Any advice...

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: ganesh1
Dude these are the basics.. sorting and stuff.. Most of my friends say its very boring. But wait It will get interesting after they start teaching you stuff like COMPUTER ORGANIZATIONS.. JAVA... .Net..Web designing..

These are most definitely not basics. And what are you talking about? All 3 of those are completely different unrelated things. Extensive knowledge of Java, C, Assembly, and OP Code are all essential to the courses I am taking.

We are not just implementing sorting algorithms but we are optimizing the sorting and analyzing the algorithms themselves. Best case/worst case, and upper/lower bounds. The topics that were in this block but weren't on the test were Buffers, Hashing, Tree's and other structures along with an intricate knowledge of how each work.

In my other classes we are working with DMA, Page Faults, Caching algorithms, Forwarding, Branch Prediction, Memory and Disk I/O.

Next semester, I have my Operating Systems course which is the widow-maker of college courses.

 

[ViviTheMage]

like CraKaJaX said..re-read prof's notes, that is win win.

 

[vshah]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Originally posted by: ganesh1
Dude these are the basics.. sorting and stuff.. Most of my friends say its very boring. But wait It will get interesting after they start teaching you stuff like COMPUTER ORGANIZATIONS.. JAVA... .Net..Web designing..

These are most definitely not basics. And what are you talking about? All 3 of those are completely different unrelated things. Extensive knowledge of Java, C, Assembly, and OP Code are all essential to the courses I am taking.

We are not just implementing sorting algorithms but we are optimizing the sorting and analyzing the algorithms themselves. Best case/worst case, and upper/lower bounds. The topics that were in this block but weren't on the test were Buffers, Hashing, Tree's and other structures along with an intricate knowledge of how each work.

In my other classes we are working with DMA, Page Faults, Caching algorithms, Forwarding, Branch Prediction, Memory and Disk I/O.

Next semester, I have my Operating Systems course which is the widow-maker of college courses.

OS was the killer for CS majors at my school too. I had two friends who were partners...i literally did not see them for 3 months. insane class but i'm sure one learns an incredible amount. i took the prereq to that, we did stuff like writing a unix shell, malloc etc, and that was tough enough...good luck

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
If you're working harder than everyone and still getting the worst grades, maybe you're in the wrong game. Do you like engineering or are you just in it for the jobs/parents said so?

If you're not into engineering and you're bad at it, it might be time to explore other options. You'll be happier for it.

No - I love Computer Science. I enjoy doing the projects and feel like I master the material while working through them.

This test thing happens in most of my classes. I'm at the end of my Junior year here and I have just figured that it was because I never ever had to study in High School. I could just walk in, take a test, and get an A.

The all-nighters definitely aren't something I should be doing obviously. Just erase that from the study plan's board all together. Honestly, in this case, after the test when some classmates and I were talking about our answers, I knew what was wrong the instant they said it. I just didn't think of it until they said it... Could that be the lack of sleep playing in that instance?

-Kevin

Edit: I even got an Internship in the Intelligence Sector this summer that I am very excited about. I really honestly do like Computer Science.

Absolutely. I was EE not CS but when I would stay up the night before I would do horrible. It's like people said, so much is due to problem solving. When I stayed up my brain was so fried I just didn't retain anything and wasn't thinking well enough to figure stuff out.

When I would study then sleep 6 hours then wake up and study more, THAT'S when I would learn material AND still be able to think logically.

Oh and yeah good luck with OSs, my ex was a CS major and that was a rough one for her (and she's graduating with her PhD in CS @ 24 in a month).

 

[QurazyQuisp]

I agree, forget the books. I never, ever, use the book unless it's required for homework. I've found the intertubes do a better job at teaching than most CS books. In fact, this semester I only purchased one book. I usually limit myself to 4ish hours of studying for an exam, at most. I try to pay attention in class, and put forth my best work on homework and projects, and I usually score well on my CS exams. (90s ish) Spend the time when doing projects and homework to figure the material out, so when studying for the exams it's just a review.

Granted, I'm probably part of a minority that goes through CS the way I do... but I'm hovering right around a 3.5. (And almost done) I've found if you have homework (not programming projects) that the homework is usually a very good representation of what the exams are going to be like.

 

[RKS]

Pray or business school (MIS), your choice.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Don't just stay up 2 days before the test. Start studying a week before the test. Make sure you know all the concepts, that way you won't have sudden last minute "crap I forgot to look over that" moments.

 

[Platypus]

protip: depriving your body of sleep for two days will hurt you more than studying in chunks and getting REST.

 

[imported_Imp]

If you need to stay up 45 hours straight to study, that means you fail at learning and will probably fail the test.

All the engineering tests/exams I did required about 4 hours a night for 2 nights to score very good on. I usually spent 4 hours for one night on a test, maybe 1 or 2 hours skimming the night before. This got me Bs and up.

Most of my tests were based off of homework and assignments though. However, there was always at least 1 "apply the theory" question on tests and exams, that required you to understand what was going on, and not spit back out the assignment.

The only exam I stayed up all night to study for turned out to be the course I almost failed. However, the class average for it was 35% (first year, general course with few hundred students), so the professor fucked up massively too.

 

[Gamingphreek]

See I went and pulled this in my Data Structures class and in my harder Computer Organization II class I just took a test today and absolutely (Without seeing the score of course) killed the test. I honestly think there is a good chance I aced it.

Thats what I thought about staying up all night, but others in my class do it and do very well so I figured I would do it - apparently I don't do well.

I still can't believe that with all of this - I still have a 75 in the course - that is how good my projects are. If I can apply some of the study tips from you all and do well on the last homework and project, I think I might be able to manage a B for the course.

Imp - CS tests are vastly different than a lot of other types of engineering tests - But who am I to critique given that your study habits were way better than mine are.

-Kevin

(Not that it matters at all in this discussion because all of this is 100% my own stupidity in a lot of cases - but much of the low GPA can be attributed to a D in both Chemistry and New Testament - Chem was my fault for lack of trying and New Testament was stupidly/absurdly hard!)

 

[razor2025]

Your study habits can definitely improve. You need to have sufficient rest in between your study session, so your brain can actually retain the information. There's widely publicized studies in psychology that proves the benefits of having rests in-between study sessions. So, when you're studying, follow your friend's example, and take some rest in between. 1-2 hour naps if possible. Don't stay up too late to cram at last minute, it will only make it worse.

And if this wasn't emphasized enough, talk to your TA and professor as often as possible. Get feed backs from them. At the very best, the professor may give you advice and hints for the next test. At the very worst, he'll know your name at the end of the semester and hopefully that'll give you brownie points.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Well - my first exam is May 8. I have 2 projects, a test, and a homework in between me and that date. When I am not working on those things, I'll have to make time to start studying right now. I desperately need to get A's on the Exams if I want any hope of getting something higher than a C for the course.

-Kevin

 

[Kyteland]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Originally posted by: LordMorpheus
If you're working harder than everyone and still getting the worst grades, maybe you're in the wrong game. Do you like engineering or are you just in it for the jobs/parents said so?

If you're not into engineering and you're bad at it, it might be time to explore other options. You'll be happier for it.

No - I love Computer Science. I enjoy doing the projects and feel like I master the material while working through them.

This test thing happens in most of my classes. I'm at the end of my Junior year here and I have just figured that it was because I never ever had to study in High School. I could just walk in, take a test, and get an A.

The all-nighters definitely aren't something I should be doing obviously. Just erase that from the study plan's board all together. Honestly, in this case, after the test when some classmates and I were talking about our answers, I knew what was wrong the instant they said it. I just didn't think of it until they said it... Could that be the lack of sleep playing in that instance?

-Kevin

Edit: I even got an Internship in the Intelligence Sector this summer that I am very excited about. I really honestly do like Computer Science.

This post makes you sound like a case of too smart for your own good.

Everybody will, at some point during their education, come to a point where the material they are learning is too hard to pick up without effort. It sounds like that was freshman year of college for you. The problem is that most people hit that wall fairly early. They struggled with material in high school that you breezed through without effort, which means they've had a lot more practice at the art of "learning how to learn." It's a skill you're expected to have by the time you hit the college level.

 

[Mo0o]

seems like you just have really shitty study habits which isnt a problem when u do homework since you can keep referring to material

 

[Jeff7]

When you do your homework, do you do it with your notes always right there next to you, or can you do a fair portion of it (at least towards the end of each assigned problem set) without your notes?

Final exams were the only ones I'd ever study for, and at most, I think I once spent 4 hours studying for a test before I was simply utterly bored to tears with the material. I think that's the most I ever put forth with the singular goal of test preparation.

Now, time spent on homework.....dear lordy....lots of time there. Calculus was a damn nightmare. 10-14 hours on each set of homework problems. That stuff made no sense to me. The tests reflected it. C's and D's consistently. But my homework grade was near to 100% in both Calc I and II.
Differential Equations - no homework grade, all tests and quizzes. 70-79 was the range for them, very nicely and consistently centered around 75%.


And you mentioned studying 45hrs for a test. I assume this means you then took the test after this insane marathon? I don't know how you handle sleep deprivation, but after I'm awake for around 20 hours straight, I start to get a bit stupid - the most inane, pathetically minor things suddenly become quite hilarious. It's probably the closest I ever get to being drunk.
Awake for 45 hours straight? I'd have trouble figuring out the complex functionality of something like a toothbrush at that point.

 

[Lazy8s]

I am a 4.0 CS master's student about to graduate and I was the TA for Java 2 here at Auburn. I can tell you exactly what you are doing wrong.
1) You are cramming and not studying.
2) You are relying on dumping time into homework and projects instead of actually learning the material.

How do I know? I taught an entire class of you for over a year. A lot of people like CS because of the projects. Most people get an A on a CS project because they can dump a ridiculous amount of time in, make a million mistakes, and eventually get it right by the deadline. However, these people fail every test and wonder what happened.

Next time take this approach:
1) Before you do a project plan it out, THEN do it. If something is wrong don't fix it, go back to the beginning. Plan it all out again, then do it. Clearly you can correct some small mistakes here and there, but if you have a major error you need to start from the beginning.
2) When you finish a project do it again without looking at the one you got right. If you still make mistakes you clearly do not understand what is going on.
3) Do more than the assigned homework and if you get a project try to answer the "Why?" question: "Why did my professor assign this?" If you don't understand what the learning objective of your project is then you are not going to learn it. When in doubt ask the prof/TA.
4) Get done early and help other people. This to me is the biggest. You really know something when you can explain it to others.

This sounds like a lot of wasted time but it isn't. This will let you figure out what you do and do not understand. Clearly I am not talking about restarting for every minor error but if your algorithm is off or you missed some logic, that is not a minor error. As far as do extra homework, if your prof assigns 5 questions at the end of the chapter at least read the rest and see if you have any idea what the answer would be. Being on the teaching side, there is a reason they give you the homework or assignment. If you can't figure that out then you are probably missing the "big picture". Also, tutoring people is THE WAY to learn. If your school has a free tutoring center then sign up, or just help people in class that you know. I hope this helps.

EDIT: It also helps to talk to students further along in the program. Most of them are willing to share what their tests were like. I am not advocating cheating, I am advocating helping yourself understand what "the point" of the class is though.

 

[Kirby]

Originally posted by: Lazy8s
-snip-

Auburn? You guys do more than farming?

Great advice though. I should do some of that myself.

<- CS at Bama

 

[Lazy8s]

Originally posted by: nkgreen

Originally posted by: Lazy8s
-snip-

Auburn? You guys do more than farming?

Great advice though. I should do some of that myself.

<- CS at Bama

You wouldn't know it if you drove down frat row, but yes we do.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Seems like there are multiple issues. The OP and everyone else is focusing on studying which is very important but, it is also important to study how your prof teaches. Some like to dwell on details while testing for concepts. Some like to dwell on concepts and test on coding specifics. Some are just putting in their time so they can get back to whatever research project they're working on.

ALL of them couldn't give a damn whether you learn or not. So, you've got to get inside the prof's head and study for what he's looking for by using previous tests, how he gives lectures, how he instructs the TA's. In short, reading the prof is as important as reading the material.

 

[IEC]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
(Not that it matters at all in this discussion because all of this is 100% my own stupidity in a lot of cases - but much of the low GPA can be attributed to a D in both Chemistry and New Testament - Chem was my fault for lack of trying and New Testament was stupidly/absurdly hard!)

...

I find it very difficult to believe that a religion class was that difficult. They are certainly no cakewalk, contrary to what some may think, but they aren't exceptionally difficult. Did you approach it from a confessional/faith perspective or something?

There's very little room for a faith perspective in a class on critical biblical study of any sort, NT studies included.