Ask HN: What if I missed the good stuff in my undergraduate education?

Re:Ask HN: What if I missed the good stuff in my undergradua... by scott_s on Monday August 16, 2010 @05:57PM (#1609438)

What you're asking is, basically, "How do I continue my CS education?" Consider getting a Master's in CS. If you do it full-time, it will take about two years. Since you know what you'd like to learn, you can check schools to see what kinds of graduate courses they offer. How much prior exposure you need to areas depends on the course itself - not just where you're taking it but who is teaching it.

This is not your only option, and many other commenters have presented alternatives.

Regarding student loans, my understanding is that once you're a full-time student again, payment is again deferred. This might even be true if you're a part time student - I recall a Master's student saying she didn't have to make loan payments even when she enrolled in a community college course, but check to make sure that's correct.

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Re:Ask HN: What if I missed the good stuff in my undergradua... by ben1040 on Monday August 16, 2010 @06:14PM (#1609480)

Regarding student loans, my understanding is that once you're a full-time student again, payment is again deferred. This might even be true if you're a part time student

This is correct, at least for Federal student loans in the US (Stafford, Direct, Perkins). So long as you are attending at a half-time basis or more, your loan payments are deferred. Interest does accrue during these deferrals. However, if your undergrad loans were subsidized when they were originally taken out, the government pays the interest while you're back in school so your total indebtedness won't go up.

See the table toward the bottom of this page:

http://studentaid.ed.gov/students/publications/student_guide...

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