anyone else who strugggled with eecs 183 but continued their cs journey?

[u/Bigdawg_6767]

Hey, it is my first semester at umich. I love computer science and wanna pursue a degree in it. However I am not the best coder and want to learn more. i failed my first midterm for eecs 183 because i got in the trap that it is an easy class given i take ap java etc. I also couldn't time manage properly and got busy rushing clubs instead of being top of things. I understand my mistakes but the exam was still pretty tricky. If anyone can give me tips on what to do moving forward and anyone who had a similar expierence yet went on with their cs degree? my advisor straight said to consider switching majors

[u/Dense-Taste8094]

EECs 280 is the real test, try that

[u/ANGR1ST]

If anyone can give me tips on what to do moving forward and anyone who had a similar expierence yet went on with their cs degree?

The advice for this is almost exactly the same regardless of your major. Students that get overwhelmed in the first semester and immediately start bombing evaluations in "easy" classes need to learn how to study and manage their time.

A lot of people here are used to being at the top of their highschool class and succeeding on talent and natural ability. Now they're not standouts ("if everyone is at the top of the class, no-one is") and they actually need to start putting in the effort. One of the most important outcomes from college is supposed to be learning how to learn new things on your own.

Start by going to all of your classes and paying attention, no skipping, no phone, focus. Then block out specific time on your calendar for homework assignments and studying. But be more specific and intentional in what constitutes "studying". Maybe that's reading the textbook in advance of lecture, maybe it's reviewing a recording, maybe it's taking a practice quiz/test, whatever. Then go to office hours.

I would NOT consider poor performance on a single exam a reason to switch majors. That is absurd advice at this point.

[u/mrpoopfartman]

Don't use AI on the projects and pretend you're living in 2017 where all you had was Stack Overflow for debugging your work. CS doesn't get any easier than 183 tbh.

[u/No_Bluebird_5080]

I wanted to do a CS minor but eecs 183 crushed that idea pretty quick. Getting an A in the class is not hard but the understanding the content itself is just hard for some people. I agree that eecs 280 will be the real test because it definitely gets worse. It won’t hurt to try it and explore

[u/Prossy6451]

I’d heavily recommend going to class. When I took 183, I didn’t pay much attention during class, but if a concept came up that I didn’t know, I’d pay attention. I’d also recommend completing the zybooks and homework’s early, google questions you’re unsure of, and complete the projects on your own.

In terms of exams, I’d do the exams multiple times. After taking a past exam, you should be able to solve them accurately the next time (assuming you review your answers afterwards). Don’t rely on ai, but it’s a great resource to review and explain code. After all, you don’t get ai on exams.

Also, the midterm’s only 15% of your grade, so it’s not too late to start studying.