Enrolling in the accelerated COMP 1405/1406-Z section allows you to receive credit for both COMP 1405 and COMP 1406 by the end of your first-year fall term.
This unlocks the ability to take 2000-level COMP courses in the winter term of your first year.
However, whether taking the Z section and 2000 level COMP courses early is the right choice for you really depends on your existing programming experience and your priorities as a student.
NOTE: If your admission average was below 90%, then you are not eligible for the Z section, and do not need to spend time reading further.
Although the Z-section requires you to have had a 90% in high school, there is no standardized set of learning outcomes Carleton can use to judge whether you have the necessary computer science background to succeed in this accelerated section of the course.
You should NOT register in COMP 1405 Z if you feel uncertain about your ability to succeed in the course. It’s important to build a solid foundation in programming, and rushing through the introductory material before you’re ready can lead to a worse experience down the road. Struggling in 1405Z will seriously impact your confidence, your CGPA, and your enjoyment of the program.
If you want to know whether you would likely succeed in COMP 1405 Z, read through the learning outcomes on the course syllabus and compare them to what you’ve done previously in high school and on your own time.
NOTE: The course syllabus linked is from the Fall 2023 term and may NOT reflect the exact content of the course in future terms.
if and elsefor and while, including nested loopsWhile reading over the learning outcomes, ask yourself: do you understand most or all of the concepts? If so, then you likely would be a good candidate for the Z-section.
If you’re reading the learning outcomes and finding you know some or none of these learning outcomes, then you would likely NOT be a good candidate for the Z-section.
The key reason why you’d want to take 2000-level COMP courses early is to lessen the course load of your second year.
Anecdotally, most students agree that our second year is significantly more time consuming and difficult than our program’s first year due to the number of required “heavy” courses students feel obligated to take.
As a general rule of thumb, it would be most ideal if all of your terms had the same number of “heavy courses”. Most courses under COMP, MATH, or STAT should be considered heavy as they tend to have large assignments or weekly tutorials that take up a lot of time.
During 2nd year, most students try to complete all the required 2000-level courses in a single year to unlock all the available 3000-level COMP courses options.
In first-year, you’ll typically take 2 to 3 demanding courses per term—but in second year, that often jumps to 3 or 4 heavy courses each semester, which can quickly lead to burnout and make it harder to fully absorb the material.
By shifting some 2000-level courses earlier, you can lighten your second-year workload. However, this comes at the consequence of making your first-year workload heavier.
In this layout, you will notice that the fall term of your 2nd year has four heavy courses. This is the a common course load for students who do not take the Z-section and do not take any 2000-level COMP courses in their first year.
Fall Term 1st Year 🟢
Winter Term 1st Year 🟡
Fall Term 2nd Year 🔴
Winter Term 2nd Year 🟡
In this layout, you will notice that every term has three heavy courses. This is a perfectly balanced course load, however it comes with the cost of having a heavier first year instead of a heavier second year.
Fall Term 1st Year 🟡
Winter Term 1st Year 🟡
Fall Term 2nd Year 🟡
Winter Term 2nd Year 🟡
You now have four perfectly balanced terms of three heavy courses each.
Yes. There are other ways.
While taking COMP 2000-level courses early is the most direct method and comes with the added advantage of enabling you to learn job related skills earlier, there are other strategic ways to balance your course load and reduce the pressure of second year.
If it’s not the right fit for you, check out our guide on reducing your second-year course load to explore other ways to plan ahead and build a more balanced schedule.
