now i m in 5th semester, i started programing 5 months earlier (in my 4th semester)… Now i am able to solve
overall 4 question on long challenge… i have wasted my 2 years of college life… its not like that i havn’t
studied but my direction of studies was not in right direction. i am from very small private college where no senior is available for guidence (like what is good or not), after failing in jee advanced, i decided to work hard in college but now it seems like i wasted my very important 2 years of life… i heard about compitive programing, codechef, geeksforgeeks words in my second year… i like compitive programing but i wasted my 2 years, this thing is distrubing me mentally . i thinks daily to work hard and code regularly but not able to execute what i plan but after looking at guys like @vijju123j and many more, who started compitive programing from their first year of college even he is studying in bits college where no issue for placement for good students, he is working so hard other hand me, studying in very small private college and i wasted my 2 years…
Now this things distrubs me mentally that , i am minimun 1 year behind from the other college student… how can i fill that 1 year gap
i asked this here because i need some motivation that even now i can achive good in life…
You are never too late to start.
give a bit more time daily, and yes daily means daily!
apart from the 1st 10 days , keep yourself buzy with spoj and topcoder for the rest of the month.
look up to the editorials and solve them after evry challenge.
keep giving your best. i always beleive you are never too late. you have time tomake up.so donot waste your upcoming years. and maximize the time you gve to CP.
To improve yourself you need to practice with some hardwork and dedication and you are never too late to start as raj79 said.If you didn’t perform well in the contest don’t be depressed and realize that you need to learn alot and you need to practice alot .If you work hard with some dedication then you can achieve many more in just
one year. There are many 1st year students who become very good at competitive programming and one example is vicennial,his codechef country rank is 46 and he is a candidate master on codeforces with a rating of 1916.You can see his profiles here
http://codeforces.com/profile/vicennial
Don’t be sad thinking that you have wasted 2 years,you still have 2 more years and practice with dedication.Hope you utilize this time.
Firstly, 4 Q for this long is by far no means bad. I remember being unable to simplify SUMQ, and incorrectly implementing UNIONSET (Yes, this long was a disaster XD)
its not like that i haven't studied but my direction of studies was not in right direction.
I believe, if you have done the efforts beforehand, it will pay you back. Being in wrong direction, the payback will be just a bit less. But, it will pay you back. If you know the concepts, then getting to know the algorithms are easy. The tough part is getting to know the in-depth usage of Data structure involve and trying to make the key observations in problem.
You are now in third year. In the end, we all have a goal to get good job offer and a heavy package. You should start preparing for it side by side now. Things like planning out problem, explaining your algo (to yourself/friend- stress is that you are able to convey yourself) and habit of writing syntaxically and logically flawless code within 3 attempts of a problem. If you have a habit of only using PC IDE for coding, then interview stage will be a walk in fire.
after failing in jee advanced,
JEE adv. is not life, NEITHER is it something so important that you have to carry its weight after 2 years. There are coders who are from smaller colleges are are 6 starred. College, atleast for competitive coding, cannot provide much (Exceptional faculty who helps students in all fields of the subject or serve as mentor are rare. Very rare.)
i heard about compitive programing, codechef, geeksforgeeks words in my second year.
Then good! You made the start from the time you came to know of it!! You can do nothing about the fact that you werent able to come across these things earlier. Taking this to heart is bad. The fact that you are preparing for this since then, will pay you off.
i thinks daily to work hard and code regularly but not able to execute what i plan
In college, it happens. Assignments, test, projects, this and that. They over-burden the students and then ask them to “do some stuff yourself, outside college curriculum.”
You will have to make priorities. In my last sem, i had to sacrifice coding for 2 months because of midsem and test series and then final papers all crammed in 2 months. I wanted to start coding From August last year, but couldnt start until December. I learnt managing time and assignments a bit, compromised at places where getting a little less marks wont affect the grade (it didnt. If you plan it right, you can take risks).
I still remember, the MAY long was held when i had exams (I had exams from 2nd may to 15th may), but i am glad i was able to take out 3 days for the contest. You will have to see a pattern in academics, how the professor sets paper, how can you score. Honestly, i found that “devotionally following my college curriculum” wont get me anywhere since every college just teaches the basic. See the pattern, ask seniors for some advise regarding the subject. In my case, i noticed that professor used to give more from things she taught currently and which has not been tested in mid-sems/tests. (The complete paper came from there, I was lucky there.)
after looking at guys like @vijju123j and many more, who started compitive programing from their first year of college
To be honest, everyone has people to follow.
Even i see people like @meooow and @mathecodician who are just too professional in competitive coding. Seeing @meooows code makes me feel like, “I think he fit some AI in his brain.” At a time, i was like “HOW CAN SOMEBODY THINK OF THIS?” I used to see dozens of solution (other peoples code) for a problem trying to find where my implementation went wrong, but that after seeing that guys code being clean and doing things with so much grace, I first search for this guy before any other.
In MAY long, i remember that Chef and Subarray Q (something related to how many ways can we have a1 x a2…ai = K)
I wouldnt be able to solve the Q, if, few days earlier i didnt pry on @mathecodician 's code for IOPC contest “Birthday Tears” . I was able to guess the algo, but was literally unable to think how to implement it. I was solely thinking of iterative approach, and then i saw @mathecodician 's recursive approach. And i was like “…Was the Q just THIS much?!”
That was when i realized importance of recursion, and using that in mind i tried the Q in may Long. Using some off hand optimizations, i got AC. I was literally elated. The satisfaction was something i never felt before. I learnt there, grew.
You can also do the same. If you are learning from other’s, you dont need to solve 100 Q to be a perfect coder. You just need 1 good, understandable code, which teaches the concept efficiently. If you do it on your own, you are going to remember it for a long time.
My point here was, everyone has people to follow. And its good, life at the very front is boring.
“Journey is much more beautiful than the destination.”
You follow some people, those people in turn follow and learn from others. I never read anything about fast exponentiation, or taking log or anything else. I learnt those stuff from other people’s codes. I would just read the problem statement and try to solve it in alloted time. On failing, I’d come here to find anything relevant to that problem, and there i would come across names like “Fast Exponentiation” “Fast Fourier Theorem” and stuff. Theorems, of course, we have to read, but other tricks i learnt from there. I still remember learning the real use of log function by checking @meooow 's code for CHEFYODA, where he used log to give answer upto 6th place of precision.
My main problem now is i need to learn stuff and then also the uses. Trees and other Data structures would be taught to me in 4th semester, and i cant wait that much. And topics are many, far too many. From mathematical theorems, their applications+implementation in coding to new algorithms to new Data Structures.
You on the other hand, have your stuff clear. It will take you little effort to get to 5 stars. Just keep a tab of your progress, and be dynamic. I understand when you say you are not able to code even for 5 mins in a day, but if you took CS, then coding is a vital part of your life. See what suits you. If you can, get 2-3 days in week free, where you’d code all day. Or if you can take some regular hours, that’d be fine.
Its constant progress. Your efforts will be rewarded, just make sure you dont let nervousness, anxiety and tension get to you. In my time, i was so tensed writing exams because i felt i would land nowhere good. But good things happened. I pray the case will be same for you 
bro u r always available for help…
“Journey is much more beautiful than the destination.”
thank you
@vijju123, u explain each and every step. u r awsome. u are always available for help in discuss and u are doing quite well on practice section as well…
the way u manage your time bro! its just awsome! keep it up!
Thanks for your appreciation dear. Dont be stressed, remember, people have got your back here ^^
At the end of the day, the most important skill in succeeding in any venture is to work hard, preserve, kind of keep going even if odds are against you. If this single thing you are able to get out of your college experience, that will be the enough to make you successful in any area you go So, don’t worry about the outcomes, just focus on this aspect. Rest will flow by itself.
Best wishes to you !!