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First of all!!!!
Break it down before you even begin
Second!!
Your advisor doesn’t know anything :/
Now! There are 3 types of people. Some are like me and want to get this over with and take as many courses as they possibly can just to finish it faster. Guess what???
You just must have the prerequisites Now, you would think the official course map is right, it is the course map drawn by the creators of the program that thousands of students follow, right? WRONG!!!
First semester: It says you can take IPC144, APS145, CPR101, ULI101, and COM111. That is CORRECT. But what they don’t tell you is that you can take any of the electives you want (ELS), because they don’t have prerequisites. Wanna take 8 courses instead of 5? Go for it! (Not recommended for the first semester though. Go with 6 maybe? Profs are a pain in the first semester). Now they say the filled lines are prerequisites. LIARS! PMC is a 4th-semester course but has no pre-requisite! Take it in your second sem if you want. Maybe even first? Nobody cares :)
Everybody takes SYD in the 3rd sem, but. You can take that too in the second if you pass IPC! So imagine you pass all 5 mandatory courses of the first semester. Now you can technically take all these in your second semester: OOP244, Web222, SFT221, DBS211, SYD366, EAC594, PMC115 and any elective you want Another lie they tell you is that DSA456 has OOP345 as a prerequisite. BULLSHIT!
My professor was surprised when she learned I hadn’t done OOP345 and got in but it is not a pre-requisite! So in your 3rd semester, you can take: OOP345, DSA456, WEB322, DBS311, and Professional Option (Some of them have OOP244 and other second-semester courses as requirements instead of oop345).
If you do this, congratulations!!!! You finish the Seneca CPP program in 3 semesters (Only if someone had told me I could do that!!! :)
Now if you are completely the opposite, then you can take as few as 3 courses to be a full-time student. The best tip for someone like you is to make sure you take the ones that are actually prerequisites as soon as you can take them.
First Semester (At least IPC, APS, and COM) - pass these 3 you can pick any course you want
Second Semester (At least OOP244, WEB222, and DBS211) - pass these 3 you can pick any course you want
Third Semester and later (TAKE WHATEVER YOU WISH!!!) although if you take OOP345 and/or WEB322, you have more option in professional options to pick from, no sweat! Thanks for the glorious MST300 :)
The third type of student is someone between the two. If you want to go with the normal pace and finish in 4 semesters, do similar to the ones who want to take it slow.
First Semester (At least IPC, APS, and COM) - pass these 3 you can pick any course you want
Second Semester (At least OOP244, WEB222, and DBS211) - pass these 3 you can pick any course you want
Third Semester and later (TAKE WHATEVER YOU WISH!!!) although if you take OOP345 and/or WEB322, you have more option in professional options to pick from, no sweat! Thanks for the glorious MST300 :)
Now if you want to make the most out of the program, take your courses in this order.
First Semester: IPC144, APS145, COM111, CPR101, ULI101 (Take an elective if you want and don’t feel overwhelmed)
Second Semester: OOP244, DBS211, WEB222, SFT221, SYD366, EAC594 (the last one is really easy. SYD too (will explain, it has a trick) also take an elective or two here so the next 2 semesters are easier)
Third Semester: From here you are pretty much free to do whatever you wish, but what I recommend is the following: OOP345, DBS311, WEB322, (I would take DSA here personally so the last semester would be much easier and sure to graduate. Also in case you fail DSA :). If you haven't taken SYD, take it here or in the last semester, doesn’t matter. – This semester will be hard like this, that’s why you should take electives and some courses from the 4th semester in the first two– This way your last semester is easy enough to you can start preparing for work and apply for jobs!!!
In case you fail any of the IPC144, OOP244, or OOP345, don’t worry, your graduation will not be delayed if you are smart about it :). Will telly you what to do now. Just don’t ever postpone them unless it is 345!
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If you fail IPC: You can not take OOP244, Web211, or SFT. What you can do is: IPC144 again :), DBS211, EAC594, PMC115, - Your 3 electives so you are done with them - This semester will be really easy though, so take as many electives as you can and prepare for the next semester courses (I will get to preparations as well)
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If you fail OOP244: You can not take OOP345, DSA456, and most of the professional options (maybe all?) What you can take though if you have passed others are: DBS311, WEB322, SYD366, (electives if you have any left or PMC or EAC if you didn’t take them before) But I have to tell you, if you fail 244, last semester will be a little bit tough! But you can go with my guide which I will add and be sure to pass them all :) The fourth semester will be: OOP345, DSA456, Professional Option, electives, PMC or anything else you haven’t taken yet. If you are smart about it, you take all those prior so you only have these 3 to do.
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And if you fail OOP345!!! Doesn't Matter LOL! You can still find some professional options that you can take and take last semester have OOP345, DSA456, and whatever else you have left OOP345 isn’t a pre-requisite for them!!!
IPC144, APS145, CPR101, ULI101, COM111 or 101, Most of the electives (NO PRE-REQUISITE! Take them anytime) PMC115: This is weird but it has no prerequisites either!!! OOP244: IPC144 AND APS145 WEB222: IPC144 DBS211: IPC144 OR ULI101 - Pay attention to the OR keyword - SFT221: IPC144 EAC594: COM101 OR COM111 SYD366: IPC144 AND COM101 or 111 OOP345: OOP244 WEB322: WEB222 DBS311: DBS211 DSA456: OOP244
*** Note: PMC may not let you take it at first, try all the time. It prioritizes last semester students and CPA students, but you can find a spot sometime! ***
There are some tips I have to make everything easier.
When I say Udemy, I mean it. It is a perfect supplement! It is not extra work, it saves you time!
- Quick Note: Doesn’t matter if you have been a programmer for a few years. Unless you are pretty fluent in C and C++, you are gonna feel pressure in this course. I programmed for 3 years in python and other languages but found the course difficult. Maybe even more than people with no experience at all?! *
You can buy Udemy courses for 15-20$ when you first sign up. If you don’t see them for that price, wait for a few days. If you don’t purchase a course for a week, 100$ courses will be discounted to 15-20$ again. Or just make a new account! I have 3 :)
General Tips: Do NOT miss any of your first assignments, labs, quizzes, or workshops!!! The last ones are so hard to do or get good grades at. Make sure you do the first 3-4 perfectly and ON_TIME! Code along with the Udemy courses! Do it don’t say I know it :)
Link to the Best C Programming Course on Udemy for IPC144 students
What you must do is forget you even have a prof for this course. Buy the Udemy course and study ahead of the class. Don’t worry if you feel dumbfounded or feel like you don’t understand anything! That’s normal. When you learn it from Udemy first (which goes into more depth than your prof) then when the prof says, you totally get it! This way you spend 2 hours a week but I promise it saves you more than 10 hours a week when doing the workshops and final project!
Each week, check the title for the next week, go find that title and watch it on this Udemy course. This one is the best and closest to Seneca! Don’t go based on the Udemy order, go based on your course subject order, unless you wanna finish the Udemy course long before the semester ends, in which case, Good for you. You are gonna get an A :)!!!
Extra Tips:
- Get the first workshops, you are gonna hate the last ones lol.
- Do Not let pointers distract you. Pointers and File reading are the most annoying part. Search online, pay a tutor, and do whatever you can because they are not difficult, just confusing. If you learn them, you will find OOP244 much easier than I found it :)
- Also, if you want good grades or want to be sure you pass, Do NOT take your class with Cameron Gray because of schedule or whatever. Just go to class another day. If you have Cameron as a Prof, you are going to be spending 10-15 more hours than other students PER WEEK!!
- If you want more resources, just watch Fardad Soleimanloo’s videos on YouTube for IPC but no need. Udemy is better
Link to the Best C++ Programming Course on Udemy for OOP244 and OOP345 students
The same course for free on Youtube (Found Later)
Exactly like IPC!! What you must do is forget you even have a prof for this course. Buy the Udemy course and study ahead of the class. Don’t worry if you feel dumbfounded or feel like you don’t understand anything! That’s normal. When you learn it from Udemy first (which goes into more depth than your prof) then when the prof says, you totally get it! This way you spend 2 hours a week but I promise it saves you more than 10 hours a week when doing the workshops and final project!
Each week, check the title for the next week, go find that title and watch it on this Udemy course. This one is the best and closest to Seneca! Don’t go based on the Udemy order, go based on your course subject order, unless you wanna finish the Udemy course long before the semester ends, in which case, Good for you. You are gonna get an A :)!!!
OOP becomes so fun when you get to actually OOP with member functions and stuff. I would watch the whole Udemy course and watch Fardad’s videos before the term starts. This way you will save time too. This course takes time. It will surprise you.
Extra Tips:
- Get the first workshops.
- If you find pointers confusing or words like Constructor and Destructor weird, then you haven’t watched Udemy videos, you DUMMY!! - That’s what happened to me - Watch them and come back.
- Fardad is a good prof. A bit easier than Huang. But both are good. As a general rule, the worst a prof is, the easier he is on the exams and assignments :). So, self-study anyways!
My Strategy would be:
- Watch Udemy
- Watch Fardad’s Lecture on that topic
- Read the course notes
Link to one of the best DSA Courses I could fine on Udemy for DSA456 students
In this course, you probably need your prof because school goes a little more in depth than these courses. I would get this course and study it in the order I will mention in a bit, during the term or preferebly even before it starts. Just keep in mind it is intended to be studied BEFORE you attend the class on the subject. It helps you inderstand what the prof says and save a ton of time! This course can be overwhelming, but almost all of your job interview questions will be from this course. So, better take it seriously and practice as much as you can.
The course sections are unrelated so they can be studied in any order. The following is the order that is closest to school curriculum but also makes it easier to understand what you do and why.
- Section 1
- Section 3
- Section 12
- Section 13
- Section 5
- Section 6
- Section 7
- Section 8
- Section 9
- Section 10
- Section 11
- Section 14
AGAIN! It best helps before attending class on the subject. If you fall behind, it is super difficult to get back.
Extra Tips:
- The assignments are 30%! The first assignment is the easiest even though it will feel hard. Do them as well as you can.
- Midterm has 2 significant parts. time and space analysis and LinkedLists. Make suer you are comfortable with the two.
- First half of the course is easier to understand but will feel overwhelming because it is new. Just check the course and take advantage of it so you are not as stressed in the second half.
My professor was Catherine Leung. She is a really nice person. her teaching is ok, but she really cares and even spent 1 full hour out of the class time to explain me something and help me with my assignment. BUT SHE GRADES VERY HARD! Beware of that. I think I would still pick her and just put a little more effort into the course. This is a link to her videos on Heaps, Trees and Linked Lists
Link to one of the best courses I could find on Udemy for PMC115 students
Link to one of the best courses I could find on YouYube for PMC115 students
I have to say I had a hard time with this course. I could not focus at all and could not understand what my prof said. She kept saying you have to read the textbook and that is 600 pages!!! I am not going to do that. Even if I did, I am terrible at remembering stuff and this course has thousands of terms to remember. The upside is that 50-100% of the midterm and final, depending on who your prof is, is scenario based. They give you cases and ask you to identify things or write what you would do basically. So this way, you have mroe freedom but you have to know things.
PMC is based on PMBOK book. Even if you don't attend a single class (I did not attend after the second week), you can learn the material and pass. The Udemy course I have posted is step by step, exactly what your prof would teach but in a more understandable manner. I found the instructor's explainations very clear and can always stop and watch again.
My prof was Naila Aaijaz. She is alright. Isn't a hard grader but she takes this course very seriously and is not very good at organizing things in a clear way and post deadlines. If you take classes with her, she will tell you she takes attendence. Don't worry it is not mandatory and you will not loose anything if you don't show up.
- When grouping opens, choose your group veryyy fast! You don't wanna end uop with annoying people :/