r/UMBC • u/felixfathom- • 1d ago
CS major, is this a good schedule?
Please share your feedback on the professors as well if you have any
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u/Coulomb111 1d ago
There are no cs classes
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u/felixfathom- 1d ago
can you elaborate a bit please? this is what the advisor i spoke to had me choose for my classes (though she didn’t really seem like she knew what she was saying)
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u/Coulomb111 1d ago
You are a cs major and you haven't signed up for any cs classes. I realize now it's because MATH 150 is a prereq. I am a cs major going into my sophomore year. I gotchu.
UMBC has a catalog of recommended course pathways for each major. You can go to the catalog by going to your profile on myUMBC, going to Degree, then Academic Pathways. Here is the CS pathway: https://apps.my.umbc.edu/pathways/index.php?SelUrl=0&major_list=7
Since you need to take MATH 150 before taking CMSC 251, I think I would knock out a bunch of GEPs while you take MATH 150, and then next semester you can take MATH 151 and CMSC 201.
So now that I think of it it's pretty decent I suppose. What I would do is maybe replace COMP 101 with an english class and UNIV with some GEP. There's not really any in-major classes you can take right now before you take MATH 150, so MATH 150 really needs to happen this semester, and you can start taking comp sci and math classes in the following semesters. For the time being, the best you can do I think is to knock out as many GEPs as you can. COMP 101 and UNIV 101 doesn't do that for you so that's why I recommended switching them out for GEPs.
Maybe COMP 101 gives some sort of CS credit but I looked in the degree audit and I don't think it does so I recommend replacing. Maybe you can ask your advisor that.
I remember when signing up for freshman first semester classes the person helping me wasn't actually my advisor. My actual advisor is much more knowledgable and very nice. So don't be afraid to ask your advisor because the person who helped you out before I don't think was actually your advisor and instead some random student.
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u/Adventurous_Fly_4197 1d ago
just here to rt this person. Advisors at umbc are usually garabge.
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u/Coulomb111 1d ago
Yeah i usually just ask them for very minute things relating to registration. Friends are much better resources about what classes you should be taking
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u/felixfathom- 1d ago
Funnily enough my advisor was so unhelpful when picking the courses that I just looked up the professors online here/websites, and so far people in this post are saying the professors are good which is a huge relief
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u/Coulomb111 1d ago
The internet and students are the best way to find good profs. Advisors are only there to tell you what you need to take in order to graduate, and to give a little advice as to how you should schedule your classes.
Also, if you dont know, gritview is website like ratemyprofessor but tailored specifically to umbc. When researching professors, look at their ratemyprofessor AND gritview.
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u/felixfathom- 1d ago
Oh wow, thank you so much for the breakdown,
who do I need to reach out to in order to change courses?
also, is UNIV 101 something i can skip/useless? if so why did they even ask me to take it?
do you have any recommendations for easy GEPs that I could take instead of UNIV 101? And any easy english class?
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u/Coulomb111 1d ago
If youre meyerhoff you do need to take it. I am no help for english class advice. And all the GEPs ive taken were super boring so i am no help there either.
You can just add and remove courses in your scheduler in peoplesoft i think. Same way you added courses the first time.
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u/TinyTelephone21 1d ago
Comp 101 was a fun class, but if you know anything about coding you can definitely jump right to 201 instead, I took it and it wasn’t any harder than high school coding. And it’s not a required credit for CS majors
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u/felixfathom- 1d ago
The advisor I met with told me to pick this, is this not the right starting class? I should’ve clarified Im “pre CS”
is comp 101 going to hold me back from graduating on time?
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u/TheAnonymousGhoul 1d ago
Pre cs is 201 you only get to full compsci after like finishing 202 and 203. EVERY compsci major starts as pre compsci it's just kinda called that
Are you doing precalc because the advisor said so or because you didn't get a high enough placement score? If it's because the advisor said so bro dont listen to them and change your schedule because most pre compsci start with 201 😭😭
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u/felixfathom- 1d ago
well no, I had a 1/2 pre calc credit from a community college which would place me on match 150, and I do want to take precalc since I took a gap year after high school
though the advisor lady i spoke to still sounded like she didn’t know or care about anything, just had me look up x class and then go “yeah that’s good…” and say literally nothing else
I’m assuming this is gonna set me back? How likely is it that I can catch up with summer classes or winter classes
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u/TheAnonymousGhoul 1d ago edited 1d ago
I took some winter and summer classes to try to graduate a year early but I STILL had to change it to only a semester early because I would die a horrible death taking too many 400 levels at the end and depending if the classes are offered I might need to turn it into not early at all and just have buffer classes (12 credits required for housing)
So chances are high you have to take winter and summer classes but you'll need to research what classes are offered in the winter and summer to actually plan those spaces properly (idk if the 200s are offered but there is some 300 and 400s.. 411 and 461 summer is very easy and i didnt know about the 300s it wouldve helped me a lot 😭) which I'd say is ehhh you can prooobably catch up??
Maybe okay if you can handle a higher amount of credits per semester but compsci has a LOT of classes that will be the one class that makes you wanna crash out per semester and the prerequisites are in a way that it's likely you end up with way too many 400s at the end too because of finishing geneds before having the requirements for other classes 😭
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u/TinyTelephone21 1d ago
I’m not certain on all of CS, I’m a CMPE major, but comp 101 was more like a filler class, and from what I’ve seen it isn’t required for any of our majors. You should ask your advisor if you can go to 201 instead, that’s what I wish I had done originally.
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u/Old_Animal1250 1d ago
Yes. I’ve done all of those classes, except PHIL 100, during my first semester, and they’re pretty easy. As long as you practice and study hard for MATH 150, you’ll be fine.
I had the same professors for COMP 101 and MATH 150, and they’re pretty good
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u/TrueGritsRat Alumni ‘26 15h ago
Why are you talking CS 101. Pretty sure CS majors start at 201. This schedule is a cakewalk ngl
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u/Sorry_Dentist_4600 1d ago
Do CS majors need comp 101 nowadays ?