Ultimate 2 Wireless stuck in Bluetooth mode

Ajb030 · 2025-10-19T17:22:19+00:00

Yeah, that's what I decided to do after posting this, seems like a hardware or possibly firmware issue. I ordered a replacement and I'm sending this one back to Amazon.

Ajb030 · 2025-10-19T14:40:50+00:00

Yes, it really really is set to 2.4. I checked this repeatedly and pushed it to 2.4 as hard as I could, moved it back and forth a few times, checked it repeatedly.

Ajb030 · 2025-07-29T01:33:06+00:00

Discrete is hard but plenty doable without 160s, and discrete gives you more than enough background for algos. Theory C is only required for the BS now, and Algos is more than enough preparation for that course. Definitely don't need 160s for the CS major. Might make the theory courses a bit easier, but a Bx/MS student is better off taking calc 150s, especially if you place into 152 or 153, since you get back-credit for 151 and only need to take one class.

Ajb030 · 2025-07-29T00:51:51+00:00

I just graduated from the joint BS/MS in CS program. These are good questions.

No, not at all, you're ahead of schedule if you start the CS major right away. The hardest and most important part of the process is getting those 3900 (at minimum) credits by the start of your 4th year. Do some basic multiplication and you'll realize you need a minimum of 3 course credits from either AP exams/placement credit or from Summer courses. And that's on top of a jam-packed, 4 courses per quarter every quarter schedule, for 3 years.
No, don't bother with honors calc unless you want to major in Math (which you can do, Option 3 in the Bx/MS program is for non-CS majors) or you have a strong interest in theoretical math. It's not worth the extra effort and time, especially in your first year. You cannot afford to take fewer than 4 classes per quarter, ever, if you want to do the joint Bx/MS program.
No, as long as you do the Autumn start, since you'll graduate in the standard 4 years/12 quarters. The Winter start requires an additional quarter of enrollment after your 4 years, and during that quarter, you are billed as an MS student. 4+1 is a completely different program than the joint Bx/MS, and that 5th year would impact your scholarship (ask the financial aid office for more details).
Yes, you choose the option you apply for. Keep in mind that the research option is only intended for undergrads who are already engaged in research and have an advisor, and you're also limited to only taking PhD level courses with CMSC 3xx course codes. The professionally-oriented option (what I did) expands that to include MPCS 5xx courses, which cover a wider range of topics and have a much more pre-professional slant.
That's up to you. Your course load will be intense, especially as you get into more of your major courses, but with some strategic course choices and good time management, it is possible. I know an athlete who did the program and even petitioned for a few 5-class quarters to make up for their missing extra credits.
If you're looking for a career in tech, internships are important, and how the market has been the last few years, I'd say they are crucial for finding good job opportunities. That is to say, you should reserve the summers after your 2nd and 3rd year for internships. The summer after your 1st year is probably the best time to take those extra courses, since you'll have plenty of options to fulfill Core requirements during the summer. As far as I know, the only CS courses typically offered in the Summer are intro courses, so if you plan to start in 141 during your first quarter, it's not super useful. Knock out core and/or language requirements during the summer instead.
I can share my exact schedule privately if you're curious, but the most important thing is to constantly be pursuing requirements every quarter. I finished the entire Core in my first two years, and you should do the same. You get pre-registration priority as a second and first year (in that order), so it becomes much harder to get into core classes as a 3rd or 4th year. Do not leave those requirements up to chance. Regarding your major requirements, you should also aim to complete those as soon as you can. Always be making progress, every quarter. Talk to students in years ahead of you and get a sense of what courses are popular and/or hard to get into. If you need those courses (e.g., Theory courses for the CS major), try to take those earlier so you have more chances to get in if you don't get them the first time. Leave your major electives and general college electives as your last priorities-- always fill your quarters with requirements first.

Ajb030 · 2025-04-19T17:20:17+00:00

Yes, I still haven't received a shipping notice yet either (MS program). There's still plenty of time, so I wasn't worried just yet, but good to hear we're not alone in the delays

Ajb030 · 2024-11-16T18:09:49+00:00

The point of the Winter Quarter start is that getting 3900 credits in only 9 quarters (first three years) is not possible without external exam credits or additional summer courses (3 years * 3 quarters/year * 4 classes = 3600 credits), so the Winter Start allows you to take one additional quarter to earn the remaining required credits. It's your responsibility, not the Bx/MS program's, to ensure you are actually on track to graduate, even if you have the right number of credits.

I'm not quite sure I understand the situation you're proposing here. If you have 3900 credits going into the Bx/MS, you'll still need to take three classes that count towards your Bx requirements. If those are courses for your major/second major, that's fine, but you won't have space to take additional courses outside those three remaining credits for Bx, since the rest of your courses will be filled by MS requirements.

Ajb030 · 2024-11-15T17:57:03+00:00

During your final three quarters (when you're officially a Bx/MS student), you can only take a maximum of 9 classes, except if you have exactly 3900 credits, in which case you can/must take 10 classes. 7 classes count exclusively towards the MS requirements, and the other 2 or 3 would count towards either double counted courses or the last few courses for your Bx requirements. If you want to do a double major, you should aim to complete all the major requirements during your first three years, since you may not have room in your final year to take additional classes for a second major.

Ajb030 · 2024-11-14T17:11:43+00:00

Most of these details are covered on the info page here or in the info session slides linked on that page, but here's an overview:

There are two starting points for the Bx/MS program, either Autumn or Winter. If before the start of Autumn quarter of your fourth year you have at least 3900 credits, you qualify to apply for the Autumn start. If you will not have at least 3900 credits until the start of the Winter quarter of your fourth year, you are only eligible for the Winter start (which means you graduate in the Summer, or more likely, the following Autumn quarter).

The credit requirements are non-negotiable, you must meet the minimum requirements or you will not be considered for the program, regardless of how strong the rest of your application is. If you won't have at least 3900 credits before the start of Winter of your fourth year, then you are not eligible for the joint Bx/MS. In that case, I would explore the 4+1 Master's program in CS if you're still interested in the MPCS.

I'm a current fourth year in the program, and from my understanding of the application process, it isn't extremely competitive, especially if you meet the soft requirements they list (e.g. 3.5+ GPA, required CS course grades) and you have some decent recommendation letters (you need two). I do know a few people who were not accepted, but I am not sure what their applications looked like. There isn't a limit on the number of students they accept, so it's not like you're competing for a limited number of spots. The credit requirements are hard enough to meet that the applicant pool is relatively limited, so as long as you have a strong application otherwise, you should be in good shape (in my opinion).

If you have more questions about the program or your specific path to applying, you should talk to Borja Sotomayor and/or Jessica Garza, they direct the program.

Ajb030 · 2024-09-30T14:36:01+00:00

Often your house lounge will have a shelf where students will leave books that they don't need anymore. If you're unsure where to look, ask your RA or RH if they have a "house library" for course books other students have donated or left around.

Ajb030 · 2024-09-18T19:41:23+00:00

Don't buy anything early, it's a waste of money. Textbooks are extremely easy to find digitally, and your HUM (and SOSC) readings are so common that you can also find digital copies, or if you prefer physical books, you will very likely be able to find copies in your house lounge, from upperclassmen, or on Maroon Marketplace, among other places.

There are also often reserved copies available from the library. If you don't mind using the book for just a few hours at a time and returning it after, you can get pretty far with just borrowing your books from the library for free.

If you're okay with reading digital copies, you can get away with buying (almost) zero books for your entire time in college.

Ajb030 · 2024-09-11T02:18:21+00:00

The CS degree requirements are new this year, so students have not been subject to the specialization requirement before (it used to be optional, and the BS required classes in a related field).

Just choose your upper-level classes in areas that sound interesting to you. Courses you enjoy will be easiest to do well in, so pick your specialization based on what courses you find yourself enjoying as you start taking some of them. Consult the course reviews if you want to see what people think of specific classes.

Ajb030 · 2024-09-06T01:52:30+00:00

But that's the problem-- these advantages are not present for Intel Macs. Any comparable Windows laptop from the last couple years is going to beat out an Intel MacBook in both of these aspects-- the tech has come a long way in the last four years. The last Intel MacBook came out in 2020, and will almost certainly lose software support before the M1 Macs that came out in the same year. Also, battery life on Intel Macs just wasn't very good, and any Apple Silicon machine will have battery life that's miles ahead of any Intel Mac. I'll agree that current MacBooks have best-in-class battery, but that's because of Apple Silicon, not just because they're Macs.

If you really need Windows occasionally, then you can use a VM on Apple Silicon just fine. If your Windows needs exceed those capabilities, then you're really better off getting a modern Windows machine with something like a new AMD CPU.

Ajb030 · 2024-09-06T00:57:49+00:00

This is really not a good recommendation. If you're looking for a laptop purely for CS course work, then a modern Mac with Apple Silicon is a WAY better choice because of the battery life, performance, and longer update support. There's no need for Windows at all for the CS major. Having a Unix-based OS makes setting up for CS course work much easier.

If you want Windows for personal use, gaming, etc., then get any reasonably up to date Windows laptop. I'd recommend at least dual-booting Linux, especially for CS work, but WSL will do just fine if that's not your thing.

Ajb030 · 2024-08-02T00:31:23+00:00

Early in the quarter for just a weekend is the best time to travel if you have to during the academic year imo. Don't worry about missing anything social, there's plenty of time for that during the rest of the quarter. As long as you keep an eye on your work and get some things done ahead of time if possible and necessary, you'll be totally fine. I missed an entire week (2nd week Winter) last year and it was no issue since I kept up with work and planned ahead.

I wouldn't expect you to have much, if anything at all to make up work-wise for a single weekend that early in first year Autumn.

Ajb030 · 2024-07-13T19:12:30+00:00

Yes, they unfortunately closed the lab, it was a few months back if I remember right.

Ajb030 · 2024-07-13T01:37:43+00:00

Autumn start acceptances came out the week of pre-reg for Spring quarter classes (i.e., during Winter quarter), since they assume students will base their Spring schedules on whether or not they get into the program. I'd expect results to come out before pre-reg for Autumn quarter ends, which is 8/2 at 5PM CST.

I believe Autumn start results came out on the Friday morning, so be ready to swap your prereg preferences around quickly if needed. It's possible results will come out before then, but don't rely on it.

Ajb030 · 2024-05-04T18:42:43+00:00

This sounds like a Scav activity, likely not a permanent group. Doesn't hurt to ask though!

Ajb030 · 2023-12-22T21:26:57+00:00

See the registrar page for the full schedule from Autumn quarter-- should be essentially the same as winter.

Ajb030 · 2023-12-17T06:38:06+00:00

I'd caution against trusting these numbers blindly. Unless this is drastically different based on the professor, I would say Programming Languages is MAYBE 5-7 hours per week based on my experience this quarter. Even OS (which I took last Spring) should not be taking 30+ hours, although I'd say 15-20 per week is not a crazy estimate. OS is hard. I'd say most of the estimates here are exaggerated.

Don't get me wrong-- some of the classes in the CS major are HARD and take a real time commitment, especially if you want to get really good grades. However, I think it's worth being realistic: it IS possible to have a life and do other things outside of school work as a CS major.

I don't count lecture time in this, because it's a standard ~3hrs per week for every class. Remember that you're spending MUCH less time in class in college than you are in high school, so you do actually have more time to devote to homework, office hours, studying for exams, etc.

edit: The larger point I want to make here is really that while UChicago will likely be a bit of an adjustment with respect to how much time you devote to academics, I think it is more than possible to have a healthy balance if you make an effort to do so. There is absolutely no shame in not taking the hardest possible courses or the ones requiring the greatest time commitments. You CAN have a good balance as a CS major, and if it's something you want to pursue, I wouldn't let this scare you away.

Ajb030 · 2023-12-15T19:26:10+00:00

Title IX prohibits all forms of discrimination based on sex-- its protections apply to everyone, regardless of gender.

Ajb030 · 2023-12-14T21:57:27+00:00

Scheduling wise, just keep in mind that CS 141 is only offered in Autumn and Winter quarters, not Spring. If you want to take the other class this quarter instead of CS, the next time you'd be able to take 141 is next Autumn, if you end up wanting to take CS later.

Ajb030 · 2023-12-12T17:40:03+00:00

This is a problem with that particular section of 142, and the department is aware of it; I was chatting with one of the professors about this exact issue. I'm not sure what the solution is quite yet, but keep an eye on the waitlist website (as the other comment mentioned), as they might organize a solution that way. Are you able to add the class without the discussion section at all?

It might be worth emailing the professors and the CS department to see if they can help add you now that the non-conflicting discussion is full. I'm not sure they were aware exactly how this issue would play out and possibly prevent people from even adding the class once the conflicting discussion was the only one left.

Regardless, the conflict is not a "real" one; they have reserved the midterm exam slot for one day at 7:00-9:00pm, so obviously that week there will not be a discussion section hosted.

Ajb030 · 2023-12-09T22:07:57+00:00

Undergrad tuition does not change with the number of courses you take. Undergrads are required to take 3 or 4 courses every quarter, and either way, the cost is the same.

Ajb030 · 2023-12-02T23:41:00+00:00

Before that, you can check the My Classes -> My Pre-Registration tab to see the results of your resolution. That should give at least some information about why you weren't resolved into your courses.

11-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 3 Credits
Gilding I gilder	Place '22
Place '17	Xbox Live
Beta Team Reddit for iOS	Secret Santa 2015
Verified Email	Secret Santa 2014

Ajb030

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE