Admittedly, her lectures are good. The grading system in SP21 is different from usual; It adopted the ESNU system for the first time(E-excellent, S-satisfactory, N-not yet, U-unread). There are 8 projects, and students were required to get 6 Es in each dimention, or they would be likely to receive a grade below 3.5. You need to be perfect in one dimention to receive an E, if there is even one minor mistake, you will receive a lower S grade. The worst part is, both making 1 and 5 mistakes result in an S, so even I corrected most errors and made a resubmission, many times my grades did not change and still be S. Finally, the instructor intentionally divide everyone's grades apart, although there is not so much difference in students' ability.

If CSE 142 is not a required course for you, do not take it. If you just want to gain some fundamental programming knowledge, java is not the best programming language--C and C++ are better options, and you may find some online resources about them. If you decide to take 142, be prepared to receive a much lower grade than expected.