MATLAB is Important!

I would say that learning MATLAB well is one of the most important first steps of the ASE degree. Until recently, this was a prerequisite for ASE 311. If you have taken programming before and are on the fence about 201, I would say you are much better off with it than without it. Personally, I had no prior programming experience, but the class is designed to help you either way.

The class seemed to flow right in line with the book. For me, the best sources of help for homework were the book, the MATLAB help feature, and friends. Often the homework would require a lot of critical thinking followed by trial and error (that's true of any programming) before getting it right, but once you put in the time you really get a good understanding for it!

To add on to what Alex said, learning MATLAB is one of the single best skills you can develop early on in ASE. Not only do many later courses naturally lend themselves to programming on the homeworks, but this skill is also highly useful for real projects. I've programmed for my low speed fluids lab project, for my work in the satellite design lab, and in classes like Space D and Applied orbital mechanics.

There is a reason you're taking this class, even if it doesn't seem to be "aerospace engineering"