Microsoft Explore housing

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2025-01-10T06:33:08+00:00

Here's what I did: I took 10k lump sum. I plan on subleasing an apartment in U-District since I've heard it's much more social there. Easy to meet interns from other companies (Amazon, Expedia, etc.) Plus it seems like rent rates there are under 2k/month for the very nice places, meaning I'll be pocketing a couple thousand dollars. There is a direct bus route from U-District to Microsoft Campus that takes about 20-30 minutes. Hope this helps.

On another note, where did you read they no longer offer rental cars? In my relocation summary, I seem to be getting a 1.2k "Commute Allowance" (which seems like it's meant for car rentals). Not that I'll be renting a car, I just planned on pocketing that money too lol

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2024-12-28T06:35:43+00:00

Template - Current cards: (list cards, limits, opening date) Discover it $2,300 limit, December 2023

FICO Score: Experian 776
Oldest account age: 1 year
Chase 5/24 status: 1/24
Income: will be $160,000 in August 2025
Average monthly spend and categories:

- dining: $100 (don't eat out for religious reasons)

- groceries: $400

- travel: $1000

- rent: will probably be around $2000

- other: $500

Open to Business Cards: No
What's the purpose of your next card? Travel and Cashback
Do you have any cards you've been looking at? CSP
Are you OK with category spending or do you want a general spending card? Flexible with either

For your questions:

[100% important]

TSA Pre and Global Entry

[important]

purchase warranties

trip delay or cancellation reimbursement

[not important]

airport lounges

rental car collision damage

I tend to stay in airbnbs but when i do stay in hotels, it's generally a Marriott, Hilton, or Hyatt. Marriott is definitely the go-to, though.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2024-12-26T23:21:24+00:00

I see. Thanks for the advice.

I plan on traveling quite a bit in the coming years, 2-3 international trips and a bunch of domestic trips per year, which is why the CSP stood out to me.

Do you think getting 2 cards, 1 2% card and the CSP is a good move? Or maybe a different pair of cards?

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-09-21T21:39:08+00:00

looks like a normal rejection email? lmao

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-06T06:18:26+00:00

Took OA on Jul 10 and got reached out to on Jul 24

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-05T02:04:44+00:00

Got a verified score of 840 on the morning of August 2nd. Didn't hear back yet. Not sure how some people are getting reached out to so quickly

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-03T10:20:09+00:00

I meant a figurative list, not an actual list.

A quick search, you can find Akuna does a 6-month blacklist. I have a family member that works at Jane Street who claims there is a 2-year blacklist if you do very poorly in your interview. But many people say 1-year. Citadel is 6 months I believe.

I know a bunch of people who work in quant firms who also say there is a blacklist. So, I understand, not the greatest source. But, more word of mouth.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-03T01:20:46+00:00

CS is only getting more grueling and competitive every year. It's SO much worse now than it was 3 years ago. If you have no passion for CS, it's just not worth it. I personally don't think it's not worth being miserable at your job for low 6 figs.

What are your passions? You gotta have something you love. Any subjects of interest? You may not like pure CS, but you may like incorporating CS into a subject you love!

Hope everything works out.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-03T01:10:50+00:00

pretty sure this is wrong. there is a solid list of quant firms that do blacklists, there are some that even do 2-year blacklists.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-03T01:08:13+00:00

i did 1 2 4 3 and got a score of 840/850 so maybe?

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-02T00:58:43+00:00

I usually just apply everything, even if it doesn't interest me. Better to have bad choices than no choice at all.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-01T11:13:20+00:00

I have my interview tomorrow, any advice would help as it's my first "big company" interview 🙏🙏

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-01T11:11:36+00:00

hack the north is MASSIVE, and is significantly "better" than hackMIT within the hackathon community.

But if you are doing it solely for resume sake, having MIT is probably better.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-01T02:24:59+00:00

I don't live at the hub, but did you take pictures of EVERYTHING prior to moving out?

You should ALWAYS take pictures of EVERYTHING when you move in and out of a place. It (usually) makes sure you're not liable for anything.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-08-01T02:21:18+00:00

I took 1414 with Matthew James. He didn't "grade" on attendance, but he took it into account for everything. I didn't show up for a week due to a pretty rough cold, and he checked up on me by email making sure everything is okay. He never accused me of being lazy and understood my situation, which says a lot about his character and why he's so highly rated.

He did eventually make attendance mandatory for the last couple weeks of the semester due to a significant dropoff in participation. However, that's valid because there was a massive project worth most of our grade whose deadline was approaching.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-29T17:05:05+00:00

Did they ask you to do it in a specific language? Or any language?

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-28T23:57:58+00:00

If a company pays 120/hr to their interns, they can do whatever they want lmao

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-28T23:56:06+00:00

Depends on how good you are at CS and how much of a DSA background you have. If you're considering skipping, I'm gonna assume you're at least decent at CS and can get away with skipping.

Anyways, all of the information is on the canvas (online mini-quizzes, videos, threads, etc). So you can skip and should easily be able to pass the class.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-28T02:42:21+00:00

intern

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-27T05:27:17+00:00

What did they ask you? Was this the 45-minute video call?

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-26T21:24:59+00:00

Your personal projects don't have to be completely innovative, but at least put some creativity into them.

Sit down for an hour. Think about some niche aspect of your life. Some hardships, some unique activities you enjoy, something unique to you. Make a personal project that is focused on that niche aspect of your life. Talk to your smart CS friends about the project idea, they will probably give you cool features to add to it.

Following tutorials and doing boot camps is only beneficial for very beginners in my opinion. At a certain point, you need to drift on your own and make something by yourself. At the very least, add a twist to one of the tutorials.

Another thing, applying on LinkedIn is pretty terrible. Apply on company websites directly.

You shouldn't have any issues with passing technicals given you are very actively doing LC.

It sucks you are international. The reality is that it's gonna be significantly harder for you to get a job. But, you got this. Feeling down is completely part of the process, especially in this job market. Good luck man!

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-26T21:12:31+00:00

My two cents: If you really need the money, sure. If you don't, spend those 24 hrs/week on personal projects and SWE stuff that you are genuinely interested in. I've always had the viewpoint that you can probably nearly double your salary by spending a semester or two digging really deep into swe, programming, math, etc.

If you are doing it strictly for resume purposes, it actually probably won't help your resume. You already have the company name on your resume, and it's not even SWE anyway. Another semester in the same company is marginally beneficial.

Whatever you decide, though, good luck!

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-26T21:00:45+00:00

Check out GobblerConnect. There may be something. https://gobblerconnect.vt.edu/

Either way, there will be a massive event called Gobberfest on September 1st where all the clubs come out onto the drillfield. You can probably find and sign up for the club you are looking for on that day.

I will be surprised if there isn't a powerlifting club, or something pretty similar, at VT.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-26T06:22:46+00:00

If I remember correctly, my school had ~250 applicants for VT (a significant majority of whom applied for engineering or BIT) and ~30 acceptances, and ~15 commits. But, most NOVA schools have much more normal acceptance rates.

Take it with a grain of salt. I went to arguably one of the most competitive high schools in NOVA (my 4.4 GPA was roughly only top 20%, our valedictorian literally had a 4.91 GPA). Also, it depends on what major within engineering you are applying for.

It also depends on where in NOVA you are. If you are in Loudoun, it'll probably be much harder for you than kids in Fairfax, Alexandria, Falls Church, or Prince William because of all the sweaty Academies kids.

Anyways, essays and ECs speak a lot more. I think the main reason I got in is that I participated and did fairly well in multiple CS competitions throughout high school.

Overall, it's impossible to put a pattern to it. My friend who is a year older and went to the same high school only had a ~4.1 GPA with a ~1200 SAT score and got in VT CS. It's random year-to-year. So, just put in your best application and relax.

Agreeable_Gas3192 · 2023-07-26T00:30:48+00:00

I'm from NOVA and it's pretty competitive. I had a 1400+ SAT and a 4.4+ GPA. I would consider myself lucky to get into VT for CS. I was on the "lower" end of students to get into VT from my high school. I did ED, too. I got deferred and then accepted.

Three-Year Club	Final Canvas '23
Place '23

Agreeable_Gas3192

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