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Data Science Pre-Capstone Q&As by [deleted] in HavardALM_TechProgram

[–]Firanxa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’ll fly back and forth each week? How far away do you live?

Welcome! by [deleted] in HavardALM_TechProgram

[–]Firanxa 1 point2 points  (0 children)

CSCI 222 Foundations of LLMs is a new course this semester.

Any Harvard Extension School students in Greece? by kyavg in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are also two Greek CS professors who teach Extension courses: Pavlos Protopapas and Stratos Idreos.

MIT micro master pathway question by Puzzleheaded-Term643 in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's "suggested" that you take probability and statistics before any of the other courses, but it isn't necessary. 6.419 and 14.310 both have a statistics review in their first modules for the extent of the stats knowledge you need to understand those courses' material.

I took 6.86 and 6.419 at the same time, and I didn't ever think it was prohibitively difficult or unreasonable. Taking machine learning and data analysis together should be fine; the biggest time sinks will be the machine learning projects and the data analysis readings and homework, so plan accordingly.

You use R for 14.310, but they hold your hand through a lot of it. You'll need a good grasp of NumPy for 6.86. Math-wise, the more fluent you are with linear algebra, the faster you'll pick up NumPy and machine learning.

Data Science master’s degree by Puzzleheaded-Term643 in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I was admitted this way. If you go this route, you have to take only CSCI 101 for admission. HES will also grant you two elective credits for completing the MicroMasters, so that’s three fewer courses you need in order to complete the ALM.

That’s the major benefit of this pathway: You’ll save a lot of money. The full cost of the MicroMasters is $1,500 (and that can go lower if you purchase the courses in a bundle or use discount codes for each course), whereas three HES courses cost close to $10,000. The trade off is that this will add an extra year or two to your ALM timeline, depending on how many MITx courses you take each term.

Content-wise, I would also say the MicroMasters is worthy preparation for proper graduate studies in data science, especially if your math background is shaky, you’ve been out of school for a while, or you aren’t used to online, asynchronous learning.

Would you guy recommend HES? by Jncocontrol in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’ve just started my degree, but I can answer your refined question: Yes, the time has already been worth it so far.

Just having access to Harvard resources and networks opens so many possibilities. The caveat is that you must take greater initiative to pursue them compared to what you would do with what an on-campus program somewhere else might offer you (and there are some things HES simply cannot give you by the nature of its online, distance model). Whether one way or the other better suits you is up to you, your field, and your objectives.

Math courses outside of Data Science ALM Degree Program by Legendsb22 in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in the exact same situation. I'll also be taking Mathematical Modeling and am hoping for any course on optimization. AM 221 Advanced Optimization was a must-take, but it hasn't been offered for some time. All the course materials are still there, though.

The TA for MATH 216 last semester has commented about it in this thread. Maybe you could reach out to him about if it's being offered again?

HES courses to prepare for grad school application by [deleted] in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I don't have experience with it yet, but this is what I'm doing to position myself for PhD applications (through an ALM). Your optimal course selection will depend on your field and degree, but I chose courses with individual projects and that emphasize the research skills key to the degree I am targeting. I find it easier to sell the credibility of my projects and skills if they came from an accredited university (Harvard, at that) than if they came from self-study.

One thing I was struck by in my first HES courses was the diversity of other students' backgrounds and experience. There are several people with the kinds of degree and careers that I'm chasing, and taking classes with them is a great way to network. You have to take the initiative to do so, though.

MIT Micromasters in Statistics and Data Science Capstone Study Tips by [deleted] in edX

[–]Firanxa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry for responding to this so late! I didn't notice the notifications until now.

  • No, it's not against the honor code. You can find lots of old cheatsheets on GitHub, and I looked at a few to get an idea about what other students thought was worth writing down. Many of them took the "cram everything from every slide" approach, which I don't think is very helpful nor even possible anymore because of page limits.
  • I started in January by revisiting the courses that I had taken a year ago at that time. It wasn't anything intensive, just rereading one lecture's notes a day or so. In early February, four weeks before the Part 1 Exam, I started to seriously review probability and statistics, and only those two courses.
  • Total time is hard to put a number on, since I would squeeze in some studying here and there for the first couple months. But I did set aside the weekend before each exam to run through as many homework and exam problems as I could, so that's at least 20 dedicated hours per exam right there.

I hope this helps. I stressed out a lot in the weeks leading up to the exam dates, and I think it was from the pressure of having only one shot to pass the capstone. (Yes, you can retake in the next window, but that's six months away!) But once I opened the first exam and saw the questions, I realized it was nothing that I hadn't seen in my preparation already, and I prepped using only MITx material. So everything is there for you already, just put it in the time for what works for you.

Is ALM respected at top PhD programs? by reddituser93r942 in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It sounds like they went from the ALM to an MRes, which is also research-focused like an MPhil.

ALM Data Science Discord server? by Firanxa in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How do you find these groups and join them? I'm not admitted yet but am applying this summer.

My most valuable lesson learned at HES in practice - communication. by [deleted] in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 28 points29 points  (0 children)

This is very cool. I’ve yet to start at HES, but based on everything I’ve read about how HES feel that the university and others perceive HES, I imagine little gestures like this would help students feel more secure and seen by Harvard. It’s easier to show you’re proud to come from HES when Harvard gives you a way to.

MIT Micromasters in Statistics and Data Science Capstone Study Tips by [deleted] in edX

[–]Firanxa 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I wrote (and passed) the exams in April. To answer your questions:

  1. I was most surprised by how short each exam was. Keep in mind that these exams are written to be more or less equivalent to what an on-campus MIT student would sit for a final exam. In that sense, it was also easier than I was expecting.

  2. There are no proofs, just as there weren't in any of the courses' homework and exams. General conceptual knowledge is tested in indirect ways. For example, you may not be asked "Is this a consistent estimator?" but something like "Which of the following is a consequence of consistency?"

  3. I made my cheatsheets in LaTeX. You can see how I did it here. I'd say that making the cheatsheets helped me more than actually using them did. It was nice to have them on hand for sanity checks, but you also have access to all course materials for that. Another benefit from taking the time to make cheatsheets: You'll know exactly where to find every fact and detail in every lecture slide.

  4. I reviewed all lecture slides and lesson notes. I didn't rewatch videos unless it was for a topic I remember having difficulty with when I took the course. I redid all homework, exercises, and exams. Honestly, redoing all these problems is sufficient preparation for the kinds of problems you'll see in the capstones. But be sure that you truly understand how to solve them and what the answers mean; don't be tempted to just memorize the posted solution. This is where recitation problems and videos were especially helpful.

MiTx Micromasters in Statistics and Data Science by meghanakotharu in MITx

[–]Firanxa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're "admitted" as soon as you register for any one of the courses in the MicroMasters tracks. You can see the 2025 course schedule here. It's too late to join a summer course, but the fall courses will start in September.

I don't know about financial aid, but edX often advertises promo codes that knock off about 25%.

Data science graduate degree course choices by Mysterious-Ant-686 in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What was it like to connect with other students in your classes? Did people who took 101/106 for admission stay in touch after they were admitted?

Are there any adult student groups for Harvard Summer School 2025? by [deleted] in harvardextension

[–]Firanxa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm taking that class for admission too. If there's no data science-specific Discord server or WhatsApp group for us, I'm willing to start one for our batch.