This class builds character. CS32 with Smallberg is probably the hardest and most time I've ever spent on a class. If you are considering comp sci, take this class and you will definitely know if you want to or not. And please DO NOT start the projects the day before.

The lecture videos and slides were pretty helpful. I personally liked using the slides more than the lecture videos. It is a flipped classroom and I didn't ever go to class to ask questions and it was fine. I think the homeworks were also helpful for giving us a little more experience working with the new concepts.

The projects were extremely difficult for me and took a LOT of time and honestly I worked a little too hard on the project and didn't focus as much on studying for the tests as I should have. But that was an issue for me, not on the class. I went to office hours and I made a group of friends to make a group chat - this was super helpful! I do think that the tests were quite difficult despite having it be open note and everything. Perhaps I just didn't have a very good grasp on the information, but my test grades were horrendous :( However, the projects are worth much more than the exams. I literally had to guess on the last half of the final (BigO and algorithms) and I managed to eek out a B. They say they don't curve but... if they took my raw score I would've needed like a 90 on the final to get a B...

Definitely go to office hours !! Especially for the projects because you can just work on it in the room, and the second you have a question/bug, they can help you figure out what it is instead of wracking your own brain forever. Also definitely work on the projects with other people so you can bounce ideas off each other and help.

This course is tough but it is very doable if you are willing to put in the work. Professor Smallberg is always willing to help and he always answers questions. I would advise that you go to Professor Smallberg's Q&A sessions because even if you don't have questions of your own, someone else's question may answer your own.

The midterms and finals were pretty tough but I would say that they are fair. As for the projects, projects 1 and 2 were pretty easy. Project 3 is where it gets real. Project 3 was basically implementing a fully-fledged video game. Although I wouldn't say that it was difficult, it was a massive time drain. During these two weeks, I was spending almost every waking hour working on project 3. Project 4 was actually difficult because you really have to think about what you are doing. The one thing that I can say is to not procrastinate. I cannot emphasize how important this is to succeed in the class. Start every project the moment it is assigned (especially project 3 and 4).

Can't agree with this more: petty, petty little man. Uses a form paragraph as a diatribe that reveals both smallmindedness and an apparent lack of knowledge/understanding of how the "real world" operates. Has a deep regard for the inconsequential that borders on reverence. I guarantee he was safety patrol in grade school.

Tough and good class, but is very needed. The final and midterms are pretty tough, so ensure you understand the core concepts. Assignments are ok, some of them are crazy time-consuming.

Poorly organized class. Projects were too long—even the TAs couldn't grade them in time. There is no use to the projects if no grade will come back.

This class is pretty good. If you're deciding between taking this class in winter or spring, definitely do it during the spring. Projects 3 and 4 during the winter are said to be really hard, but for us spring students project 3 was hard but manageable and project 4 was a cakewalk. Exams are difficult but fair, and I'm pretty sure he curves them. My biggest gripe with this class was how goddam long Smallberg took to grade everything. For example he didn't release the grade for project 1, the first assignment, until after the quarter was over LOL. I don't really understand it tbh because even though there's a ton of students, there's also a ton of TAs and most of the grading for the assignments is automated anyway. Other than that though I don't think you'll regret taking this class with Smallberg!

If you’re taking this class it probably means you have to, so good luck. The worst part about it for me was trying to gage what my grade even was because Smallberg does not reveal ANYTHING. Especially in the spring when there’s a mystery curve, it’s basically a game of how well you perform compared to the average CS 32 student. So here were my grades compared to the average:

I did above average on exams, but below average on projects and ended up with a B, so I feel like if you find yourself lining up with the mean scores, you’ll probably end up with a B+. Hopefully this helps someone.

My Score Average
HW 1 79% 93%
HW 2 98% 94%
HW 3 100% 96%
HW 4 82% 94%
HW 5 100% 100%

My Score Average
Project 1 70% 75%
Project 2 84% 94%
Project 3 71% 84%
Project 4 100% 100%

My Score Average
MT 1 68% 65%
MT 2 95% 72%
Final 78% 73%

Basically my biggest piece of advice is to gage how well you’re doing in the class based on the median and mean scores he provides (when he does provide scores).

Hard class, especially if you didn't take Smallberg for CS31. None of the concepts are too difficult to wrap your mind around, but be sure to know every small detail or rule he brings up in his lecture videos because they may show up on tests. Project 3 was soooo much easier in spring than the one for winter, and project 4 was trivial. Overall great, interesting class that improved my problem solving significantly.

Smallberg is a great lecturer. I found his lectures helpful and thorough, and easy to follow. I did terrible on the first midterm, average on the second, and have no idea how I did on the final, and that's my one problem with this class: grading. You get your grades back in a very untimely manner. I understand that there are hundreds of kids, and the projects/hw are tested very thoroughly, but as a student, it's hard to know what to improve if you keep getting scores back really late. Overall, this class is hard. The projects are complex, but I genuinely learned a lot from this class. UPE is helpful for projects and to help you better understand concepts. Office hours are great too, but there's usually a long list of people waiting to be helped, especially when the project due date is close. Don't be afraid to take the class-just start the projects early, ask for help, and remember the exams will always be harder than what you expect.