Hi Bryan, I also just got done with my 6515 this spring, so we must have been in the same class! I wanted to make it absolutely sure that I wasn't going to take this class again (the horror stories of people taking it 4 times terrified me), so I kept to a strict 30-hour a week study schedule. It got me the A. In hindsight, this class isn't as hard as people make it out to be, but there is a lot of pressure to get through it since we all take it at the end. The wonky grading scheme definitely makes you stress more than you need to, similar to the ML class. Personally, I only studied the practice problems they explicitly gave us in the homeworks and the lectures (I skipped wikidot completely). I absolutely agree that the coding assignments are useless and don't provide any educational value. I also tanked the same one you did as soon as there weren't test cases. I cannot stress this enough, but find a smart, high-performing study group -one that makes you really feel impostor syndrome with. The people I found were amazing, and would give the highlights from office hours so I never had to go. Before the exam window, we would challenge each other with new questions. Our discord was constantly active, and we ended up being there for each other, even as major life events hit us. All of them were incredible people to be surrounded by, and I can't say enough about how much it helps to have people supporting you and commiserating with you that are in the same boat! The instructors' advice at the first office hours (the only one I attended) was completely true. This class isn't something you can cram study, so studying the entire semester long as if the exam is next week is the best way to make this stuff second nature, especially in the stressful context of an exam. Cheers to us getting out of this class, best wishes to our fellow students looking to take it soon, and good riddance!
Congratulations Bryan!! I’m a year behind you in OMSCS, and have been following your videos the last 3 years. It definitely feels like a slog during courses 7-10, and intimidating to take GA as the final one. It’s so refreshing to see others like you getting through it! Make sure to do something special to celebrate all of this hard work! (Vacation? ). Cheers!!
@@Hkh19d I'm going to be recovering for a while I think 🤣. But definitely going to be making more RU-vid videos, and I'm interested in tinkering around and making physical stuff. There's a makerspace nearby that I want to play with (vinyl cutter, heat press, embroidery machine, etc.) And also just spending more time hanging with friends!
I got a 11/20 on the first homework and 8/10 the first code project (super dumb error on my part). Definitely going to bunker down for the exam. Hopefully I’ll still have a shot 🤞
Update doing surprisingly alright Hm 1 13/20 (regraded from 11/20) Hm 2 18/20 (regraded from 16/20) Hm 3 20/20 Exam 1 got a low 80 barely beating the median . Free responses were easy but messed up on MCS Hopefully can keep this up for exam 2
@@bryan_truong Just ended the class with a 84. something ! Might take the final if I'm not burnt out , but regardless I'm so proud of getting this far :)
hey bryan, perhaps this is in ur other videos (this was somehow recommended to me lol) but how long did it take for you to finish this in total? I haven't finished watching it fully you might answer it in the video lol. i applied and was accepted for fall 2023. Currently i am not working; i was wondering if you knew people in the program who did this program full-time and how long it took them to graduate? i am aiming to have this done in 2 years. congrats!
Thanks! OMSCS is not intended to be a full-time program, though. You can only take 2 classes a semester, maybe 3 if you get an exception. If you are aiming to have it done in two years, you can definitely do that while working (though it will be grueling). I started in Fall of 2020 and just finished now (in the Spring of 2023). So like 2.5 years for me!
I really appreciate your clarity on your grades and stuff. I transferred to UNCW this summer and start an intro python course June 27. I overly stress myself out when I don't do the best on certain assignments so hearing your transparency that on a few assignments you didn't do "amazing" on has given me a little peace haha. I also am looking into transferring to UNC next fall if I'm not a fan of UNCW's comsci curriculum. Do you recommend UNC's comsci?
Yes! I actually have an old video on it (I cringe at how much worse I was at making RU-vid videos then): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jiBW2OVInyI.html I would definitely recommend it, but the key thing to note is that you DO have to apply to be accepted into the degree now. In the past, all UNC students could just declare/decide to be a CS major. So keep that in mind, because if you were to transfer into UNC but not get into UNC CS, you would probably have to do stats/information science or something CS-related, but not actually CS if you wanted to graduate with a UNC Chapel Hill degree.
@@bryan_truong Yeah I recently transferred from NCSU (yes i’ve been all over the place 😭😭😭) because I wanted to switch into ComSci from Pre-Vet but their requirements didn’t work with me. I would’ve had to take Physics 1, 2, and Calculus 2 (i’m in calc 1 now) before even applying for a major switch because it’s in the school of engineering. Which would’ve had me waiting around 3 semesters before I would be able to even apply which is just outrageous. I find it weird how a lot of colleges requirements are so different for the same majors. UNCW’s comsci program I would say is relatively “easy” to get into but the department isn’t that great from what i’ve heard. I’ll definitely apply to UNC’s comsci degree and hopefully i’ll get accepted 😭. If not I guess i’ll stay at UNCW! All in all, the same degree 😊
Congrats! I've been watching your omscs related videos for a while now and I finally mustered courage to apply for the program for the winter 2022. Hopefully I don't get rejected. By the way do you have any experience with transferring in graduate level coursework done at a different U.S university and the whole process around it?
Glad you applied! I'm sure you'll be fine. I unfortunately do not, since I went straight from undergrad to OMSCS (and I didn't take grad school courses in undergrad)
Of course! yes they are the same videos. But as i mentioned, i found the weekly office hours by the instructor to be the most helpful/succinct. Some of the content in the pre-recorded lecturers go into the weeds a little bit.
I always put work first, and then OMSCS on the backseat (as I was working full time, studying for OMSCS part time). Generally, I would just try and do one to two hours of GT work every weeknight (excluding Friday), and then on Sundays I would usually spend the majority of the day on school.
Historically, the summer semester does not offer the option to take the Final Exam to replace the lowest grade from the other 3 exams, so it's objectively more challenging. However, if you've already taken a very similar algorithms course before, this may not be an issue.
yep definitely feasible. As tim said, you won't have the option take the final exam to replace the lowest grade, but chances are, you don't want to have to take it anyways. I also think they cut out a little bit of the content for the summer sessions, but most of it is the same.
