I'm a computer science student in France about to begin my second year, and I'm worried that I learned very little during my first year. Depression, stress, long commutes, poor sleep, and difficulty focusing in lectures made it hard to keep up. I often reached exercises without understanding the material and had to rush through them.
Our instructors also encouraged generative AI, and I gradually became dependent on it. By the end of the year, my grades had fallen and I found myself unable to solve problems without assistance. I passed largely because of stronger grades earlier in the year. Now I feel that I can write code mechanically, but lack confidence in programming fundamentals, problem solving, data structures, and the more abstract parts of computer science.
I know I could review material and complete small programming exercises, but I'm unsure where to begin or how to balance catching up with my second-year courses. I'm also worried that restarting everything would be unrealistic and might lead to the same problems again.
What would you prioritize if you were in this situation? How would you rebuild your fundamentals without trying to relearn an entire year, and how would you use AI more responsibly while recovering your ability to work independently? Has anyone gone through a similar period and still succeeded in computer science?
4 Answers
Prioritize the fundamentals that are most likely to come up again: control flow, functions, debugging, basic data structures, complexity, and the language used in your current courses. Redo one small first-year project from scratch as a baseline exercise. The goal isn’t to prove that you remember everything; it’s to rebuild the habit of breaking problems down and working through them without an answer being handed to you.
The depression, exhaustion, and concentration problems deserve attention alongside the academic work. Difficulty focusing and getting started can be symptoms of a health issue, not simply a lack of discipline. If possible, contact a doctor, therapist, or student support service in France before the semester becomes overwhelming. Better support and a manageable schedule may help more than forcing yourself through a massive catch-up plan.
I wouldn’t try to restart the entire first year. Choose one language you already know and make small projects without AI, tutorials, or copied solutions. Start with something slightly beyond your current comfort zone, try debugging on your own, and only use AI after you’ve clearly identified what you don’t understand. Spend perhaps 30–60 minutes a few times a week reviewing older material, while keeping most of your energy for current courses. Whenever a second-year topic exposes a gap, review that specific prerequisite instead of studying everything indiscriminately.
Forgetting details after a stressful semester is normal, even without AI. You don’t need to remember every implementation from memory. It’s enough to understand the broad ideas, recognize when a technique might apply, and know how to look up the details. Try to focus on steady practice rather than judging yourself against classmates who may also be relying on tools without fully understanding the material.
That’s reassuring. I think I’ve been treating every forgotten detail as proof that I learned nothing, instead of separating missing syntax from missing concepts.