Hello Mr. Silver,

I would like to thank the responsible authority for admitting me into this groundbreaking program and giving me this opportunity to be a part of it. I have been following the discussions between yourself and all the new cohorts which have raised a few questions of my own. I am a complete programming novice, which is a major concern that I have as it pertains to my ability to successfully complete this program. I have been advised to complete the Foundations course in Python (presumably for free?), but I noticed you mentioned C++, as well as other courses like “Machine Learning” and “AI for Robotics”. Can you clarify what knowledge we are expected to have, and if not, what courses do we definitely need to take to get a head start on the program and are these provided (free) by Udacity, or are any of the needed programming languages part of the formal curriculum for this program. Thank you for your consideration.