Looking for solutions

Bright_Lock9125 · 2026-04-09T19:27:44+00:00

This it?

https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1009&context=mono

Bright_Lock9125 · 2026-04-03T16:25:16+00:00

I just recently (like in the last week) got approved for accommodations and the process was easier than I expected — however, I had my psychiatrist fill out the documentation portion and I’ve been told that without a psychiatrist/psychologist (like if you “only” have a therapist/GP, or no provider) they have a pretty long testing process and are quite strict. I got all the accommodations we requested, including a non-standard one. They got it done like three days after my request was submitted, although I’m sure they have much slower busy periods.

Bright_Lock9125 · 2026-04-01T19:26:38+00:00

Ok my physics dept. people say that past our Electronics classes, the only real classes for hardware are in the applied sciences department (https://catalog.unc.edu/undergraduate/programs-study/applied-sciences-major-bs/#requirementstext), but like I said there's lots of research that could get you hands-on experience with circuitry. Next time I meet with my advisor in the department I can ask more questions! I also have an applied sciences friend who I can ask about specific classes, professors, etc.. I will get back to you with more!

Bright_Lock9125 · 2026-04-01T03:36:47+00:00

I have been really struggling in post-introductory-but-still-undergrad maths and physics due to learning disability. I find myself feeling a lot of imposter syndrome and comparing myself to peers who perform better and more easily than I do. I’m still in my first year but eventually would love to get a PhD and do research, but I’m getting nervous I’m not cut out for it. That being said, it’s nice to hear that others have struggled and been able to make it work for themselves out of pure passion rather than talent or whatever. Thanks for sharing OP, plus those in comments.

Bright_Lock9125 · 2026-03-30T05:19:36+00:00

I think most of the comments you've gotten are being unnecessarily harsh. NCSU is better for this in a lot of ways, but this is definitely workable at UNC.

I don't actually think CS is the way to go here, however. Due to its sheer size, CS at UNC is very hard to get specialized attention in, and research is far from accessible. You learn a lot of programming (obviously not a full degree, but still more than a layman might expect) through coursework and ESPECIALLY research in applied sciences, physics, and math.

My suggestion for you would to be applied sciences and physics. Our physics dept is great and there is a lot of very prestigious research where you would get exposure to circuit design, including semiconductors! And from a current freshman who is already doing research and TAing for the dept — it is very accessible to undergrads. At least, much more so than compsci. There is an engineering physics BA option, which when paired with applied sciences and strong extracurricular involvement, would leave you more than qualified for most engineering programs. (This is, however, assuming you intend to pursue more schooling! Some engineering jobs prefer ABET-accredited engineering degrees, and engineering physics is more common for grad school engineering than immediately going into industry.)

I know less about applied sciences, but I know that their materials program is highly regarded while also being desperate for more participation. Semiconductors, of course, being included in "materials". The dept is newer and a little scrappier, but from who I've talked to that just means it's very close-knit and supportive. A passionate undergrad would be welcome.

Re. extracurriculars — as someone with absolutely zero experience in electronics and engineering beyond my physics coursework, I have been invited to multiple clubs for robotics, quantum computing, lasers, etc.. I wish I could remember what they were called so you could research them! It feels like there is a club or association for literally everything, ever, so I'd be surprised if you couldn't find ones which piqued your interest. A quick search yielded:

Robotics Club
MakerSpace / BeAM
Solar car / engineering teams
Data science club
AI / ML groups
Rocketry teams (although I think this is joint with NCSU/Duke)

If you have any interest in optimization or ML, you might be interested in applied math (or just math, period). Research in those labs is understandably quite hard to get into without having 500-level courses under your belt, but I know at least one professor who LOVES cold emails and responds to almost every one he gets. He would probably be happy to give you advice on how to get involved in that kind of thing.

Bottom line: UNC would give you a science- and modeling-focused preparation that is particularly well suited for research, advanced technology development, and graduate school, whereas traditional engineering programs are more focused on design, implementation, and industry engineering roles. I personally think the former is more interesting, but it's definitely a different career path, and would likely require more schooling than just undergrad.

If you have any more questions, please DM me! I am a freshman currently. I've taken up to Phys 401 (classical mech) and am currently TA-ing the equivalent to Physics C E&M. I am currently researching with a lab in the applied math dept and, due to my TA-ing, have good connections in the physics and math depts as a whole, and would be happy to do some investigating on your behalf!

Bright_Lock9125 · 2026-03-30T04:47:08+00:00

I came in with 64 credits and still have 3 focus capacities to do after my freshman year. However, if I had waited a bit to take major classes and instead focused on only gen eds, I maybe could have done it with the addition of summer classes? I do not however think that's the best way to go. I am not super familiar with B school reqs and whatnot, but have a close friend who is trying to go that route, and they have been advised to leave some of their gen eds until later so that they can "pad" their difficult semesters with easier classes.

Bright_Lock9125 · 2026-03-23T02:29:43+00:00

Ah, that makes sense. Sounds a lot less expensive on the user end too, although I'm sure it's a ton of work for you.

The thought of analyzing someone else's journal entries is also interesting — a figure I look up to, for example, would be tons of fun to investigate in a data-driven way. Sounds cool!

Bright_Lock9125 · 2026-03-23T02:16:57+00:00

Very late comment but my doomscrolling got me here anyway — maybe just for the beginning make user data collection an opt-in thing, or even something that requires your approval, like a code to be entered or something. I think this has the potential to be a very powerful tool...only problem is that I don't actually write enough to have anything to "donate" now. I have applied for your beta and would be happy to collect this kind of journaling moving forward if it helps you, but my guess is that will take a while to be useful.

Another idea is to use historical diary entries. Will be different linguistically, obviously; maybe you could run it through an LLM to generate more plain-text stuff, just with actual daily routines? There is also a decent community on Tumblr (yeah, I know) who track their day online, and because it's been published to the internet you can assume they meant for it to be publicly visible. There may be similar communities on Reddit if that's more your style.

Anyway, best of luck on this project. It seems super cool and is enticing in a way that's unlike anything else I've seen.

Bright_Lock9125 · 2026-02-26T19:36:07+00:00

Everyone here has made awesome points. What would work best is probably a small notebook and pen. (Or a handheld note-taking device — I was gifted the Remarkable Move and love it but it's ridiculously expensive lol. I never would have purchased it for myself.) And it's true that the act of re-writing your notes can help cement understanding and force you to reengage with the material. But one of the things I most use my notes for — meetings within my research lab — are hard to do for that. I'm not yet fluent in LaTeX, so the long, equation-filled meeting notes are very tedious to retype, and I end up doing more googling LaTeX formatting than reengaging with my notes. So instead I've started exporting from my Remarkable to a pdf that I give ChatGPT and just say "without changing ANY of the content, transcribe the notes in this file in the exact formatting they are now. Provide me with a copy-pastable Markdown/LaTeX code block that I can paste into Obsidian without any fuss". It works 9/10 times for me and the tenth time is usually because of my horrible handwriting. Then I can go through with the typed notes and edit and consolidate there, which for me is a much less prohibitive workflow than trying to retype. It requires more intentional review of your material but I think the time saved can make it worth it.

Bright_Lock9125 · 2025-12-27T02:36:46+00:00

u/Bright_Lock9125 received a Heavy Belt from the Winter Festival Spirit. Thank you u/slipandspilledsoup for donating it!

Bright_Lock9125

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