I recently completed a Statistics for Data Science course at the University of Toronto for Continuing Studies and I wanted to share my reflections about the experience.
Overall, the course was mostly interesting, some parts boring, and always challenging.
I should begin with admitting that I managed to avoid any heavy maths or statistics classes in university even though I completed science and business degrees. I certainly felt behind when math notations and equations started popping up in class. But, where there's a will, there's a way (mostly).
Most lectures were challenging to follow because of the pace of learning. I even tried to read ahead for some lectures to be more prepared, but that only marginally helped. As a result, I often sat in class with material that was way over my head and questioning if it was the best use of my time to spend that weekday night on campus, rather than at home self-studying. A younger me might of panicked and wondered what I had gotten myself into or worried that I would be outed as a fake. And I don't think I was the only one as I saw classmates drop out in the initial few weeks.