<p>So I'm an incoming Freshman and I noticed that PIC10A is already full... I really wanted to explore the class so I could consider switching into Computer Science as a major if I liked the class, but it's already full+waitlist. I heard you can get approved to enter full classes with a PTE number to enroll, like sort of a backdoor at Orientation or even with the professor. Has anyone had experience with this?</p>
<p>I took Pic 10A this past spring with Professor Hunter. It’s a class that fills up fast so it would be hard to sign up as a freshman even on your first pass. The professor recommended that those who weren’t enrolled or on the waitlist continue to come to class for the first few lectures. Make sure to talk to him to explain your situation.
He was able to accommodate more than the 9 initially on the waitlist, so I think your chances are decent if you show up to lecture the first 2 weeks and continue to talk to him about enrolling. Almost 110 were in the class by the end, even though the cap is 90.
Keep checking over the summer and the first week of the quarter, people tend to drop and whatnot. You should be good to go if you make it on the waitlist.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info! 
I’ll definitely try to do that. I’ll probably enroll in 3 classes during orientation and if I get PIC10A maybe I’ll drop 1 class to get back to three classes again cause I want to start with a 4.0 first quarter hopefully! </p>
<p>By the way, is Prof. Hunter better than Virtanen? I couldn’t find any reviews for Prof Hunter on Bruinwalk and ratemyprofessor.</p>
<p>My roommate had Virtanen, the exams are a little challenging according to my roommate but he still managed to pull off an A after acing the final (despite not doing too hot on the midterms). I believe they had to make a game (blackjack?) and use animation (which we didn’t do)</p>
<p>Hunter is a really cool guy, I do think some concepts could have been explained more slowly/clearly though. He doesn’t use any powerpoints, only writes on the board. The TAs are helpful (the main TA did a great job with code walkthroughs). The exams are frankly not too difficult, but an accumulation of dumb mistakes on my part did me in and prevented me from getting an A (*Grades are not out yet, but unless there was a nice curve I doubt I got an A. Most people did well so there probably wasn’t a curve). That being said if you aren’t prone to overthinking like I am, the class should not be bad at all. Just make sure to give yourself ample time to complete the projects. The tic-tac-toe project took way longer than expected for me since it took forever to find 1 error lodged in my code and I had to skip class and lab on the day it was due to finish it. You are also allowed to drop your lowest project score (6 assignments in total, 1 dropped). It seemed like most people in the class came in with no programming experience (like me) but if you already have a solid background I don’t think you even have to attend lecture. I never used the textbook, there are other good sources out there (cplusplus.com)</p>
<p>Forgot to mention, Prof. Wittman’s powerpoints are good resources and he has many old exams for extra practice. I recommend attending the TA review sessions too.</p>
<p>Alright thanks haha! I have no experience either so I wanted to take the class to gauge how much I would like computer science. Good luck on your grades when they’re posted!</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard, Pic 10A is a cakewalk compared to CS31 (usually Smallberg is the professor who teaches it, he is a C++ god), if you’re hoping to switch into the Computer Science major I don’t think Pic 10A will count and you will still need to take CS31. But since CS31 is restricted, once you switch at least you would be going into that class with some programming experience.</p>
<p>Pic 10A and 10B = CS31 from what I heard</p>