<p>I actually took it a loooong time ago (took some time off) before it turned into the current studio/lab system. Back then it was 4 hours of lecture a week, with I think one 90 minute optional lab section (only required when you had to demo a lab) – no studio exercises. It also had less than a 100 people in the class…I still haven’t quite figured out the reason it suddenly grew from <100 to >200 people. ((Not to mention it was taught once a year then, and twice a year now (so <100 people to >300 people a year ?? ) )) </p>
<p>I’ve had Cytron for a 500 level course and he was awesome. I can see that people may not like Chamberlain as much. Next year it’s being taught by Chen who I haven’t had any interaction with so can’t comment.</p>
<p>Thanks for writing all that though, was interesting to read because it’s a different experience than the one I had (and I may or may not TA it next year, although probably going to do a 400 level class instead). </p>
<p>And yeah, I took AP Computer Science AB (although it was in C++) but was still a fairly easy transition to Java and 131 so it was pretty easy for me…I did struggle a bit in 132 though.</p>
<p>Going back to your last comment about the structure, I’m not too fond of it --it’s used in the 300 level courses as well (332, 330, and partly 361). I suppose if you know what to expect coming in and like how the course is structured, it’s probably more rewarding.</p>
<p>With that said, if anyone does decide to take 131, feel free to pm me any questions about the content, etc.</p>
<p>I haven’t taken either course, so I cannot personally provide any insight.</p>
<p>Do you have your WUSTL key yet? If so, go to <a href=“https://asapps.artsci.wustl.edu/evals/login.asp[/url]”>https://asapps.artsci.wustl.edu/evals/login.asp</a> and sign in. Go to “Past Evaluation Results” and search by course name. Make sure to search for “All Semesters” so you get the whole picture, but prioritize the most recent ones. View each evaluation page by clicking “Chart” instead of “Detail,” since it’s easier to visualize.</p>
<p>There are usually some basic programming classes offered through the U College (I dont know if you know what that is? Its like the night school, you can take a class there for free every semester).</p>
<p>I didn’t think 131 was that bad, though. I mean, the lectures were useless and irrelevant for the labs, but I had great TAs who helped teach me the material. The 132 professor I had this semester was fantastic. I did’t have any previous programming experience, which is a disadvantage, but I still did very well in the class. I think its also a good class to take first semester because, at least for me, I never had any work outside of class time - I did all the labs in my assigned lab period (and they are very lenient with labs, I think everyone gets 3 “late passes”) - so except for the final project, extensions and studying for the small quizzes (each of which you could retake 3 times - I usually just studied during lecture lol), I never had any work to do outside of class. It was pretty laid back, and as long as you do the work a straight-forward A so it shouldnt be a drain on your other courseload, although the format of the class will be changing significantly for next semester. If you’re interested in CS, I would say consider taking it.</p>
<p>You can always sign up for an extra class with the intention of dropping your least favorite one, so you could try 131 out and if its not your thing, drop it.</p>
<p>To be honest, I’m not really sure. I’m a TA for the class but the info I’ve gotten has been pretty vague so far because its still up in the air - I think they’re not going to be giving quizzes and the way labs are run will be different. They’re making changes based on comments they’ve gotten from students’ past course evaluations, so I think it will be an improvement.</p>
<p>I took an English lit seminar (Immigrants and Exiles) during the fall and really enjoyed it. Professor was great, books were interesting, discussions were mostly quite engaging. Strangely, it was actually a bit larger than the other English classes I’ve taken, but still pretty small…there were about 15 people.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard good things about the math freshman seminar if anyone is interested, but it’s supposed to be difficult. I had a different class from the professor that teaches it, and it made me wish that I had also been in his seminar.</p>
<p>What do you guys think about me taking CSE 104? Basic Web Design would certainly be cool. Also, considering I’ll probably be doing Text and Tradition, I think my other classes this semester shouldn’t be heavily reading, so any ideas?</p>
<p>CSE 104 fills pretty quickly, you wouldn’t be able to take it until probably 2nd or maybe even 3rd year. As for the class itself, I don’t know much about it.</p>
<p>Well I’m going to an ArtSci weekend this weekend so I’m trying to get an idea of what classes to take. Can you guys just give some good ideas for stuff to take?</p>
<p>can anyone comment on the FOCUS law and society class? im registered for it but mainly signed up because i was displeased with the selection of intro polisci classes (american govt which i took AP last year and political theory which im trying to avoid bc dead white guy philosophers is not my thing are the only ones offered fall, comp and IR arent offered until spring semester unfortunately). my issue is that im not sure i want a full year class that doesnt give me polisci credit, is a mainly writing based and appears wont help me fill distribution/cluster requirements although the class material sounds really interesting and i think id enjoy it. can anyone comment on the class or their thoughts if its worth taking?</p>
<p>I do now already know that I am doing Text & Tradition, as I went to the 1st ArtSci weekend and they told us there. Hopefully you get Text & Tradition so we can meet in real life.
You should find out soon enough. PM me if you want some advice on which professors to take for the T&T classes assuming you get into the program.</p>
<p>Thanks gunther :). Do you know if all of the T&T spots are filled? A lot of people have said in the 2015 fb group that their programs are up on WebSTAC but no one who hasn’t been to ArtSci weekend yet has said anything about Text and Tradition.</p>