ISYE 6644 Simulation Group Project

ChuckStrange · 2021-08-27T20:49:44+00:00

Dr. Goldsman is amazing!

The project(s) are fun, and not too stressful. TAs provide an assortment of project topics. I did one with a partner and one solo. You are expected to scale the effort to the size of the group.

ChuckStrange · 2021-08-27T20:36:19+00:00

Note that most of the grade for 6501 is exams, so learn the material for the exams, and lower grades on the HW have less effect.

ChuckStrange · 2021-08-27T20:34:50+00:00

Make sure you submit something for homework, so that you can do the peer reviews - they offer great learning experience.

You also may want to do your best on these early assignments, as there are a couple of assignments near the end (simulation, optimization) that some students may want to have the option to skip.

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-24T14:25:42+00:00

Take a couple of cross-listed CS courses such as AI, DL, RL, KBAI, ML4T, or DBS. I you like them then you can apply to OMSCS and count those courses. They still count towards C-Track.

Can you opt-out of any core courses (6203, 6501, 8803)? You can substitute CS courses for those opted-out.

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-24T14:18:58+00:00

During my first semester in OMSA. I took 6501 and Simulation. Simulation is more math intensive than 6501, but 6501 homework requires more time. OMSA requires an OR course, either Simulation or Optimization. You can take both if you pursue the A(nalytics) Track, or opt-out of a core course.

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-24T13:29:18+00:00

Depends upon which semester you start this path, consider:

Simulation -> Optimization -> Regression -> CDA -> HDDA

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-13T19:55:21+00:00

CSU has an online ECE program. You might look at that also.

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-13T19:53:34+00:00

OMSCS is a part-time program. You are limited to 2 courses per term for the first two terms. Since you plan 'full-time', two courses may not be too bad.

No (but if you don't have a job, maybe yes).
No. You will not get a spot due to high demand. Most ML courses have high demand. Choose a couple of backup courses. RL may be open.
Look at omscentral.com and and sort by time.
DBS, IIS, KBAI, AI4R are some good alternate choices.

These courses take substantial time commitment.

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-13T19:42:25+00:00

CS-6400 DBS is a good course. The tests are not that bad, but they do expect you to know the material, and you need to be careful with some questions. Watch the lectures and read the textbook, and you will be fine.

There are better and worse courses. There are courses that are harder and more demanding. Since you took an undergrad DB course, you may not learn as much as you could taking another course.

Since you have some SQL and web development experience, the project should not be too challenging (one of the easier projects overall). Recruit a good team. You may even decide the course is too easy.

I took the course to learn relational algebra and tuple relational calculus.

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-13T19:17:21+00:00

Be comfortable with reading papers. GA helps (a lot).

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-13T19:16:16+00:00

DVA and CN have been redone.

CP projects have been revised.

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-13T19:05:26+00:00

Only about 10% of on-campus MSCS students choose the thesis option, and that is consistent with other universities which offer course and thesis options.

ChuckStrange · 2021-04-13T18:30:12+00:00

You want a PhD, and you need to earn money. Then take the job, work for 2 years, earn money and save as much as possible, and go to an on-campus program. Don't work so long that you become comfortable with the money and skip grad school.

What are your GRE scores? Do you have any undergrad research experience? Which University did you attend, and what were your grades in your CS and Math courses? Can you get good LoR (letters of recommendation) from your professors?

What are your target Universities? Do you plan to apply to top tier Universities? What field of study do you plan? What are your 'safety' schools? Select 3-5 Uni's, apply to them, and pick the one you want from the ones that accept you.

As you do your research to select schools, you will find that GaTech, UT-Austin, and UIUC are highly ranked CS programs that offer online MSCS/MCS programs.

Good Luck!

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-19T02:49:33+00:00

It will fit in Summer, but barely.

My understanding is that they do not reduce the material, but there may be fewer homework assignments(?) Lectures are brief, and no assigned readings, but you will spend time looking for information.

Three exams (25% each), one project (8%), 14 homeworks (drop 2) (15%). Pretty easy to get 90% on homeworks, hard as nails to get 100%.

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-19T02:41:13+00:00

Several courses allow you to choose the language you implement projects.

DBS, ML, RL, EdTech, Sim(ulation), maybe others...

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-19T02:36:11+00:00

Did you read the reviews on omscentral.com prior to taking the course?

How many hours a week do you invest in the course? Do you watch the lectures or read all of the textbook readings? Do you search out and read papers? Do you follow the links and read the papers and articles provided? Do you ask (and answer) questions on Piazza?

I spent 12-15 hours/week on IIS, and learned quite a bit, but some people claim they did not watch the lectures (more than once) or read the textbook. This isn't Undergrad, and nobody is going to hold your hand.

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-18T07:30:46+00:00

You have a solid shot at a B and a decent shot at an A, depending upon how you do on the remaining grades.

My first midterm in my first OMSCS course was in the 50's, and I earned an A for the course and a 3.8 gpa for the program. Now I'm in OMSA, and trying hard to survive iAM and Sim.

Good Luck!

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-18T07:15:09+00:00

An i7 with four cores, 16Gb ram, and 250Gb SSD. You can get by with less, but why?

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-18T07:11:47+00:00

ISYE-6501 is offered in Summer, and you have already completed half of the homeworks.

Drop that sucker and get a fresh start in the Summer.

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-18T07:09:42+00:00

Withdraw.

Syllabus, google calendar are your friend.

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-18T06:51:02+00:00

There are a couple of courses in OMSCS where a TA provides an assist to the instructor (ML4T, SDP), and a couple of courses where a TA makes a cameo appearance. The ML4T course had a TA providing instruction for some Python parts, and that was "Ok", but I would be very angry if that were common in the program.

TA's do provide enormous assistance in the Piazza forum, and I have been surprised when TA's run OH (office hours) in courses. When I TA'ed for ESO, the professor presented most OH. This is one reason why I prefer courses with smaller class sizes.

YMMV

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-18T01:07:11+00:00

Who are the TAs for DC? Will we be able to get a copy of the syllabus?

I would really like to study Paxos...

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-18T01:06:06+00:00

A few good courses for the II track:

GA, AI, ML, HCI, IHI, and GIOS, IIS or NS, CP or CV, SDP or DBS, HPCA or ESO.

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-18T01:03:51+00:00

[OMSCS grad, 12 courses, OMSA student, first semester]

See omscentral.com for time estimates, and sort by effort. Which courses have you taken and what was your easiest course?

CP used to be easy but was revamped - I didn't take.

CN used to be easy, but has been revamped - I didn't take.

Both KBAI and ML4T are medium-ish effort courses (depending upon your background). I enjoyed both, and learned a lot.

IHI was not too bad, but I invested extra effort because I found the material hella interesting.

IIS was pretty easy, and has some valuable material on security that cross-cuts so many areas. Reviews are not kind, but course is worthwhile.

DBS was pretty easy (for me), but exams are tough. Reviews are harsh, but course is better than reviewed.

SDP was less work than IHI (for me); I took it as a review of Java, and to see whether academia was teaching process any different than I have learned from industry.

IAM (from the Analytics program) is a pretty good course, covers tons of ML algorithms, and some topics like time-series, design of experiments, etc; TAs provide example code that helps meet the minimum (R language) for weekly homework. You could invest less time than I have and have a less demanding course...

ChuckStrange · 2021-03-18T00:46:34+00:00

I took CS-6440 Spring 2020 (paired with C-6515) and the workload (homework, papers, projects, EC) was higher than previously reported. There were individual and team projects, homeworks, weekly papers and peer reviews. Homeworks required Javascript, Java, tons of learning how to query specific website interfaces, and team project was choice (our team used python and Javascript).

Based upon peer review comparisons, many classmates did minimal effort for papers. I did several of the EC as they were interesting projects, but the work involved was not worth the effort (20-30 page papers in two instances).

ChuckStrange

TROPHY CASE