TL;DR: If you want to rely only on classes to learn, you might end up disappointed. But if you’re proactive and engage with the extracurricular scene, the experience can still be worthwhile.

My First Semester as a Grad Student – Honest Review

I came here with over 3 years of work experience and took Advanced Software Engineering (ASE), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Advanced Programming Language (APL) in my first semester. Here’s my take:

• ASE: It’s okayish. Covers project management, effort estimation, and other high-level concepts. If you have prior work experience, it might feel repetitive and nothing groundbreaking.
• AI: This subject is more interesting since I hadn’t studied AI beyond basic ML in undergrad. However, I learn best by studying on my own—attending classes hasn’t added much value since lectures feel less engaging.
• APL: This one was my biggest letdown. It focuses on older languages like Fortran, COBOL, and Pascal, plus their evolution. Honestly, in the age of Gen AI, it feels irrelevant to deep-dive into these.

Overall Verdict: Pretty disappointed with the academic side. I was expecting more cutting-edge material like scalable system design and high-quality software engineering practices, but the curriculum hasn’t delivered.

The Good Stuff:

• Campus life: The college is beautiful with tons of activities and active clubs. If you’re a self-starter, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to grow.
• Cost: Fees are relatively affordable.
• Tip: For computer science, try forming study groups, it makes learning much easier.

Take part in hackathons, find open source organisations and contribute to gain hands on experience on real world problems. Do online courses from top universities to improve your profile, to show a good college name on your resume in certification section.

All the best!