7 min read5 things I wish I knew before starting Georgia Tech OMSCS program
Welcome!
I want to go over five things I wish I knew before starting the program.
The following may save you time which, like me, you may desperately need.
Signing up for the school VPN
Georgia Tech uses GlobalProtect VPN to access school resources.
The process of sign-up is relatively trivial.
All you need to do is go to vpn.gatech.edu, enter your school login credentials, and then download the appropriate file for your operating system.
Keep in mind there are two download links, one for Mac/Windows and another for Linux.
Once you've installed the VPN, you'll need to re-enter your school credentials on your computer whenever you wish to access school-related resources, such as the school library or even SSH'ing into your school's Github Enterprise account.
Use VPN to access the school's library
One of the most incredible features of Georgia Tech's VPN is the seamless ability to access the school library.
Once logged in, you'll have unfeathered access to every article you can imagine for free.
So take advantage and download as many scholarly articles as you can.
Once you've graduated, the school will remove your VPN privileges, and access to the school's library will no longer be possible.
Georgia Tech uses GitHub Enterprise
One of the more annoying things about the school's VPN is that you need to be connected to use SSH with your Georgia Tech Github Enterprise account.
Every student is given a Github Enterprise account, and if you find it annoying to enter credentials every time to push something into your account, you'll most likely opt to use SSH keys.
The problem is that the school does not allow SSH'ing into your account unless you are connected through GlobalProtect VPN.
Although it's annoying to enter credentials every time to access the school's VPN, the process is leagues better than entering credentials now and again when you want to push something to your Github Enterprise account.
Seminars count as a course
Georgia Tech has a Readmission Policy that states that "any student who is not enrolled for three or more consecutive terms (counting Summer Session) must apply for readmission."
Simply put, you need to take at least one class a year to continue to be enrolled as a student.
If you need to take a break due to an emergency, it's possible to apply for a Leave of Absence.
However, if you need to take a break from classes and don't want to apply for a Leave of Absence, there is the possibility of enrolling in a seminar.
A seminar at Georgie Tech OMSCS program is a one-credit course with no bearing on your GPA. Seminars are graded as either "Pass" or "Fail," and the credits received do not count towards graduation.
As with all things, email an advisor and double-check all information you receive online from strangers.
Research classes through review websites
I wish I had known about review websites when I started. I made the other move, which is to take courses that interest me; very fun, took quite difficult courses early on.
The creation of this review website was in part of some online drama. I had zero clue about until I randomly checked the Reddit OMSCS webpage by coincidence. People were saying someone should build an alternative website, so I took the initiative. Others have done the same.
Ultimately, the "drama" was resolved with new ownership, so I have heard.
The point is that you should take every opportunity to research the courses you wish to sign-up for.
Many reviews are from very giving individuals who wish to impart knowledge, resources, and sagely advice to help others. Truly a remarkable gift from one colleague to another. I wish I had read reviews sooner and bought books fellow students recommended to read ahead of time.
Here are some review sites that you may find helpful on your student journey:
I advise looking at all of them along with some Reddit reviews and making the best possible choice for your current situation.
Look at a courses grade distribution curve
Speaking of reviews, the next best thing is to gather data on the course you wish to take.
One fantastic thing about Georgia Tech is that they publicly release data on grade distributions for all their classes on lite.gatech.edu.
It's as simple as filling out the filters, picking the CS course you wish to view, and viola!
You can now see the grade distribution for the course for every academic calendar year and semester.
You should notice that many students get A's, so compare the grades of your current class with the grade distribution of previous semesters to determine how high your classes grading curve will be.
I recommend pairing this with review sites to give you an idea of the difficulty of the courses you wish to take.
Respect the syllabus
Lastly, respect the syllabus.
The syllabus is the source of life for you in this program.
The syllabus will tell you all you need to know about the class. It will tell you about pre-requisites, impart what you are expected to know when joining the class, and even tell you the books that you should buy for the course.
If the syllabus says you should know Big(O) notation before taking the course, expect the exams to have questions about Big(O) memorandum even if the class never teaches you or tests you on that knowledge.
From personal experience, I feel many students miss out on getting an A/B grade all because they decided to study the course only through the videos.
For example, I took the Artificial Intelligence course my first year in this program. The "recommended" book is Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach.
I think what threw students off was that it was considered "recommended" when it should have said "mandatory".
Essentially, 10% of the final exam were questions ripped straight from the book, to which the book gave the answers, and the test was open books/notes/videos.
I remember clearly how many students in the class complained about the book questions from the exam; some even cried. The sad thing is that I don't know how the questions could have been any easier.
The answers were in the book, paired with beautiful graphs and images. These book questions may have been the difference between a passing/failing grade.
The point is to take everything the syllabus mentions as mandatory; there are no recommendations.
I say to go above and beyond what the syllabus mentions regarding additional resources, whether books or paid courses, as it may save your school life when studying for exams or working on projects.
Good luck
I wish for nothing but your success in this program, and I hope these things I wish I knew can be imparted as knowledge for you, so you don't make the same mistakes I did.
Getting SSH to work for Github enterprise took me about two weeks because I did not know that you needed to be connected to VPN. I was behind in class because of that.
If anything, I hope I have saved you time getting Github SSH set up reasonably quickly.
The other advice seems like a no-brainer, yet I still see students "winging" it in classes and then complaining that they did not know about this or that when it was clearly mentioned in the syllabus.
If you aim for the A, you will pass your classes as long as you respect the syllabus.
This is an ongoing problem where courses are starting to lock assignments until a student proves they read the syllabus and understand what's in it.
Hello! I'm just a person who wants to help others on their programming journey.