just realized today that I left a post-it note on my wall that I use as a todo list. I forgot to take it down and it was there during my exam. I think Honorlock may have even seen it during the webcam screening of the room.

Does anyone know how long OSI or course moderators usually take to respond once a case is opened? I'm asking here instead of the course EdStem thread since I don't want to raise unnecessary suspicion and cause myself trouble.

It was a genuine mistake.

I'm probably at around C range right now in CS 6601 (AI) and I did terrible on the Midterm. I'm struggling finding the drive to get within B range. Assignments 1 & 2 I barely got high 70's scores and I did super poorly on the Midterm.

The grading policy, at least for this version of the class, is "“B's” will be given for final grades equal to the median and above 1 standard deviation below the median. Final grades equal to or below 1 standard deviation below the median and above 2 standard deviations below the median will get a “C”". Given how high the mean/median was for the exam, I realize I'm struggling a lot more in the class compared to my peers.

For anyone who's taken this class, or anyone who managed to pull off a B after a similar rough start, how did you do it? I don't know if I'm doomed to fail given my poor understanding of the beginning material and if it's gonna get harder from here. I should start attending OH but I have no idea what to ask, especially since I usually can't get to the material until the weekend. Any advice to help get me over the finish line would be appreciated 😔

I don’t know why I thought it would be later on in August. Phase I just closed on July 2nd. Will my time ticket for phase II be good enough to register for AOS and ML? I’ve complete 5 classes already.

I'm looking at the course list for the Fall 2026 term but I can't find a finalized date for the course list for the term.

So if I choose my classes now I'm afraid they might change in August. I've heard from people who have taken the program that they might add courses but I can't tell if that's often enough I should worry about it.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

Hi,

I've got a 2‑week work thing in October where I'll have zero time for school. Trying to figure out if I can just cram ahead before I leave.

Mostly just curious about how rigid most classes. If you've taken classes that were notably flexible (or notably strict), feel free to name-drop. I'm curious to see the range out there in the big 2026.

This is my 2nd class, took ML in Spring. Probably a mistake to do it in this order, got my ass kicked in ML but ended with a good grade and a ton of learning.

This class I'm finding more frustrating than hard. The project details that can nuke your grade, the wording of the tests, the project submission, the test TSA pre-checks are the hardest part. The material I get fine, and I am doing okay in the course.

My two questions about future classes:

Are all the classes like this? The projects aren't that bad but fitting them into gradescope is the most annoying part. The prestige of a masters is a nice to have. I really want to learn, challenge myself, and develop tools to solve hard problems.

And do all the classes run through SL flirt with RL and DL and then stop? Feel like these two classes had the same exact ML material. Which honestly is fine twice, getting it more now. But I feel like this field is moving so insanely fast. I assume the RL and DL class will go deeper into these topics. But ML4T doesn't give me enough info to get me the understanding of what a quant would do today. I fear that the rest of the courses are going to run through the exact same material, and I'm going to come away feeling I didn't get anything out of going further.

Looking for firsthand experience as I can't find any reviews on OMSHub or the other site since it's a course running only since Spring 2026. If you've taken it (or are in Summer session in it now), I'd love to hear about the format and whether you found it useful for healthcare domain. Especially interested if you came in with a health-tech focus. Thanks!

Hi - How do you find CS 6515 this semester? It seems tougher to me

Signal boost: Dr. Joyner sent out a very nice email about an OMSCS founding father, David White. He's retiring, and you might want to know a bit about his foundational contributions to OMSCS.

From the email:

>But there's one person who I don't feel has received the credit he deserves because he was never nearly as visible to students as some of the other pioneers. In fact, I can say with confidence that he hasn't received the credit he deserves because I constantly have students and alumni thanking me for the work that he did—when I had nothing to do with it. I was a graduate student when OMSCS launched, and didn't get involved in any way until after the first incoming class had started their first courses. So whenever someone thanks me for what I've done to create this program, my main thought is:

>I need to tell y'all about David White.

Check your GT email for more. I think it's worth paying our respects to the man.

ETA: I meant "paying our respects" in the sense of honoring him. He isn't dead.

I'm still a year out from finishing OMSA but already thinking of what I want to do next. I'm a lifelong learner but I really need the structure and external accountability even if I don't super care about my grades.

Given the program is so cheap, I figure why not (employer will pay for it but I always keep clawback in mind, so a cheap program is easy to justify), but wondering if I'd be wasting my time doing this for masochistic fun when I could probably be doing something else that might provide a more real return on investment beyond personal edification. I mean, I know myself and I will never be a good programmer.

Just get my MBA and chill?

Hello,

This MSC is of great interest to me. I’m wondering if you do it mainly for the brand, or because you learn things in a way different from how you’d do it on your own (if that makes sense).

Is there any course in particular that gave you the most knowledge ? And did you apply it at work?

I am an analytics engineer. I do what a data engineer does, but also work with RAGs. I’m trying my best to not only be known as a data engineering guy.

📌OMSCS Admissions Megathread

This is the Admissions Megathread of the GaTech's Online Masters of Science in Computer Science! We design this as a one-stop page for the following things that you might have in your head.

• Admissions Overview / Admissions FAQs
• Preparing Yourself for OMSCS
  • CS 1301: Introduction to Programming (in Python)
  • CS 1331: Object Oriented Programming (in Java)
  • CS 1332: Data Structures & Algorithms
  • CSE 6040: Computing for Data Analysis (if you're transferring from r/OMSA)
• Additional Application Guidelines (to strengthen your chances)
• Applications URL (oh >!damn!< finally!)
  • Deadline for Fall is fixed at March 1st.
  • Deadline for Spring is fixed at August 15th.
  • There are no Summer admissions.
• As stated in one of the above links, a mere completion of the MOOCs might help increase your chances, but ultimately does not guarantee addmission.

If you're wondering where are all the other previous megathreads have went, no worries, we have archived them somewhere. This would be refreshed every January and July to account for the 6-month Reddit archival rule.

🎓 Admission Results

Many of us are interested to share our results to the community. We are happy for y'all to do so! Please share them using the master template below and (hopefully) some upvotes will come in your way.

Still waiting for your acceptance results? Don't fret!

Generally speaking, the OMSCS Admissions Committee begins releasing decisions approximately 2 weeks after the application deadline has passed. Please be patient while waiting for a decision.

Due to the volume of applications, it takes time for the applications to be reviewed and decisions to be released. Emailing the helpdesk or complaining about it here doesn't put you on priority queue (and actually puts us, the moderators and advisors, know who you actually are!).

ALL decisions will be released 10-12 weeks after the application deadline.  After the deadline has passed, all applicants will receive a follow-up e-mail with a specific timetable.

That's why we are advised to use the master template below.

• It will increase clarity to us, and those around you, the type of profiles that are still waiting.
• What we believe is those on the international, earlier applications and/or strong profiles are being accepted at this time of posting. The others will have to wait a wee bit longer.
• Merely describing that your application is holding up without providing further information only fuels uncertainty. We will treat this as misinformation.
• Merely describing that your application is rejected without providing further information only fuels anxiety. We will also treat this as misinformation.

🤝 Admission Chances

If you're wondering if you lack the necessary background, don't fret!

Please feel free to use the master template below. The more information you provide the better! Include your work experience, school experience, any other education or personal projects.

It is possible that other programs within GaTech might be a better fit for you. Do check out r/OMSA or r/OMSCyberSecurity.

It is also possible that to get admitted to GaTech, you need a cut-off of TOEFL score of 100 and you might not be able to get in. Perhaps you could try out researching for other well-established programmes too. We are here to make you succeed, no matter the circumstances.

Yes, taking CS courses via EdX, Coursera, Udacity, Community College will help your chances in getting in if you don't have any CS background. If you don't know which one to pick, we have them just above.

🏡 Admission Logistics

The admissions committee needs you to complete your academic credential evaluation.

This is a verification that your application matches your transcripts. Such is no difference from any other graduate schools. They have engaged external providers such as IEE, Spantran, Educational Perspectives to speed up these admission processes. They may require you to cover up costs to do so.

You're strongly welcomed to seek help in this megathread.

🌍 The Master Template

Fancy Pants Mode

Application or Asking for Chances (*Delete as Needed)

• Semester: <Choose 1: Fall 2025 / Spring 2026 / Fall 2026>
• Status: <Choose 1: Asking for Chance / Applied / Accepted / Rejected>
• Date Applied: <MM/DD/YY> (If Applicable)
• Date Decided: <MM/DD/YY> (If Applicable)

Education

• Bachelors: <School Name> <Degree Name> <GPA> <Length of Study, Full / Part Time>
• Masters 1: <School Name> <Degree Name> <GPA> <Length of Study, Full / Part Time>
• MOOCs: <School Name> <Program Name>

Work & Social Experience

• Work Exp. : <Job Title> & <Years Experience>
• LORs: <Number of recommendations on file when you receive a decision>
• Comments: <Any other information you feel is applicable>

Markdown Mode

**Application or Asking for Chances (Delete as Needed)**

* **Semester:**     <Choose 1: Fall 2025 / Spring 2026 / Fall 2026>
* **Status:**       <Choose 1: Applied / Accepted / Rejected>
* **Date Applied:** <MM/DD/YY>
* **Date Decided:** <MM/DD/YY>

**Education**

* **Bachelors:**    <School Name> <Degree Name> <GPA> <Length of Study, Full / Part Time>
* **Masters 1**:    <School Name> <Degree Name> <GPA> <Length of Study, Full / Part Time>
* **MOOCs**:        <School Name> <Program Name> 

**Work & Social Experience**

* **Work Exp. :** <Job Title> & <Years Experience> 
* **LORs:**       <Number of recommendations on file when you receive a decision>
* **Comments:**    <Any other information you feel is applicable> 

Have fun, but don't forget the Community Rules.

We would like to draw your attention to the following Rules, as this will be very much enforced here.

• Don't use Discriminatory Language. We are all here to learn so treat everyone equally regardless of yours and their background.
• Don't create posts which are annoying and pointless to the community. Posts like "following", "RemindMe", "manifesting" only makes it harder for the rest of the community to view this thread.
• Don't produce misinformation. If you know that this information is going to potentially cause any form of controversy, be prepared to cite your sources.

🐣 If You're Accepted, What's Next

Brush your pre-requisites once again (no we are not kidding), and give yourself a head start to your life in OMSCS by checking out the following.

• OMSCS Orientation Document (for your main administration needs)
• Gatech Honor Code (read this before you get yourselves into official trouble!)
• OMSCS Study Slack (the unofficial, but cooler, bar-like Slack)
• OMSCS Student Life Slack (the official Slack where the head of Student Life preaches about official events which most International students can't be able to fly to Atlanta in short notice)
• OMSHub (the course review website for OMS courses; also, please be aware of the historical controversy surrounding OMSCentral that's well-documented in this subreddit)
• Message the mods if you're considering to be a volunteer to be a moderator in r/OMSCS. We would only require you to be gainfully enrolled in OMSCS in the current semester.
• Enjoy (what's remaining of) your social life. You will live to regret once you start your OMSCS journey with us.

Good luck to all applicants! 🍀

r/OMSCS Mod Team

The biggest value of OMSCS is the strong foundation it gives you and the Georgia Tech name on your résumé.

For people expecting the degree itself to land them a job, it probably will not. The brand may help your résumé get noticed and get you through the initial screening, but you still have to pass the interview.

Will OMSCS make you a better engineer? Undoubtedly. But to stay competitive, you also need to keep up with newer technologies, especially AI applications that seem to change every week, and master system design like nobody’s business.

I’m 7 classes into the program. I can say that I’ve enjoyed the course material in about 5/7 of the courses. For the other 2, I wish I would’ve taken courses that challenged my thinking rather than made me write reports. I have the option to stop this December but will likely continue to Spring 2027. I’m writing this to share my thoughts for anyone that wants to gain some perspective on end-game OMSCS and how it plays into life.

I didn’t really know what to expect coming into it tbh. I just knew that it was going to be a ton of work which could be rewarding or not. I went through a few courses. Some of which were fun and improved my thinking, others not so much. It is quite a heavy workload in all honesty. As someone that works full time, somedays I find myself coding all day from the moment I wake up till the time I need to clock into work on the next day. To be fair, I do this to myself — I take 3 classes on a normal semester and 2 in the summers while working on a harder software engineering team.

However, I believe that it’s worth scaling back a bit. I just hit 24yo, I’ve been able to maintain a 4.0 up till now. I like to think I do so much with my life but it’s not really the case; why? - you might ask. The truth is because I’ve grown numb to doing things that have no clear results. Coming from a CS undergrad, it’s been all gas…no breaks. The feeling is like being in limbo waiting for the right interview process that asks just the right questions I can answer. You could be the greatest programmer and then there will come a time where you need to start recruiting — the process that humbles you. My time to be in that process again is now.

I’m in a couple loops but feels like I can barely study for them, my weekdays are taken by work and OMSCS but also my weekends are taken up by interview prep and OMSCS. I never stop coding and when I do, I’m dreaming of solutions in my sleep. The part that nobody tells you is that life doesn’t stop because you’re on the grind. My family has gotten older. They’re struggling financially and I don’t make much to aid them substantially. My 52 year old father is resorting to working night shifts — that one stung a little. I’m dedicating some of my paycheck to help out but seeing my family in this way hurts.

I feel like I’ve put myself through 4 years of stress with not much to show for it. My resume is great but one LeetCode problem I couldn’t solve in 20 minutes shuts out everything I’ve done on that paper along with everything I can do. When life becomes work, work, work, the best way to describe the feeling is subhuman; like you’re a robot looking back at times when you had a soul. Enough ranting — the point is “less is more.” The roadmap in CS will always be a cyclical path. Our minds simply cannot digest all the complexities of this field. Knowing this, the stoic mindset tells you to focus only on what you can control and that is the right one when it comes to the tech field. If you knew, you had to run a marathon for the rest of your life, why sprint? I look forward to lessening the workload so that I can have a shot at a new opportunity where I make enough to provide for my family. That’s why speed isn’t everything…substance is. With so much time in a day, living a balanced life means living a better life. For the harder, more useful subjects in CS, the quality is better being read from a book than any lectures or YouTube. Heed my warning because if you don’t find balance now, you’ll continue to impede your growth potential unknowingly like I did. Don’t let life pass by. Build that app that you think can change your life, do the LeetCodes to get a better TC, have time for yourself to sit back and watch Netflix or play GTA6. The faster you go, the harder you crash. The end.

The NLP lectures (modules 7 onwards) are done by Meta and are awful. I wish GA tech would use qualified professors that know how to teach instead of pawning the task off like this. Any suggestions for how to understand the content for the rest of the course?

I need two more classes to graduate from OMSCS. I’ve taken a coupe of years off having two babies! Ive been readmitted and want to finish. I’d like to confirm that I’ll be able to get an exception on my expiring course credits before signing up for a new class. How do I go about this?

This is the most frustrating course for me so far. They introduced a new change this Semester (Summer 2026) that the Case Assignments also must be done independently in addition to the Homework Assignments (previously, the Case Assignments were compulsorily a team project).

The Case Assignments are so time consuming with literally hundreds of inter-related excel formulas that if you make a typo in one cell it'll trigger a chain reaction and throw your values off everywhere.

There is minimal learning or understanding involved, just copy-paste the same/similar formulas shown in the lecture videos over and over. Just strenuous manual work. At this point I have less motivation to understand and appreciate the material, I just want to complete all the assignments and be done with it.

I took this course for an "easy" summer course to pair with the AI course, but I am spending far more time on these assignments than those in the AI course lmao.

Greetings follow GA Tech students! I am currently on course 7/10 in OMSA (C track), having just finished CDA. Really liking it, but I would like to go after some of the lowest hanging fruit that you won't learn in OMSA.

Questions:

• My uneducated impression is that Data Structures and Algorithms (DSA) is perhaps the lowest hanging of all the fruits for OMSA students without a Comp Sci background. Am I correct?
• If yes, I see there's a recommended course at UC San Diego I could moonlight in. Would that be a good shout?
• If python is the language I currently know best, would it makes sense to just study DSA using Python, or would it better to gain some exposure to something like C, C++ and/or Java?
• Besides DSA, what are some other CS topics/courses that would be great to augment my OMSA education with?

Does anyone know of any Atlanta based or online OMSCS networking groups that are still active?