CS 2150

Bloomfield definitely knows his stuff, and he also knows that the class takes a lot of time each week. 70% of your grade was labs this semester, and they definitely do take a lot of time. Of the 11 labs assigned this semester, for the prelab, inlab, and postlab combined, labs too me from 2 hours all the way up to around 20 hours to finish (yeah that was a rough lab). I haven't taken the final yet, but even not missing many points on the labs I'm still scared about the outcome since the available practice finals are pretty difficult. Anyways, the class is definitely a process, but if you like CS, it's not too bad and it's actually nice to learn C++. I can say that IBCM and Assembly were a pain, but C++ is the majority of the class and good to know for sure. Bloomfield is also incredibly well composed and can answer any question or explain any content seamlessly. Definitely the right teacher for the job. Also, GO TO OFFICE HOURS FOR HELP IF YOU'RE STUCK. It will save you a lot of time.

Aaron Bloomfield is incredibly lazy and uninvolved. His exams are made up of deceptive, poorly worded questions that test your understanding of grammar intricacies rather than content mastery. In his review sessions he very infrequently is able to answer his own questions from exams of past and is too lazy to attempt solving questions he deems are too long. Despite doing well in the course, I leave with a mediocre understanding of the material and an overall distaste for computer science. Unless you are majoring in cs DO NOT take this class, especially not with a professor this poor.

This class is extremely hard to keep up with because you're always stressed out. There are labs every week with three parts due throughout the week, so you always have something to worry about. Some are pretty easy, while others take hours. We were lucky this semester to just have labs and a final, but I'd advise studying hard for the exams since the labs don't prepare you that much. The exam is way more conceptual and there wasn't any coding.

The course is tough but doable. It requires a constant stream of effort, persistence, and motivation throughout the entire semester. I found that starting the labs ahead of time was super helpful - the labs were released around 5 days ahead of when the first part was due, so I typically started them the first or second day after they were released. Starting the labs early means that you can get an idea of how to organize your time around them and avoid last-minute stress, especially if you take advantage of office hours, both of which I strongly, strongly, strongly recommend. The earlier you start each lab, the earlier you finish it, and the earlier you can start the next lab.
The content tested on the final, and from what I can see of the past midterms, is not particularly well-taught in the labs. However, it is very possible to do sufficiently well on the final to get an A overall if you do well in the labs and study *really hard* the 2-3 weeks prior to the final (and I would assume for the midterm(s)), though working through material and past exams throughout the semester would probably help a lot as well.
I was intimidated by the reviews, but after taking the course, I would not say that it is as bad as it sounds. Put in the effort, do work as early as possible, go to office hours (even if you don't have any major problems, just ask a question and the TA might mention something that you missed), and you can succeed.
#tCFspring2021

I took this online so it was more manageable compared to being in-person. We only had a final exam as opposed to two midterms + final but I did a lot better on it than I expected on it. So long as you review the past exams and make sure you understand the lectures and live sessions you should be straight. There's a pre-recorded lecture to watch before class and the class was just doing either live coding or making sure you understand what was taught in lecture. I won't lie - the lectures were so hard to focus on; I think I had to rewatch them two or three times. Otherwise, there's a lab each week that consists of a prelab (due tues 10am), inlab (due tues 11:59pm), and postlab (due fri 10am). These were absolutely horrible. Some were pretty easy/manageable while others were unbearable difficult. Sometimes I gave up and turned in something that didn't work or an empty file. The labs were submitted through gradescope so you can turn them in as many times as you want before the deadline. If you pass all the tests you should be straight most of the time. I struggled the most from lab 6 and past. Honor code is really strict here - I think they've failed like 10% of students each semester. It's not even worth it cheat; just take the L instead. OH was so bad. The TAs were VERY VERY helpful but the queue to get help was so long and sometimes I'd be in line for 2 hours only for OH to end and not even get help. My biggest recommendation is to start early!! You definitely cannot do these the night before like with 2110. It's best to get the pre and in-labs done before tuesday so you can work on the postlab throughout the week. This was definitely the class that took up most of my time this semester. Regardless of the difficulty, I will say it's the most I've ever gotten out of a CS class and I've learned a lot about not just CS, but my own skills as well. #tCFspring2021

I knew going into this course that it would be a lot tougher than CS 2110. That being said, the course wasn't as difficult as it was time-consuming. It's only a 3-credit course, but I'm certain that I spent way more hours on the labs than 3-credits normally warrants. The labs consisted of a pre-lab, in-lab, and post-lab and some were definitely much harder than others. It didn't help that pre-labs were due Tuesday mornings and then in-labs due the same night. I recommend trying to get the pre-lab done over the weekend and try to start the in-lab before Tuesday. Having the TAs look at your code also helps a lot since a different pair of eyes can really help point out some simple but consequential mistakes. All in all, the labs were very time-consuming but a good score was very achievable.

The most stressful thing about this course was the final exam. Since this semester was online, Prof. Bloomfield elected to have just one exam, the final, and make it 30% of the students' final grades. I've never felt less prepared for a final. Bloomfield stated that on the exam he tries to test you on concepts that weren't really covered in the labs. So as someone that didn't consistently review concepts from past lectures that really hit me hard. I studied really hard in the 1-2 weeks leading up to the final and got a B, but my lab score was high enough to keep my final grade in the A range. Highly recommend doing the exams from previous semesters. It's inconvenient that there aren't any answer keys, and the TAs often had a hard time answering past exam questions. I found it helpful to go over the exams with a small group of classmates instead.

#tCFspring2021

You are not set up to succeed in this course. I would strongly recommend avoiding this class if you do not need it. Bloomfield does not give you the prep you need to understand the labs so you will spend a ton of time outside of class looking for help. It is so many hours per week and unfortunately only 3 credits. The TAs will tell you that you can figure it out in OH if you are super lost too. He makes the exams really hard and generally doesn't care how his students are doing. If he was even available at all for feedback he would hear this general sentiment (he doesn't respond to emails by the way).

Very useful class, im glad I did it and I learned a lot. That said it was a TON of work. I can't imagine what the students who did in non-covid times went through. For us though there were no exams (only the final) and just 3 labs a week. The labs took between 3-6 hours each depending on what it was but I was definitely on the lower end of the class in term of grades/skill so its probably possible to get it done faster. The TAs are great, as soon as they start I would recommend getting in queue because the lines are lines are long and by the time your turn is up you will probs have a question.

CS 2150 is incredibly eye-opening to how programs execute at a lower level. While it may seem like the content is a bit abstract, I personally found it quite useful to understand the basics of how code is represented and executed by the machine. I took this class when it was virtual and the lectures could be a bit dry (though I think that's the general risk for Zoom lessons). The workload was not as bad as I expected, there are about three labs per week: prelab, inlab, and postlab. They definitely require time and effort, and I would recommend starting early because it's not always clear how long an assignment will take (especially because C++ error messages are terrible).

First, I don't understand how professors can get away with not checking their email just because they get too much email. You're here to teach and support students. If students can't get a hold of you through email, you are failing. It's the bare minimum.
This class also has an unnecessarily difficult structure. The content isn't super hard, but there is SO MUCH of it, and you need to know it inside and out. You are not set up to succeed in this course. I would strongly recommend avoiding this class if you do not need it. The TAs try their best but a lot of them aren't helpful, unfortunately. No shade to them though, they try their best.
Bloomfield does not provide you with resources to study for the final, you're all on your own. He gives past exams but no solution keys. You can try to figure it out with your friends. Given that so many other CS classes give past exams with answer keys I find his excuses against giving them completely meaningless.
This class is finally getting some needed reform with the syllabus change. I don't know how they are structured but splitting up this class into 2 seems like a step forward.
With all that being said, if you love CS and love it so much that you pour in hours and hours of your time into this class, you will do well. It's not impossible to do well. You're just not set up for it. #tCFfall2021