope I didn't scare you off aha..) Honestly in my last high school year I regretted not enjoying my time more - don't stress too much about prepping for first year and focus on squeezing the most out of your high school experience

[@kazuma8492]

​@@jmai haha I signed up for this anyways. I'll just slowly start mentally preparing myself for it .. thanks for the advice as well :) being in high school seems to be what a lot of people long for, so I definitely won't take it for granted

[@danniethinguyen]

I don't think they got rid of POSt. The school website still states it.

[@omarkhan3693]

What were your first year electives?

[@brucemillercanada]

well i have csc165 and mat167 starting next month , wish me luck through my would be most traumatic experience

[@YUMYUMINMYTUMTUM]

Hey, I have been accepted to University of Toronto Mississauga in CS dept, however, being a British student, i really didn’t have Physics or Chem in my high school, will that impact by any means during the program? Or is chem or phy knowledge needed? I did have maths tho which covers calculus, algebra and stats

[@rc505mk2]

No. You don't need any physics or chemistry knowledge unless you want to double major physics or chem. For Missuaga cs, they only look at csc148 and mat102 grades. csc148 should be easy to follow as long as you stay on top of all the work. Mat102 can be difficult because it is a discrete proofs course.

[@YUMYUMINMYTUMTUM]

@@rc505mk2 Thank you so much 😊

[@veerpatel6719]

Hey did you end up going UTM? British student in the same position

[@YUMYUMINMYTUMTUM]

@@veerpatel6719 just apply with your gcse and al grades?

[@veerpatel6719]

@@YUMYUMINMYTUMTUM Yeah I did. Do you go to UTM now? Do you recommend it?

[@aleenaasif4712]

I’m confused I thought u couldn’t do just one major? I thought it was 1 specialist or 2 majors or 1 major & 2 minors

[@paulliang-tt6ig]

i guess this is right 1 specialist or 2 majors or 1 major & 2 minors

[@wazi7863]

U of T Missisauga?

[@amrikbrar]

Hey bro is POST still a thing in UTM?

[@hadi.ahmed13]

yes it is the same traumatic experience