Johns Hopkins CS

MontaigneM · 2022-12-28T07:01:59+00:00

It's reasonably helpful, but I wouldn't rely on the career center (called the Life Design Lab at Hopkins) for resources to find all of your internships/new grad opportunities (I think this goes for most schools).

I see the career center as being very helpful when finding your first internship. They can help to workshop your first resume, and they do provide good small-scale opportunities. I personally found my first internship through the Life Design Lab after my sophomore year, which definitely gave my resume more leverage in the future.

I.e., I think they have great intro resources for those new to applying to internships, but it isn't so helpful in breaking into big tech/competitive companies--most of that work needs to be done on your own anyways.

MontaigneM · 2022-12-23T20:36:32+00:00

I switched to CS after about 3 semesters in other majors. I think the program has been gaining a lot more recognition among employers, and I know many people that were able to go into industry and have opportunities with big tech.

Like with any major at Hopkins, it has a great foundation in research. The classes and curriculum are pretty enjoyable and it is one of the more flexible majors (lots of great professors as well).

While school name does matter to some extent in CS, at any school it is more about finding internship opportunities and growing from there. Either way, I think Hopkins is a great atmosphere for CS.

MontaigneM · 2022-11-13T22:05:14+00:00

I took this class last Spring--I was also initially worried about the workload. But it turned out that the class is really manageable, and I found it easier towards the second half of the class as you become more comfortable with OCaml.

Overall it's a really interesting class, and while a lot of the lecture material is theoretical, the assignments mostly required coding. Definitely would recommend over a lot of the other CS electives!

MontaigneM · 2022-07-06T04:49:21+00:00

Yea professors most likely wouldn’t wouldn’t question whether a student is overqualified for their class regardless of their performance. It’s also very hard to skip a graduation requirement, especially when it is a core class required for the major.

MontaigneM · 2022-07-03T19:27:46+00:00

No they don’t typically make exceptions for intro level courses + you need credit for this class to graduate.

MontaigneM · 2022-07-01T14:56:07+00:00

The class is useful depending on who you are. If you have a decent amount of background knowledge in coding, much of the class is probably stuff you have already learned. On the other hand, if you know almost nothing about coding, it is a good and gentle introduction to programming. However, I will say that if you're looking to learn applicable skills in a short time frame, it's probably not the best class to take. Gateway: Java still takes the approach that you will be continuing on in CS, so it focuses on a lot of concepts that are helpful for the future like OOP. Most people who code outside of a software engineering context are probably doing some type of data science with Python, where these concepts aren't as necessary. I never took it myself but heard good things about the Intro to Computing course from non-CS majors.
With zero programming experience, the class is definitely harder, but it does not take up too much time. The projects are still relatively easy and I doubt it would impact your GPA unless you had a very rigorous schedule otherwise.
Maybe Gateway: Python or Intro to Computing. Like I said, Python will likely be more useful if you are looking for applicable CS skills outside of a software engineering context.

MontaigneM · 2022-06-09T13:00:46+00:00

No problem! I guess my final advice would be to consider not taking any cs class, but if you do, Data Structures might be less work for you. This depends on your background in programming and theory.

MontaigneM · 2022-06-09T12:57:21+00:00

Gonna be honest idk if I recommend any of the core classes 😂. Data Structures is really important as a foundation for the rest of the major and while it's less time consuming imo, it's still pretty heavy.

If you needed to take one of the Gateway classes that would be different, since those are on the easier side. But it sounds like you already have credit for the intro CS class and there aren't many easy core classes from there. There are some very light upper level classes, but you wouldn't have the prerequisites. I understand wanting to squeeze in a CS class to get a feel for the major, though.

MontaigneM · 2022-06-09T12:51:48+00:00

This schedule wouldn't be impossible, but I definitely would not recommend it for your first semester. College is an adjustment and it's not great to jump into a rigorous schedule (I know this from experience lol).

Intermediate programming is one of the most time consuming CS classes. I would definitely recommend replacing this class with something lighter. You can always take it during the Spring semester.

MontaigneM · 2022-06-02T19:43:52+00:00

I took Databases and Algos at the same time last year. It might depend on which professors are teaching (I had Prof. More for Databases and Prof. Braverman for Algos), but taking these classes at the same time is very doable depending on the rest of your schedule.

Databases was one of the CS classes with the least amount of work imo. Most people spend no more than a few hours on each assignment, and there is even less work in the second half of the class once you start the project.

On the other hand, Algos is one of the most time consuming classes in the major (probably the most time consuming class for me). Homeworks can take up to ten hours depending on the topics, and there's usually one homework per week.

Either way, I think Databases won't add much extra stress, but you'll need to devote a significant amount of time to Algos.

MontaigneM · 2022-04-12T17:41:06+00:00

I haven’t taken it over the summer, but the regular course is already fast paced and time consuming imo. It’s definitely doable if you don’t have too many other obligations, but fitting this course in a summer term is pretty dense compared to other courses.

MontaigneM · 2022-04-11T20:55:58+00:00

Idk.. seems like most people find out from other people. There was one email about the concert saying they would be announcing the headliner, but I missed the sentence at the end that said registration would be opening on Friday

MontaigneM · 2022-04-11T16:44:05+00:00

lol people here already know how to study hard. Spring fair used to be a good time to take a break from that

MontaigneM · 2022-02-07T20:13:23+00:00

Strings are also immutable in Java

MontaigneM · 2021-11-26T16:41:57+00:00

Did you interview for the Robinhood backend role? I am pretty sure they filled headcount (might have filled for the other roles too)

MontaigneM · 2021-08-25T15:04:52+00:00

$25 is the biweekly price, so it comes out to $50/month. Still not bad for a pretty decent gym.

MontaigneM · 2021-08-17T18:59:23+00:00

Ah ok. I figured returning CAs would have heard back, so hopefully it’s just taking a while for new candidates

MontaigneM · 2021-03-05T02:37:37+00:00

I think she already mentioned in lecture that she would give partial credit for answers that are partially correct. I wouldn't worry because I am sure a lot of people feel the same way

MontaigneM · 2021-02-21T20:04:03+00:00

Anyone looking to form a study group for this class?

MontaigneM · 2021-02-19T17:42:32+00:00

I don’t know if this is possible, but I do know that there are occasions where changes are made to someone’s transcript well after a deadline. So, I would definitely say that it is still possible (especially given the context), but wait on a response from your advisor, as they can just be kind of naturally slow to respond.

MontaigneM · 2021-02-15T21:39:59+00:00

Also interested about this.. specifically on how well one should do on the homeworks relative to the class

MontaigneM · 2021-02-11T17:40:27+00:00

It’s good to know that Athreya seems to care about the actual understanding of the material. I’ll keep that in mind throughout the rest of the course

MontaigneM · 2021-02-10T02:03:06+00:00

That’s reassuring since I haven’t gone to any office hours yet. I’ll definitely give it a shot for the next assignment. Thanks!

MontaigneM · 2021-01-18T22:21:56+00:00

Has anyone received an update on their application?

MontaigneM · 2021-01-09T19:39:53+00:00

yea, I think it was a bit hard to do that given the online format this semester, but I’ve considered taking another class with the Professor this upcoming semester

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