Strategically selecting courses in your first year can significantly lighten your second-year workload. One popular option is taking the COMP 1405/1406-Z section, and we’ve put together a full guide to help you decide if it’s the right fit for you.
However, the Z section isn’t the only way to ease your second-year course load. There are many other approaches that are worth considering to build a more balanced academic path.
COMP 2401 and COMP 2402 have now been offered in the summer for the past few years. If you were to take any 2000-level COMP course during the summer of your first year, you could reduce the number of “heavy courses” you need to take in your second year fall term from four to three.
Taking STAT 2507 in first year reduces one of the required courses you’ll otherwise likely want to take in second year.
By taking it in the Fall Term of your first year, you will end up with four perfectly balanced terms of “heavy” courses. This is the simplest way to logically lessen your 2nd year course load.
As early as winter of first-year, you can take a MATH 2000+ level course, which is a requirement of your major.
However, by default you will have likely placed one of each of your 1000 level math requirements in each term to spread them out.
This means if you blindly throw a MATH 2000+ course into your Winter Term, you will likely now have four heavy courses in the Winter Term of your first year.
If you plan to do this, you should also move either your opposite MATH 1000 level requirement or COMP 1805 requirement to the fall to maintain having three perfectly balanced course loads.
Instead of pushing courses earlier, you can also push them back further.
Courses like STAT 2507, or your 2000 level MATH credit do not impact you gaining access to 3000 level COMP courses.
You also are not going to take all your 3000 COMP courses in third year. So you do not need to complete all the necessary 2000 level prerequisites right away.
Taking COMP 1805 in first year fall does not really lessen your 2nd year course load unless you anticipate taking COMP 2804 in the winter of your 1st year.
We recommend you do not take COMP 2804 before taking STAT 2507. Taking STAT 2507 before COMP 2804 makes the course experience easier because there is overlap between their material.
If you just move COMP 1805 to the fall term of your first year, you’ll just end up with 3 “heavy courses” in the fall and 2 “heavy courses” in the winter.
Most students begin seriously preparing for internships and co-op placements in their second year, as that’s when co-op becomes available. Having extra time in your schedule means more opportunity to:
In contrast, students who are overwhelmed by the number of assignments in their heavy second-year course load often don’t have the time or energy to properly prepare—despite this being the most critical time to do so.
When you’re juggling too many demanding courses at once, it becomes harder to perform well in any of them. By spreading your required courses more evenly, you give yourself space to:
This often results in stronger grades and a more sustainable university experience.
Finishing some required courses early can unlock more 3000-level COMP courses ahead of schedule giving you access to more scheduling options.
While there are clear advantages to lightening your second year, it’s important not to underestimate the adjustment period of the first year.
You’re entering a brand-new environment and taking on too much too quickly can make it harder to adapt.
Having a lighter first-year schedule gives you time to:
The reality is: most first-year students benefit from a slower start. You’ll have plenty of time in future years to push yourself academically. Don’t burn yourself out before you even find your footing.
The best options to take early are COMP 2401 or COMP 2402, as both serve as prerequisites for a large number of proceeding courses. Taking either of these in your first year will give you more flexibility and more course registration options in second year.
COMP 2401 (Introduction to Systems Programming) is a prerequisite for:
COMP 2402 (Abstract Data Types and Algorithms) is a prerequisite for:
If you haven’t taken COMP 1805 in the fall (which is required before taking COMP 2804), then your only other real option is COMP 2406 (Fundamentals of Web Applications). While COMP 2406 does teach valuable, practical skills that can be leveraged for industry jobs, it doesn’t unlock any new courses by itself. It’s a prerequisite for COMP 3004, but COMP 3004 also requires COMP 2404, which you can’t take without first completing COMP 2401.
