It's that time again... the usually dreaded time to return to classes. This time around, I have mixed feelings regarding the start of my final Fall semester. On one hand, I am holding on to the tiny bit of my summer vacation. But on the other hand, I am more than excited to begin this semester, if only because of the classes that I will be taking this time around. Here's my Fall semester lineup:
Data Structures and Analysis
Computer Systems Architecture
Linear Algebra
Advanced Programming Languages
Object Oriented Concurrent Programming
I also plan to supplement my learning with a couple of free MOOCs:
Algorithms 1
Software Testing
As usual, I have piled my semester with tons of fun and plenty of things to learn. This semester will be special to me because I will be taking the bulk of my Computer Science core classes. As I took some time to re-read the course descriptions, I could feel the excitement rising because much of the gaps I've felt lately, will be addressed this semester. Let's discuss these "gaps"... A huge part of my studies has been self-taught. Although I am attending a university in order to get my degree, a large portion of what I know now, has come from countless hours of practice, reading, and completing MOOCs online. While stumbling working my way through my self-learning, there have always been areas that I felt would have been more clear had I gotten to that point in my formal education. Or, in many cases, the resources available teach a watered-down version of a subject, which left gaps in general understanding. In these situations, I found myself seeking different sources of information to fill in the gaps, but sometimes, the information still was elusive at best. I know that school will not fill in all of the gaps, but I do feel as though this semester will provide me with a more in depth guideline to follow in order to deepen my understanding, specifically around data structures and algorithms. So, onward I go to my next to last semester of school!