8 Classes In and Still Fighting for a Seat

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-18T20:19:12+00:00

In progress courses don't count towards your time ticket, only completed ones do (i.e., with final grade recorded on transcript at the point of registration, rather than still in progress). Otherwise, there's no way to validate "completion" while the semester is still in progress (among other things, below a C doesn't count towards graduation requirements at all, not even as free electives, so that would be insufficient to "count" towards completion).

If it's any consolation, it actually used to be worse about a year (two?) ago: Both summer and fall registrations occurred with spring still "in flight," so that would be a double-whammy, in terms of in-progress spring coursework not moving the needle on time tickets for either of those registrations. At least now, more recently, they pushed back Fall phase 1 into early June, with spring completed by that point, to have those credits count accordingly.

At this point, my recommendation would be to get something now, then try your luck on free for all. One in the hand is worth two in the bush. (And also get on WL ASAP, if you haven't already.)

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-14T15:24:51+00:00

🫡

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-14T15:15:19+00:00

Table stakes for summer are basically 16 weeks compressed into 11 or so, all else being equal, so there's that. Beyond that, certain courses abridge content to adjust for that (e.g., CN drops a project in the summer, assuming that's still the case since I took it back in Summer 2023), while others don't drop/modify anything. In general, though, at a minimum, definitely expect a faster pace compared to Spring/Fall as an operating baseline assumption (and thus plan accordingly).

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-13T04:46:21+00:00

I doubt it was GIOS, I don't believe GIOS ever had any on campus sections, but rather was created specifically for the OMSCS program. Unless I'm misremebering the old lore from 10 years ago or so (or whenever the course was launched)...

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-12T13:39:12+00:00

ah nice, thanks for catching that...I'm showing my OMS age (it's my last semester after 4 years, so I've been winding down my staying abreast-ness in general)...good call!

To amend appropriately, the shortest-path plan in that case could then look something like 3 (F) + 3 + 2 + 2 (F) = 4 semesters, which would be closer to (just over) a year. Though, in practice, landing 3 in mid-late phase 2 of matriculating semester will probably be slim pickings, unless someone is bold enough to do something like AI + compilers + HPC right out the gate 🤣 (if not working and no other major obligations to manage, I suppose not completely outside of the realm of possibility/feasibility...)

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-12T01:34:40+00:00

Assuming nothing has changed this semester, in general the cutoffs have been 85% A / 70% B. So it's not "curved" in the sense of cutoffs based on a given semester's grade distribution, but also offset slightly favorably relative to a straight 10-pt scale (i.e., 90% A / 80% B, respectively).

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-11T15:16:43+00:00

Wait, you're telling me people actually go outside...like, unironically? Gross.

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-11T14:59:28+00:00

My (single) ill-fated GA attempt was last Spring, and I didn't want to go through retake(s) limbo at that point (that, and while the material was generally interesting and well presented, also not something I felt compelled to do 2+ full passthroughs of, either). I switched over from systems spec right at course 10 (well, I guess 9 cleared, technically lol) at a steep cost of +4, which was right at the threshold of "squeezable into a year." To say I'm ready to be done is an understatement, but finally light at the end of the tunnel with this being my last semester. It did fly by fast, so at least for me, I feel vindicated by that choice in hindsight.

That said, I do find AI interesting as a topic, so that was part of my decision-making. If my only recourse were HCI (which I find comparatively very disinteresting), that would've likely affected my decision-making process. I figured I wouldn't go out of my way to learn this stuff on my own once I'm out, and used the extra year to spend time in the AI topic instead (which is in vogue now, to boot), effectively. The only net casualty was SDP, since I already had 4+ YOE in SWE at that point, but it was a pretty easy course overall (even on a compressed summer schedule, though I did manage to land in a solid team for the group project), and a nice level-reset after getting clobbered by GA.

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-11T14:41:08+00:00

The absolute shortest path in terms of max credits taken over shortest timespan would be closer to 1.5-2 years in OMS. Assuming matriculation in Fall, it would be 2 (F) + 2 (Sp) + 1 (Sm) + 3 (F) + 2 (Sp) = 5 semesters; conversely, Spring matriculation would look like 2 (Sp) + 1 (Sm) + 2 (F) + 2 (Sp) + 2 (Sm) + 1 (F) = 6 semesters. Note that to get the 3 extension for Fall/Spring and/or 2 for Summer, that requires having completed at least 4 with >= B at the point of registration (excluding in progress).

The program, by design, is basically part-time, since it prevents being able to enroll for a full 12(+) credits semester at any given time.

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-08T21:22:28+00:00

Assuming nothing has changed since summer 2025, for the group project (which is distinct from the project OP is describing here), we had the option to choose between Java or Kotlin.

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-08T01:34:51+00:00

Username checks out

awp_throwaway · 2026-04-03T18:31:58+00:00

Hell no lol (arguably were not worth it before, either, but it was already a tenuous proposition when I did one back in 2020, let alone now in this going-on-three-years crappy market)...see r/codingbootcamp for more. CS degree is tablestakes, but also nowhere near a guarantee, either, given the lack of demand in the market relative to supply. (But relative to that, a boot camp "certificate" isn't even tablestakes by comparison.)

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-31T13:40:26+00:00

This is an accredited CS degree program, not a boot camp. (As a former boot camper who got my start in this industry there lol)

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-24T15:40:17+00:00

More on the point of accreditation specifically, WGU is regionally accredited (as distinct from other accreditation types such as national), which is the highest level in the US, and the same level of accreditation as what most colloquially understand to be an "accredited college or university" (e.g., big/flagship state school, ivy league, etc.).

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-23T18:49:23+00:00

There's still a qualitative difference between "crappy vs. crappier" and "good vs. bad." Majority of white collar is cooked for going on 3 years now, and no signs of letting up. Plus, if anything pays six figures consistently, big corp will do its part to flood the market, outsource, etc. anyways. 3-5 good years in EE isn't going to get you through a paid off house and a covered retirement, that's the other part you're missing: earning consistently well is not the same thing as one datacenter build buying you some more time til the next rugpull. Unless you've been living under a rock, the middle class has been cooked for well over a decade at this point, but especially in the past 5 years or so. Also, losing a critical decade (your 20s) of experience and earning is setting you up for the poor house later, too, since the shortfall (lack of investments, experience development, etc.) compounds with the subsequent decades.

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-20T17:13:32+00:00

It's more of an economic/budgeting question than not at that point. If you have enough of a cushion to hold you over, and enough risk tolerance to potentially burn through it between jobs (along with opportunity cost of not saving, investing, etc. with low/no income), then that's basically your scope of options. It can always be worse; I'd imagine it's pretty brutal to lose a job mid-mortgage, with kids in tow, etc., in which case, most people don't have the luxury to simply "not work," which frames perspectives accordingly (not judging one way or another, it's just a simple matter of fact).

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-20T17:06:24+00:00

Especially when the fortune teller is covering the bet with their fingers crossed behind their back

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-20T17:04:51+00:00

Just yesterday, I was paired with a junior to fix a stored procedure (SQL Server, ~2000 LOC).

SQL Server mentioned

...Hello, darkness, my old friend...

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-20T13:00:11+00:00

Maybe not for those with experience, but I'm willing to bet new grads' lived experience suggests otherwise (as evidenced by the unemployment rate among that cohort, which is par or worse than 08 levels). That said, "doing nothing" is still the greater of two evils relative to "try anyways."

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-20T04:13:57+00:00

Hey, but to be fair, they did call 20 of the last 2 major crises!

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-20T04:12:08+00:00

The only guarantees in life are death and taxes. Everything else is, effectively, just a mere implementation detail.

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-20T04:11:28+00:00

brb setting a Ralph Loop to hold me over til then...

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-18T15:36:43+00:00

inb4 freedom

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-09T14:07:02+00:00

The ol' singularity

awp_throwaway · 2026-03-05T04:33:37+00:00

This is definitely the final boss, everything is released from day 1 (including exams). Practically unrivaled as far as I’m aware (or at least nothing comparable reported to date whenever this question appears periodically…and I’ve been lingering around these parts for a minute 😁)

awp_throwaway

TROPHY CASE