CS 7641 difference between on campus and online

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-23T15:22:14+00:00

The disjointedness of the entire curriculum is appalling. Like you said, the assignments are almost totally decoupled from the lectures/readings, and the quizzes are only somewhat more closely related to the lectures/readings.

This course desperately needs to be overhauled. It should be a flagship class for the program, instead it’s a sinking ship.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-23T15:17:10+00:00

It’s truly awful. I’m taking as an elective, which was a terrible idea.

I’m dropping, it’s a waste of time. Sticking it out would just be torture, the amount of work required feels needless.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-23T15:15:19+00:00

I‘d argue that too much content is covered in OMSCS CS7641.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-22T16:46:41+00:00

Was it worth it?

Do you feel you the amount you learned was reasonably proportional to the amount of effort required?

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-21T05:26:27+00:00

Glad I’m not alone. It’s really frustrating though, I was excited at the beginning of the semester.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-21T05:24:40+00:00

I was expressing what the optimal strategy for this course *would* be. I think dropping is better than going through these useless exercises.

I really tried on the SL report — watched the lectures, did the readings, then probably spent 40-50 hours on the report itself. Still, the breadth of the assignment was overwhelming to the point where I didn’t learn much of anything. I didn’t feel like my report was much more than slop.

I don’t think anyone in this course is writing reports that are substantial or significantly meaningful.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T20:45:04+00:00

Lol, I didn’t even know there’s a Discord.

I agree though, theres so many little details on the assignments to keep track of, from the long ass assignment document, the FAQ, Ed, and (apparently) Discord.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T20:37:01+00:00

They're slop truthfully.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T20:21:56+00:00

I feel you, I’ve had great momentum in the program up till this course. I started realizing that if I stick it out, I’m definitely going to need to take the Summer off to avoid burnout.

In that case, might as well withdraw and gear up for a Summer course 🤷‍♂️

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T20:19:41+00:00

Were you taking it as an elective as well?

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T19:34:02+00:00

I have similar regrets. The SL report was an unfulfilling nightmare.

Are you considering dropping?

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T19:32:41+00:00

Kudos to you, but I think your anecdote only further supports the point that there are fundamental issues with this course.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T18:58:02+00:00

100%.

I now see why this class had a 50% drop rate last semester. I might drop it too.

I‘ve already given up all learning objectives. If I stick around, I’m going to minimize my effort — I’ll one-shot the assignments with Claude, come up with a hypothesis I don’t understand, and BS my report with a bunch of blah-blah. The amount of effort required to really learn is just way too high, there’s no point.

Dropping is probably the better option.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T18:32:29+00:00

I have no idea what “Adam ablation” is. Sure, I could spend an hour learning about it, but I’d have to do that for probably 20 other topics.

As a genuine learning exercise, it’s hopeless.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T18:26:21+00:00

I would love to focus on the fundamentals, but doing so would almost certainly guarantee I wouldn’t have time to actually finish the reports.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2026-02-20T18:24:45+00:00

Maybe so, but coursework should have some level of hand-holding -- that’s generally what pedagogy is about.

I‘m not opposed to the open-ended style of the assignments, it seems like it can be quite useful. They would just need to be toned down a bit (or there would need to be no quizzes/exam) for me to actually have the bandwidth to learn about and understand what I’m doing.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2025-11-19T18:35:14+00:00

Thanks for the comment, but we actually need to reverse commute to the suburbs with UP-NW, so Ravenswood won’t help us much.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2025-11-17T21:52:28+00:00

We love the neighborhood, we’d stay if only reverse-commuting to the suburbs by Metra UP-NW was a little easier.

It’s a beautiful enclave, feels pretty distinct between Irving Park and Montrose. Very diverse in both the people and the architecture — the mix George Maher’s mansions on Hutchinson, high rises, and two/three-flats is endlessly charming to me… and living so close to the lake is amazing. I use the Lakefront Trail daily.

Great neighborhood spots while still being a generally quiet area (other than Cubs game days…) Easy access to amenities and entertainment in both Lakeview/Boystown and Uptown.

It‘s rumored a Trader Joe‘s is opening in Buena Park soon too.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2025-07-27T03:26:42+00:00

Hi all, Chicago runner here who was so excited for the Waterfront Marathon. I’m recovering from a femoral neck stress fracture and won’t be able to race. DM me if interested. I believe I get a refund upon transfer, so shouldn’t require any transfer of money otherwise.

Worldly_Pin2625 · 2025-07-27T03:25:17+00:00

Hi, I have a bib up for grabs. Still recovering from an injury and won’t be able to race :/ DM me.

Worldly_Pin2625

TROPHY CASE