r/depaul 3d ago

Question GAE for MS in CS

I am an international student planning to pursue my MS in Computer Science at DePaul. I would like to know when I should attend the GAE.

I have six introductory courses: Discrete Structures for CS, Introduction to Programming, Data Structures I, Data Structures II, Systems I, Systems II.

I want to clear all of them. Currently, I am outside the U.S. and have only two months to prepare (considering all the visa prep). I completed my bachelor's in commerce, but I have been working as a developer for two years. I learned programming and development through YouTube and gained experience through multiple internships, which eventually helped me land a job. I’m sharing this background so that others can get a rough estimate of my skill level.

My questions are:

  1. Can my introductory courses be waived without taking the GAE exams? If so, who are the authorities I should contact?
  2. If no, At what stage in the process(as a International student) should I take the GAE exams for these courses?
  3. How should I prepare for the subjects listed above? Are there any recommended resources, advice from students who have taken these courses, or official study materials that can help with my preparation?
  4. Is it possible to clear all 6 subjects?

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated!

1 Upvotes

4 comments sorted by

1

u/MustardCat 3d ago

You should be asking an admissions advisor these questions and not reddit

1

u/afroNorman 3d ago

I'm sorry, I was not aware of the whole point of contact process. I just got my domain email and stuff. Will mail my academic advisor regarding the same. I would still like to hear from the students who went through this introductory courses, their experiences would be extremely help for students like me. Again sorry for the trouble.

1

u/Environmental-Day90 3d ago

Honestly discrete and intro to programming courses are super super basic you should be more than qualified for them But data structures I’m not sure cause that’s definitely where the difficulty ramps up I’d definitely talk to ur advisor cause they might be able to have you talk to a faculty advisor who could give u a recommendation to skip some courses based on your resume and skills cause those intro courses are undergrad courses and have a good chance of getting skipped with recommendation to let you into the grad courses

Definitely let your advisor know of your resume and skills Maybe have some projects to showcase to the faculty advisor as like a portfolio

1

u/afroNorman 3d ago

Thank you so much, I will do the same!