OMSCS: How hard are these courses?

play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=chronos.matrix
Some of the graduate courses in Georgia Tech's online computer science program are unbelievably tough. Some are not so bad, if you already have a solid background. I mean a VERY solid background. No matter how prepared you think you are, you will probably have to retake some courses to keep you GPA high and finish the degree in a relatively modest time frame.
kzbin.info/www/bejne/poCWeGqCh9Z0gcU
#OMSCS #OnlineMastersDegree #ComputerScienceDegree

[@pieter5466]

2:46 if you're even considering hiring someone to do the work for you, then you are in the wrong place entirely

[@EdwardMendoza]

For what I've seen, those students end up dropping out anyway as there are only a few courses they can get through doing that.

[@techwitheds]

I completely agree with you. Even with experience and an undergraduate CS degree from a good school, I still struggle.

[@EdwardMendoza]

It's learning in complete isolation that makes it exponentially harder, and the fact that the do not let you retake a course and replace a bad grade. It basically forces you to drop a course after just a hint of a lower grade, and makes the whole experience even worse.

[@uberkarthik]

I am conflicted. I am taking KBAI right now, and I initially felt like dropping within the first few weeks because I knew absolutely nothing about it despite watching all lectures and independently researching the subject. I spent dozens of hours freaking out. However, I am now on track to get an A even if I skip the final. A minimum of B is guaranteed even if I don't submit anything starting this moment. I worked literally 10x as hard before the drop deadline as I have after.

[@EdwardMendoza]

KBAI is a strange course as not too many build each major assignment so strongly on top of each other. ML4T and AI4R do that in a way, but they are different parts that build to a final piece at the end. KBAI was great but not a good example of the majority of the courses offered.

[@MaggieMaTransforminie]

I have an art degree too! Just got accepted for the Fall24 semester and realized how difficult it is to graduate from this program. I only have 3 months before school starts. Is it even time for me to catch up on the basics? Also, curious if you were able to find an internship while you were in the program? Were you able to find a full time job upon graduation? Sorry for so many questions. Your background resonate with me so much!

[@PPCCO.]

I'm not going to be there for another 2 years, also the reason I've been taking python courses right now. I'm starting my CS journey at WGU.

[@Vim_Tim]

Important update: GT added a one-time grade substitution policy for graduate students in Fall 2022.

[@EdwardMendoza]

Of course they did; because I graduated already :D Just kidding, everyone has some courses that are easier or harder; we all have to just pay our dues and get through it.

[@rayallinkh]

do you think it could have been much easier if you had chatgpt as your TA?

[@mindsetnuggets]

I started my first semester this fall. It is tough for me.

[@EdwardMendoza]

The firs year is brutal. Just stick with it it's worth it!

[@SandraPlamenats]

Please do a review of KBAI :)

[@EdwardMendoza]

Yes, I will get on it!

[@patti3267]

I have 1 year professional full-time experience as a .NET Backend developer. But I have no undergrad in CS. Only work experience. How much do coding assignments usually impact your grade in a class? and do you reckon I can get admitted / finish the degree? Also, how math-heavy are the courses / exams?

[@ahmedibrahim3339]

Some people have psycho work ethic!

[@EdwardMendoza]

You have to have a sickness about comp sci if you want to stick with this program :O

[@ManOnTheMoon2131]

I didn’t catch what your undergrad study was?

[@EdwardMendoza]

Multimedia, so basically an art degree with a few math and comp sci courses sprinkled in. I had to prepare for OMSCS, they are not playing

[@ManOnTheMoon2131]

@@EdwardMendoza Cool. Thanks for the insight.

[@jonf6509]

Recently got into the OMSA, although maybe i should have applied for OMSCS. I don't know if you know much about the OMSA? How would OMSCS taking alot of ML/AI courses compare with the OMSA?

[@2dapoint424]

what is omsa and omscs?

[@EdwardMendoza]

I haven't taken any courses in OMSA, would you like to do a video chat and we can discuss the differences? That would be helpful to other students.

[@kushal1]

What's your background?

[@EdwardMendoza]

I had a bachelor's degree in art; so I had to take many classes in community colleges for the math and programming background before I got in. It was well worth the preparation; I would have quit if I wasn't so prepared.

[@kiranmenon3044]

Hi its just a curiosity. But I did some research and students who have enrolled said that GA Tech have dialed down on their difficulty level on their courses, as number of students are dropping out and many of them who apply do not match the pre-requisites, as they come from varied educational backgrounds. I could be wrong here but GA Tech which is so respectable reducing their difficulty level could hurt the credibility and employment chances here. Please confirm if I'm wrong here, as I really aspire to enroll for the same.

[@EdwardMendoza]

I think some courses might have dialed down their difficulty a bit, like graduate algorithms which caused nightmares on many students and yes, I've known of a few students dropping because of it. But many 'easy' courses have been dialed up to be much harder, and that was my experience in several courses I took.

[@kiranmenon3044]

@@EdwardMendoza Thank you for your response. DS & A are very much vital in the Software Engineering space. What can I do to make it even more difficult for me if as you say the difficulty level have been reduced for the students to cope like in the modules such as Graduate Algorithms. When I say more difficult I mean more challenging. I understand practising does help you that, but are there resources that help you stand out in Algos, maybe having a good profile on CodeChefs or Leetcode ? Thank you for your input.

[@thomasmartin6623]

It's unlikely that the program will become watered down to the point where GT is harming their own brand. It's a masters of science in computer science and should by definition be difficult for someone with no prior knowledge. Classes will always ebb and flow in terms of difficulty as changes in professors or class structure might impact how hard a class is perceived to be. The reality is that so long as GT is a top CS program (which it will be for the foreseeable future) there is no reason to think the degree will be watered down and lose credibility. The program intentionally lets a lot of people in, but a lot of them drop out for a variety of reasons (sometimes lack of requisite knowledge). This is by design. Keep in mind too that just because a course is now viewed as "easier" doesn't mean the course is less valuable or less credible. What if it was being structured extremely poorly with bad grading curves and an emphasis on the wrong milestones and metrics? The class would be hard, but for all the wrong reasons. It's possible an easier class is just a class that's finally being taught correctly so that the material resonates with more people. I understand your concern about it just becoming some diploma mill, but I don't think that's the case at all here and I don't think they would want to do that to their brand.

[@acasualviewer5861]

There are easy courses, and hard courses. Some of the courses that were problematic were redone. But there is no effort to make things easier to cater to people of different background.

[@EdwardMendoza]

@@thomasmartin6623 I think they will keep mixing it up; making some of the regular courses much harder and watering down some of the brutal courses to make it more even. Either way; it's a great education that's well worth it as long as you don't mind potentially making 0 contacts in real life.

[@dimabolgov99]

You sound like a young Jordan Peterson. :)

[@TGX999]

"There are going to be some courses where you can get somebody else to do the work for you ?" I'm sorry what ? Is that some sort of strange joke ? Absolutely you should not hire someone else, or get someone else to do you work. Have I misunderstood the point of this ? If you are in an educational system to learn, Please god do NOT get other people to do the learning for you. That's the worst attitude to take in life. I may have entirely missed your point but really really dont let other people do the work for you, if you are struggling at the course, work harder / learn how to learn smarter / differently or figure out how to improve.

[@darkwingduck42]

What the hell are you talking about with "hire someone else to do the course work for you"? That's so extremely unethical. Why you would even put this out on KZbin says a lot about you.

[@Swamy456]

Your English comprehension is terrible if that's what you think he was saying.

[@justkflesh]

Hi, Edward. Thanks for your sharing. Now I am more worry about my 1st semester now. My admit term is 23Spring. I have no CS background and I only do self-taught. For those courses which were rated around 2.5 difficulty. What course do you recommend for the 1st course.

[@EdwardMendoza]

It depends on your specialization; just remember that all courses get 'revamped' every several semesters, so just because a course that was considered 'easy' a few semesters ago, might get revamped and might be very painful later on. If you want software engineering, I would start with SDP(my second fav course). If you're on the ML route, ML4T is a great start unless you are really just getting started, take CS 8803 - AI, Ethics, and Society