By: Khushi Sharma

When and how did you decide to pursue this minor?:

After my 3rd sem

Why this Minor?

A course on DSA (CS213) was being offered. It was a topic I wanted to learn and thus took the course

Ideal pathway to complete this minor by the 8th semester?

Since you need 4 M tagged courses, start by at most the 4th semester, take a course every sem with 1 buffer sem. In case of a dual minor (eg: CS and DS), choose courses very carefully, try finding overlaps

Pursued Courses

3rd Semester:

NA

4th Semester:

CS213

5th Semester:

CS317

Course Prerequisites?

CS317 has CS213 as a prereq

Was it difficult managing your minor alongside core Mech courses?

CS minor, yes. CS213 required a lot of time commitment.

Were you able to connect this minor to your interests, projects, or career goals?

For a tech profile, DSA is the first step

Any specific courses in your minor that stood out (positive or negative)?

CS213: opens many doors but beware. It is a difficult course with a relatively high CPI cut off (8.95). requires a lot of time just to pass, with horrible grading (a lot of people with 9+ cpi failed) Teaching style was flipped classroom, ie the professor didnt teach much and concluded classes early. We had to watch video lectures that explained the concept separately. Exam questions were application based, we had no practice of those, making the course intense. No attendance policy

Tips for juniors:

Since you need 4 M tagged courses, start by at most the 4th semester, take a course every sem with 1 buffer sem. In case of a dual minor (eg: CS and DS), choose courses very carefully, try finding overlaps, and do your research well (for example about courses like CS419)

Would you recommend doing a minor in general? Why or why not?

A very subjective answer, depends on the student’s interests, commitments, goals and profile