Montreal — McGill University
Struggling with COMP 202 at McGill? I offer private tutoring for McGill's introductory Python programming course in Montreal. Whether you're stuck on functions, loops, lists, or your first OOP assignment, I help you understand the concepts, not just copy the solution.
COMP 202 — Foundations of Programming is McGill University's introductory computer science course. It is required for most science, engineering, and computer science programs at McGill and serves as the entry point to the CS curriculum. The course is taught in Python.
Despite being an "intro" course, COMP 202 has a reputation for being challenging for students with no prior programming experience. The concepts build on each other quickly, and the assignments require genuine problem-solving, not just memorizing syntax.
The main difficulty is the shift in thinking required. Programming demands a precision and logical structure that most students haven't needed before. A tutor who can bridge that gap — explaining not just what to write, but why — makes a significant difference.
Using = when you mean == is one of the most common bugs for beginners. Understanding the difference between storing a value and comparing two values prevents hours of frustration.
Writing a function that prints a result instead of returning it, then trying to use the result elsewhere. Understanding the difference between print() and return is fundamental.
Modifying a list inside a for loop that's iterating over it produces unexpected results. Knowing when to iterate over a copy, or when to build a new list, is a key skill for COMP 202 assignments.
Loops that run one iteration too many or too few. Understanding how range() works — and why it stops before the end value — clears up a huge number of bugs.
Beyond COMP 202, I also tutor the following courses:
Similar to COMP 202 but with a biology and data focus. Functions, loops, NumPy basics, file processing.
C programming, Unix command line, memory management, pointers, Makefiles, shell scripting.
Java, data structures (linked lists, stacks, queues, trees, graphs), sorting algorithms, complexity analysis.
Object-oriented programming I and II in Java. Classes, inheritance, polymorphism, interfaces, exception handling.
I hold a B.Sc. in Computer Science, Finance and Mathematics from McGill University and an M.Sc. in Applied Computer Science from Concordia University. I've been tutoring programming in Montreal for over 10 years, from introductory Python to advanced data structures and algorithms.
I know exactly where students get stuck in COMP 202 — and more importantly, I know how to explain the concepts in a way that builds real understanding. My goal isn't to get you through one assignment. It's to make you a stronger programmer.
Get in touch to book a first session — in-person or online, adapted to your schedule.