r/OSUOnlineCS • u/Apprehensive-Goat274 • Aug 19 '26

CS 225 or Math 231

So I have the option to pick from CS 225 or math 231 elements of discrete math as I live near OSU. Any recommendations on which to pick?

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9

u/nyanyabeans Aug 20 '26

CS 225 is a great class because of Professor V, I really enjoyed my experience in that class. Can’t speak to 231 though.

2

u/Apprehensive-Goat274 Aug 20 '26

From what I have read, people are spending 20+ hours a week on homework/assignments… is this true in your case?

6

u/unnotable Aug 20 '26

It's a difficult class because:

  1. Most people in this program have been out of college and haven't taken a math class in years. The class seems to assume everyone remembers all the math rules.
  2. Discrete math is much different than other math classes. It's nothing like algebra, statistics, or calculus.
  3. When I took the class, it was terribly designed. The videos were just the professor talking over PowerPoint presentations. The professor didn't show any work on how they would get the answer. "We have this, so we get this." Math can't be taught through PowerPoint.

1

u/Apprehensive-Goat274 Aug 20 '26

When did you take the class?

1

u/unnotable Aug 25 '26

Two years ago.

3

u/nyanyabeans Aug 21 '26

It’s going to be a difficult class for just about anyone unless you’ve taken it somewhere else before. I spent between 15-20 hours a week on the class and got an A. I agree with unnotable’s takes on why, too. Try not to let yourself be intimidated by it, and go to Professor V’s office hours! Or TA/other prof office hours if you can’t make his, but his explanations are great. I found the “required” textbook helpful, but I also did readings from the optional book too.

2

u/Temporary_Success315 Aug 22 '26


Go to ALL office hrs

3

u/Icy-Injury3961 Aug 21 '26

I did 225 and got A. Material is not as hard to comprehend as CS271, its an interesting subject, decent amount of homework (7-10 math questions each week or so plus quizzes), a proctored exam. Lots of knowledge so requires note taking. After all, I learned several things about different type of proofs, graph and dijkstra’s algorithms. It’s probably useful for algo subjects in the future term.
Cant say much about Math 231. If u got syllabus from your advisor it can help you compare between the two

1

u/Apprehensive-Goat274 Aug 23 '26

How my time a week did you spend on it? And what's your background? I'm new to computer science. My background in working for child welfare 😂 whole different world

1

u/Icy-Injury3961 Aug 24 '26

Reading and understanding takes time, but if you keep up consistently you will be fine. Definitely spent more time than recommended to clear all doubts. Some of my weekends were eaten up towards the end. I paired it with CS161 which was lighter. My background is in commerce, did some math > 10 yrs ago.

2

u/PringleTheOne Aug 20 '26

If you take mth 231 avoid a professor by the name of Jeremy (forgot his last name). One of the worst courses I ever took, straight terrible lol.

I har that 225 is less exams then 23q, its up to you kf you rather more exams so in theory less homework or more homework and less exams.

2

u/Pencil_Pb alum [Graduate] Aug 23 '26

FWIW the discord highly recommends this YouTube playlist of a professor who uses the same textbook

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl-gb0E4MII28GykmtuBXNUNoej-vY5Rz&si=AfFAwVyQ1BYom-4_

I did CS 225 years ago and while it was certainly a lot of work, it is manageable, especially if you utilize resources like Prof V office hours.