The official guide to courses by Straighterline, Study, et al: We want YOUR input!

[rachel83az]

Provider: Study.com
Course: Computer Science 105: Introduction to Operating Systems
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Even though networking is covered in just one chapter, it felt like the final exam asked a LOT of questions about networking and the OSI model. 

Was the final exam content a good match for the quizzes and practice chapter examss?

In general, yes. The content itself is fine. I just was surprised by the emphasis on networking.

[AllThose299s]

Provider:
Study.com
Course:
Computer Science 302: Systems Analysis & Design

Course content: How is the material presented? Videos? Text? External content? Do you have to buy/have other materials?
The first chapter being the introduction chapter was only 4 lessons, the other 6 chapters were 7-15 lessons, some consisting of video & text and some being text only. 72 quizzes in total. Each chapter had a practice quiz of about 20-30 questions.

Final exam format: How many questions? Multiple choice? Essay? Both? Something else?
70 questions, multiple choice for the final proctored exam.

Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Have you seen the information before in the course, or was it a total curve ball?
There were a few questions which I felt were complete curve balls. Based on the practice exams, I thought would of scored around 80% but I ended up scoring around the low 60% according to the score given by PSI secure browser. With that being said - I ran into an issue while taking the exam and it closed out on me within the first 25 minutes. It did let me sign back into it, saved the questions I did answer before it quit and let me submit it when I finished it. So I don't know if I scored lower because of feeling like I was prepared to take the exam and then freaking out when it exited. Not sure if the final has changed much from 2 years ago but according to this post it seems that others faced the same issue with scoring lower on the final than expected.

Time taken on course: Hours? Weeks? Days?
I don't think it had a placement test to test out what I already knew, however I was able to complete the quizzes within a week while also working on Business 303 and Computer Science 303. I did spend about 4 days on the weekend/holiday focusing on the assignment. The assignment seems to be have a bit of flexibility to it - as in being able to make up the solution to best solve the needs of the client in the assignment - obviously you will need to be able to back up the solution with details. My paper ended up being 2500+ words, included diagrams & flowcharts for additional details. Luckily, I didn't get docked points for not being a "traditional" research-style paper by being able to provide real-world analysis and planning.

Familiarity with subject before course: Never heard of it before taking the course, Low, medium, high, I do this every day. How would you have scored on the final with no preparation?
Medium/High. I've worked as a developer for the last 10+ years so all the concepts weren't completely new to me however I did learn a bit as there are some methodologies I haven't been exposed to.

Pitfalls, high points, things others should know:
Don't attempt to multi-task 3 UL courses at the same time, take the practice tests, I probably should of taken them at least twice, just because I felt a bit blindsided during the final. On the assignment, there were times I felt like I was putting more effort than I should and then there were times I just wanted to be done with it by the time I got to page 20. As I wait for the final exam to be graded, the effort with the assignment might be what saves me.

1-10 Difficulty level:
3-4 Easy if you've been exposed to different aspects of the SDLC I guess.

[doom]

Provider: Study.com
Course: Computer Science 111: Programming in C
Course content: Videos, some pages of just text.
Final exam format: 100 questions. Multiple-choice.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Final exam content is aligned with the material presented in the course.
Time taken on course: 7-8 days.
Familiarity with subject before course: Did much C programming back in the days, so was very familiar with the subject.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: The course is not bad overall, however I don't recommend it to those who are completely new to C language. I found some confusing statements (one of them nearly blasphemous) regarding pointers and how they work. If you really want to learn C, study the book "C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie first, then take this course if you will. Some quizzes in the final (and in the course as well) contain typos in the C code being used for the question. The assignment is harder than the those I've seen in other programming courses at Study.com.
1-10 Difficulty level: 7-8
Final grade: 97 (Quizzes: 100%, Assignment 100%, Final exam: 90%)

[MNomadic]

Provider: SDC
Course: Computer Science 107: Database Fundamentals
Course content: Usual videos and quizzes. A few lessons were text based with no video
Final exam format: 100 questions multiple choice. Also there is a short 400-500 word essay.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: The final content was well covered by the course content and practice tests
Time taken on course: Maybe a week or so, I did all the quizzes in tandem with CS 303. I did it over the holidays so I could have gone faster if I didn't have any family obligations during that time.
Familiarity with subject before course: This was my first exposure to databases but I have basic IT and CS background from other courses and certifications.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: The essay has a very brief, vague prompt. I didn't know how I was going to fill up a whole essay with such a rudimentary topic so I felt I went above and beyond by providing much more in-depth analysis than I thought was required. Turns out, they wanted much more info that I didn't cover(and they didn't ask for), so I only got a 70%. More than enough to pass, though with a 99% on quizzes and 90% on final.
1-10 Difficulty level: 2. They really should have included a placement test with this, as there are a lot of lessons, many of which ask abut basic concepts or "what does SQL stand for?" I did the placement test for CS 303, which knocked out a few of the requirements on this one.


Provider: SDC
Course: Computer Science 303: Database Management
[b]Course content: Usual videos and quizzes. Several lessons were text based with no video
Final exam format: 70 questions multiple choice. There's also an assignment.
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Some before did mention that the final was very different from the course, but it's tough to say since I did this one alongside CS 107 and there was much overlap. I scored only 80% and this was my first exposure to databases.
Time taken on course: about a week. Though there was a few days I ran into technical trouble installing MySQL for the assignment.
Familiarity with subject before course: Did this alongside CS 107 and there was plenty of overlap. Thse were my first database courses though I had basic IT/CS background knowledge.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: Overall, not a hard class, I ran into issues with installing MySQL but that was mostly user error on my part. For the assignment, be sure to take screenshots of everything, including your input, the table, and intermediate steps. I scored 97% on the assignment but others have mentioned they got worse grades despite following the instructions so take my experience with a grain of salt.
1-10 Difficulty level: 2

Provider: SDC
Course: Business 107: Organizational Behavior
Course content: usual SDC
Final exam format: 100 questions multiple choice
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: The content was adequately covered in the course.
Time taken on course: Less than a week.
Familiarity with subject before course: A lot of these concepts were familiar from previous courses on psychology, sociology, management, conflict resolution, communications, plus life/work experience and common sense. 
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: This class is pretty straight forward in my opinion
1-10 Difficulty level: 2


I always advise people to take some practice tests before doing their proctored final for SDC, it's great practice plus it helps you to gage if you're ready. I also advise everyone to seek 99-100% on their quizzes the first go-around since the questions are the same and you can usually get an answer explanation(or watch the video again). The higher your score elsewhere, the less you need to stress about scoring high on the final.

[daunrene]

Just an FYI. I wanted to let everyone know that Study.com's Systems Analysis and Design and Database courses (both UL for their BSBA CIS) is no longer available for transfer after January 31. 2021
I am a current TESU student concentrating in BSBA CIS with 8 courses left.

[Flelm]

Just an FYI. I wanted to let everyone know that Study.com's Systems Analysis and Design and Database courses (both UL for their BSBA CIS) is no longer available for transfer after January 31. 2021
I am a current TESU student concentrating in BSBA CIS with 8 courses left.

That's definitely true right now, but I wouldn't at all be surprised if the renewals for all the courses expiring January 31 are pending, and will be good for another 3 years.

To be safe, definitely finish before the end of the month.

[celerius]

Provider: Study.com
Course: Computer Science 201: Data Structures & Algorithms
Course content: There're some videos but a large content of the course was text-only and some diagrams to supplement the text content but does a bad job because of layout.
Final exam format: IIRC 100 MCP
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Probably 40% or maybe even less were the exact same questions in the quizzes. The rest of the questions required some understanding of the content.
Time taken on course: A week or so
Familiarity with subject before course: Did something similar 20+ years ago
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: You'd likely have to use other websites/videos to try to understand some of the content in this course.
1-10 Difficulty level: 7 to fully understand the content. 5 if you just want to pass.
Assignment: The assignment has 2 parts and is worded ambiguously. I managed a perfect score so I'll share what my input/output and the feedback from the grader. Make sure your code can work in https://www.jdoodle.com/online-java-compiler/ with the 'Interactive' option disabled. The grader is probably going to paste your code into the editor and the inputs into the "Stdin Inputs" box and click on 'Execute'.

Part 1
1. You're expected to display a 2D array before the bubble sort. Just printing the array would do, don't have to loop through it and display the elements of the array.
2. Prompt the user 50 times, each time you display the State, the user will provide the Capital.
3. Display how many were answered correctly.

It should look something like this:

Code:

[[alabama, montgomery], [alaska, juneau], [arizona, phoenix], [arkansas, little rock], [california, sacramento], [colorado, denver], [connecticut, hartford], [delaware, dover], [florida, tallahassee], [georgia, atlanta], [hawaii, honolulu], [idaho, boise], [illinois, springfield], [indiana, indianapolis], [iowa, des moines], [kansas, topeka], [kentucky, frankfort], [louisiana, baton rouge], [maine, augusta], [maryland, annapolis], [massachusetts, boston], [michigan, lansing], [minnesota, st. paul], [mississippi, jackson], [missouri, jefferson city], [montana, helena], [nebraska, lincoln], [nevada, carson city], [new hampshire, concord], [new jersey, trenton], [new mexico, santa fe], [new york, albany], [north carolina, raleigh], [north dakota, bismarck], [ohio, columbus], [oklahoma, oklahoma city], [oregon, salem], [pennsylvania, harrisburg], [rhode island, providence], [south carolina, columbia], [south dakota, pierre], [tennessee, nashville], [texas, austin], [utah, salt lake city], [vermont, montpelier], [virginia, richmond], [washington, olympia], [west virginia, charleston], [wisconsin, madison], [wyoming, cheyenne]]

What is the capital for new york: albany
That is correct.

What is the capital for maryland: augusta
That is incorrect.

.
.
.
You answered 49 correctly

Part 2
1. Display your hashmap. Just like the 2D array, just printing it will do.
2. This time, you prompt the user to enter a State name and you'll display the Capital name. Also do this 50 times. I only did it once because the assignment said so but the grader's feedback was to do this 50 times as well.

The input/output should look like this

Code:

{florida=tallahassee, arkansas=little rock, nebraska=lincoln, texas=austin, ohio=columbus, missouri=jefferson city, georgia=atlanta, alaska=juneau, massachusetts=boston, delaware=dover, california=sacramento, oklahoma=oklahoma city, new hampshire=concord, north carolina=raleigh, alabama=montgomery, louisiana=baton rouge, kansas=topeka, south carolina=columbia, pennsylvania=harrisburg, utah=salt lake city, minnesota=st. paul, virginia=richmond, oregon=salem, washington=olympia, iowa=des moines, arizona=phoenix, maryland=annapolis, illinois=springfield, rhode island=providence, tennessee=nashville, west virginia=charleston, new jersey=trenton, montana=helena, idaho=boise, kentucky=frankfort, wisconsin=madison, maine=augusta, nevada=carson city, hawaii=honolulu, michigan=lansing, connecticut=hartford, new york=albany, north dakota=bismarck, wyoming=cheyenne, colorado=denver, south dakota=pierre, vermont=montpelier, mississippi=jackson, new mexico=santa fe, indiana=indianapolis}

Please enter a State name: new york
new york's Capital is albany

Remember to prompt 50 times for state name as well.

Tips:
1. Use lowercase in your 2D array to avoid case conversion here and there but make sure when you're comparing the user's input, expect the user to enter in any case they want. NeW yOrK should also be acceptable.
2. Prepare a list of 50 capital names and 50 state names to paste into "CommandLine Arguments". That's probably how the grader does it.
3. Add comments to your code referencing the javadoc style
4. Start with a smaller array of 2 - 3 state and capital name pairs during development when testing your code
5. It is possible to have part 1 and 2 in a single program. Just display 2D array, prompt 50 times, display score, display hashmap, prompt 50 times
6. Not sure if it matters but expect that the input may be invalid. When you prompt the user for a state and s/he enters 'Russia', your program should handle that gracefully.
7. Name your variables and arrays appropriately so that the entire program reads well. E.g. the count variable for the score, should be named 'score' or 'correctCount'.
8. When testing your code in jdoodle with the smaller 2D array, enable 'Interactive' if you want to just type in the answers.

[doom]

Thank you for sharing all of this. It'll help a lot.

Two things:
1) regarding upper/lowercase, why not just use toLowerCase() on both sides when comparing strings?
2) did you implement the BST as an inner class?

[celerius]

1) regarding upper/lowercase, why not just use toLowerCase() on both sides when comparing strings?
2) did you implement the BST as an inner class?

1) I just wanted to minimize the number of case changing for comparison. Instead of 2 toLowerCase(), I just need to do 1. It just doesn't look as pretty when the data structure is printed because it's "new york" instead of "New York" but otherwise it functions just fine.
2) I didn't because the TreeMap is already a Red-Black tree which is a kind of BST. But the feedback grader mention that I can expand on my program to perform a BST search and referred me to an external site with some information on BST. So it would seem I kinda scraped by. 

[doom]

1) regarding upper/lowercase, why not just use toLowerCase() on both sides when comparing strings?
2) did you implement the BST as an inner class?

1) I just wanted to minimize the number of case changing for comparison. Instead of 2 toLowerCase(), I just need to do 1. It just doesn't look as pretty when the data structure is printed because it's "new york" instead of "New York" but otherwise it functions just fine.
2) I didn't because the TreeMap is already a Red-Black tree which is a kind of BST. But the feedback grader mention that I can expand on my program to perform a BST search and referred me to an external site with some information on BST. So it would seem I kinda scraped by. 

Thank you.
It's curious that grader referred you to an external site, and not to the course material (https://study.com/academy/lesson/practic...trees.html).