Why would you need to major in pure math to take that course? You only need 1 pmath pre-requisite for it, and you can take that as part of your CO major. If you're interested in it you'll do well, regardless of what you're majoring in.

Also, Scheme is not a terrible language. You're just not used to it. You don't use loops, you use recursion.

You pointed out your own problem - you aren't used to Scheme. Scheme doesn't force the programmer to think backwards, it forces you to think differently than you have been.

typing (+ 5 5) is closer to the syntax you see for a function in C or C++ of foo(x y z ...)
'+' is the function, applied to the arguments 5 and 5.


You don't cover input/output in 135, you deal with it in 136. I think they deal with it in 145, but they do completely different things so I'm not positive. I/O isn't necessary to learn CS fundamentals (which is the point of CS 135 - and one of the reasons that you don't use variables in 135)

Yo SAF regular posters, this randint dude is cray

Well, I have the textbook and other things with me, so I could learn as much of this kind of things as possible beforehand. Many will argue that doing so will actually get you into some bad habits for programming, but I do not understand the reason for this argument (if there is any), I'm not crazy, as much as you think I am. I'm making assumptions based on the description of the course on the course calendar and the assignments that are posted on UW's own website. I'm trying to do them so that when the time comes, I do not have to put as much effort into it (hopefully...unfortunately, I do not get to see the CS 145 assignments, which makes me sad and fearful). Do not think that I'm making assumptions solely based on the things that people on this forum say about this course, I'm not as stupid as you think I am. I'm just trying to become a student with "excellent standing" because there are way too many things I want to get done (taking 6 courses per term??????!!!!!!)

No one has ever mentioned about the STAT course content, I want to find some of those as well. The people on these forums say that the courses are just terrible, and so one of my math teachers that graduated from UW 9 years ago agreed. I want to find this crappy content so I can study the *thing* beforehand, I do not want to fail a course or two just because there are "crappy professors" teaching it.

(Greygoose, get us a link or two for the STAT course content, notes etc.)

Should a CS student take as many CO courses on the "O" side as possible?

You do not understand my circumstances, I'm so desperately trying to get into the program, and yet my grade 11 average is 86.3 (extremely low for any math program). I will be taking 3 math courses next year (I'm good at and I like math in general). I will do this in an attempt to "boost" my marks (hopefully to a 90+ average). See my signature for more information...

You do realize grade 11 marks do not matter in the slightest? My grade 11 average is something like a 76%; I got accepted into all the programs I applied to, including Math and CS @ Waterloo.

First off, there is no guideline for what courses in C&O CS students should take. TAKE WHAT INTERESTS YOU.

That being said, wait until after 1st year to really understand what interests you. The only thing you should worry about now is advanced courses or regular.


You DO NOT need a 95+ average. 95+ doesn't even get you more money that 90 from UW....

It's great that you're interested in planning your education now, but don't over plan and miss living right now.

Also, don't comment on the usefulness (or lack thereof) of courses such as CS 135 and MATH 137. YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN THEM YET. Even if you are basing it on someone else's experiences, DON'T.

Experience them for yourself.

As for learning Scheme on your own time,

Here is what Professor Prabhakar Ragde (CS 145) said on the current CS Class of 2017 group:

" Speaking as one of the instructors, I would really like incoming students to not try to self-teach in advance. The way things are done in CS 135 (and especially CS 145) is not like what you will see of Scheme from most Internet sources. The code I see from students who have picked it up on their own is typically hard to read and poorly-structured. Better to get it right the first time.

Also: it is not how many languages you know, but how well you can reason about the process of writing code. Better to go in-depth with one language (if it's not a bad one) than have shallow knowledge of many languages."

That's not true. Getting a 95 average gives you the opportunity to get the Research Award and International experience award, but you have to meet other criteria for those - specifically doing research or going on exchange.