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Introduction

What Is This Site's Purpose?​

Hey there! I'm Yazan and I'm a 3rd year Software Engineering student at Lassonde. The purpose of this personal project is to cover FAQs and advice from myself as a student, to prepare Software Engineering students to be successful in their degree such as courses, roadmaps, etc. Even if you aren't in Software Engineering, I'm sure there is some things here to take away. Other people from other universities (and here) have created guides and tools similar to mine, which has inspired me to do the same.

Why Did I Make This?​

Engineering has a LOT of courses you will take, including courses specialized for us that other non-engineering students will probably never take. Thus, there isn't much information on what to expect in these classes, other than the course code and name. This information is especially essential to know so you don't end up pairing difficult courses together.

I am hoping this to be a long-term project until I graduate, as I expand on more knowledge and advice I've accumulated over the years. Just a disclaimer, this is an unofficial guide by me, which is unaffiliated with York University. So, expect the information here to be based on my own experiences.

Course Rating Criteria​

I'm going to rank classes similarly to this video by Tamer Shaheen, who ranks his mechanical engineering classes in a tier list. Similarly to his video, I will ask these four questions:

  • How difficult is it to grasp the course content?
  • How is the workload?
  • Do you need to know the material for future classes?
  • Is it useful in the real world?

I also want to add an important note that I will NOT be rating classes based on how tough the professors are. Professors run classes differently, so a manageable class might be harder than it needs to be (the opposite is also true).

Next, I'll categorize these classes using the following:

  • S-tier: Essential in the real world, ignoring difficulty.
  • A-tier: Useful and doable.
  • B-tier: Difficult, but worth understanding.
  • C-tier: Somewhat useless but doable.
  • D-tier: Nice to know but not worth your time, just grasp the foundations.
  • F-tier: Useless and hard that makes you cry.

My tier list is based on my experience and opinion, so take it with a grain of salt! This list assumes a student who graduated from an Ontario high school, having completed the required high school classes (Advanced Functions, Calculus & Vectors, 4U Physics, Chemistry and English) and know basic coding.

I did this because most engineering students are domestic with the knowledge of the province's educational curriculum. Moreover, some students come from various educational backgrounds, so it's inefficient to rank these classes based on everybody.

For instance, if you came from an Ontario high school, then you probably have taken MCV4U (Calculus & Vectors), which does not cover integral calculus. However, there are those who come from abroad and have taken integral calculus in high school.

GitHub Repo​

If you find this guide helpful, consider starring it on GitHub!

Last updated: March 31, 2025