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OMSCS Open Courseware

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234 points kerim-ca | 5 comments | 06 Dec 25 19:14 UTC | HN request time: 0.001s | source
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guiambros ◴[07 Dec 25 00:20 UTC] No.46177988[source]▶
Current OMSCS grad student; three down, seven to go. Loving the program so far.

The content is great, and most of it is available on Open Courseware, YT, etc, but here's what else you get by officially going through the program:

- the amazing community of TAs

- the assignments

- the feedback on reports & projects (either automated, or through TAs)

- the collaboration with other students on Ed, Discord, Slack, etc

- the forcing function of deadlines, having to study for exams, etc

- free access to academic libraries, IEEE, ACM, O'Reilly, etc

- access to software and services, educational packages from GitHub, Wolfram, Google Colab Pro, student discount in a bunch of places, etc

Another underrated aspect is GT's ability to preserve rigor of the program overall, despite the scale and number of students in some courses (the most popular ones have 1,000-1,500 students per semester).

If you're on the fence on applying, I strongly recommend you do. The program is affordable enough that there's no harm in trying for a few semesters to see if matches what you're looking for.

Glad to answer any questions.

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1. rdudek ◴[07 Dec 25 03:42 UTC] No.46178963[source]▶
You'll get there! Some of them you can take two at a time. I myself only need 3 more!
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2. guiambros ◴[07 Dec 25 06:29 UTC] No.46179629[source]▶
> ... you can take two at a time

I wish! I travel quite a bit for work, so it breaks my legs every time it happens. Plus family, kids activities, etc. ML was brutal this semester, but hoping the curve will help a bit.

But it's ok, slow and steady is the way to go. Besides, I'm doing this for the fun of it; I don't need the diploma for career or anything.

See you around!

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3. hellojesus ◴[08 Dec 25 16:29 UTC] No.46194264[source]▶
I eyed this program last year but resigned my desires because I didn't think I'd be able to juggle it.

Would you say that a 1 class/semester pace is too much for someone with a full time job, two littles < 3 years, and a spouse that expects a nonzero amount of interaction?

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4. guiambros ◴[08 Dec 25 18:02 UTC] No.46195530{3}[source]▶
The program is quite intensive, so you'd have to be thoughtful selecting courses, and potentially making some trade-offs -- negotiate some weekends off with your spouse, use vacation days for studying, etc.

I have a demanding full time job, frequent travel for work, and two kids (although they're older, so not as time consuming as in your case). At times it has been tough to juggle (inc many late nights), but doable so far.

The workload goes anywhere from 8-10h/week per class for the easiest courses, to north of 25-30h+ for the hardest ones (GA, ML). Of course YMMV, depending on your background on each topic. Also, some classes are front loaded and release all projects early, so you can pace yourself. Others (I'd guess the majority) are released as you go, and you need to keep up with the schedule.

Another approach I use is to take advantage of the break between semesters to study the content in advance. This way I have some buffer when I need to travel for work, etc.

Feel free to drop me a note if you want to chat more. Email in my profile.

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5. hellojesus ◴[08 Dec 25 20:44 UTC] No.46197416{4}[source]▶
Thank you. This was insightful. I probably don't have the time now, but maybe I can revisit the decision in a few years once the kids are a bit older.