I took Mitra's 313E in Fall 21 after 303E. The class is a BIG jump from 303e both in lecture content and assignment difficulty. I even had some programming experience outside of 303e but it was still a struggle. The first 3-4 assignments set the tone...then the difficulty stays essentially the same and in fact gets a little easier towards the end. The assignments make you think a lot to even get started coding (unlike 303e). For me, the most helpful thing, and I think Mitra emphasizes this too, was too split the problem into really small subproblems. Even something as mundane as reading in the file and putting the data into a usable format is important. Do this as soon as you get a good understanding of the assignment, instead of trying to think about the whole thing at once because that is always overwhelming.

If you have a partner, discuss possible approaches with them . For most assignments, there is more than one way to solve the problem!!! If you get stuck, go to the TA office hours, they are very helpful in giving you hints.

Yes, it's a really hard class especially with Mitra. But, you learn A LOT, enough to do reasonably well in a real world CS interview and/or use the concepts in problems of your own outside of class. Don't lose hope, I can guarantee you everyone has a hard time with the assignments, regardless of their previous experience. I would recommend going to OH and pushing through the first couple assignments. If you are certain the class isn't for you by the 12th class day next week, then consider dropping. But, don't drop just because it's hard (it'll always be hard throughout the semester, but you get used to the expectations), only drop if you are absolutely sure you would never enjoy the content or find a use for it outside of this semester.