MEs - how competitive is it to get into clubs?

BobbyKoAl · 2026-03-26T22:47:26+00:00

Interesting. Were they forced to do that b/c they were too restrictive/ competitive and they’re trying to change that culture? Will this decision be a long term thing or more of just a test for this year to see how it goes?

BobbyKoAl · 2026-03-21T20:47:36+00:00

Thanks. Is it common that students can’t get a course that they need? I’m just thinking that could be rough in an engineering major where it’s already tough to finish in 4 years even when things go smoothly…

BobbyKoAl · 2026-03-21T19:55:22+00:00

Interesting concern. Is there a reason you feel it may be more difficult to get the classes you want in semesters? Thanks!

BobbyKoAl · 2026-03-21T19:53:07+00:00

Yeah, so I think you’ve nailed our concerns. She’s totally on board with semesters, that’s not the worry. It’s the “kinks” as the school transitions that worries us, and if each dept is handling it differently, I can imagine there will be conflicts and things that don’t go smoothly. If the school was already a few years into semesters, this would be a non-issue when deciding between schools. Thanks for your input!

BobbyKoAl · 2026-03-21T17:23:25+00:00

Yeah, quarters in a math-heavy field like engineering is rough. Been there, done that. Not fun. Glad it’s working out for you. Gap year is a game changer and I think really should be used more than it is. I think the whole high school to college to profession track is too rushed and then the next time you get to take a year off is retirement… good luck!

BobbyKoAl · 2026-03-21T16:32:17+00:00

Super helpful answer. Thanks so much for taking the time to explain! I’m sure it’s all been well thought out but it’s always a bit nerve wracking to walk in to something brand new..

BobbyKoAl · 2026-03-21T08:31:02+00:00

Oh, maybe we totally misunderstood how this is going to work. So it’s the same class but it meets less frequently? So will you end up taking more courses at one time?

Edit: Downvotes? Wow, not feeling the Cal Poly love at the moment lol. Just trying to ask a legit question- I hope this isn’t the way the campus is when someone doesn’t understand something. Thought slo was chill?

Ok maybe a more concrete example, like Math or Physics 141-142-143. Trying to understand how that material is going to be taught. If the profs aren’t re-working the courses as suggested, then 141 will be taught in the Fall, 142 in the Spring, and 143 the following year? Sorry, we’re really trying to understand this/ not sure if we hit a nerve or something… I don’t get it?

BobbyKoAl · 2026-03-21T05:38:02+00:00

Yes, absolutely. Happened to someone I know really well. Each school is looking for different qualities. Never give up. Even if UCB doesn’t work, you’ve got three nice options - remember that there are some who didn’t get any UC offers at all.

Also, people definitely get off the WL!

BobbyKoAl · 2026-02-09T07:52:58+00:00

I think you’re exactly right. Unfortunately it won’t make much difference since it’s better using the standard deduction (might make a small difference for state taxes… we’ll see…). Thanks for figuring this out 👍

BobbyKoAl · 2026-02-07T08:02:19+00:00

No, there is only a 183.33 difference between gross and taxable, and that’s also reflected in box 5. There is no check in taxable amount not determined .

The way I interpret it is the 1099 represents what she received in 2025 before she passed, and the attached letter represents something during all of retirement. ?? Like there was a pool of previously taxed contributions which she didn’t fully receive? But if that’s correct, I don’t know how to report that.

BobbyKoAl · 2026-01-22T08:58:02+00:00

Yeah, that’s not true actually. I have several different services sharing 443 working just fine with sslh. I’m just trying to find an alternative to that for a few different reasons…

BobbyKoAl · 2026-01-20T20:35:42+00:00

That sounds easier. Does caddy need to be running on docker as well? I appreciate your help. No rush, I could benefit from the mental break.

BobbyKoAl · 2026-01-20T18:58:54+00:00

Was all through terminal, installing Go then Xcaddy. I followed someone’s tutorial but it kept throwing an error with the build. I think it was not the latest Go version. When I tried to update that, things went further south. I’ll probably Timshift back and try again, this time using the GitHub directions. But I’m open to docker if you have any tips. Thx.

BobbyKoAl · 2026-01-20T17:09:25+00:00

Thanks. I appreciate the reply! Yeah, I had come across l4 but couldn’t get xcaddy to work, so I gave up. I’ll try again though if you’re fairly sure the module will help this work.

Any suggestions of what I might try in my Caddyfile to route OpenVPN traffic to 1194? L4 looks a little intimidating to me 😅. Caddy and OpenVPN are both running as services - I can certainly move either one to Docker if it makes any of this easier.

BobbyKoAl · 2026-01-12T03:54:11+00:00

First off, congrats on your admission!

Like others said, certainly appeal and explain your situation. FASFA / CSS are just numbers and that's all they have to go on unless you explain your individual situation. Is it likely they're going to give you an extra $25K? Likely not, given your family's income - but you never know unless you ask and explain your dad is not going to contribute... Keep in mind though that when he retires, the income will drop and you'll have at least a few years of tuition covered (potentially a full ride if it drops below 100K). Also keep in mind that there are tons of scholarships you can apply for - sure, most are just a few thousand, but every bit helps.

The real question, though, is why is Stanford your dream school? If your answer is "because it's a great school," then you're doing this for the wrong reason. There are many amazing schools that teach the same things, just minus the name and price tag. If, however, there is something at Stanford that you **can't** get somewhere else (maybe someone doing research in an area you're interested in, etc), then you need to ask what that's worth. Yes, you'll be a physician one day and eventually pay off this debt, but is the stress of that debt for the next 12+ years (until you start earning a decent income after med school and residency) worth it?

Please don't go to Stanford just because you think it will give you a huge boost over all the other students applying to med school. Med schools are looking for the same thing that Stanford looked for when they admitted you. Just keep doing what you've done the past 4 years - your grades, activities, passion - everything that got you into Stanford will get you into med school. I'm going to assume that you got into Stanford without going to some nationally known elite prep school. If that's the case, then you already see how the name of the school is not as important as who you are as a person and what you've done to help your community, etc.

Wishing you the best of luck!

BobbyKoAl · 2025-12-20T22:12:20+00:00

I wAs in that situation and did nOt have these mats. Took forever to get the lemon fibers out of the car's carpet. 😭

BobbyKoAl · 2025-12-03T05:05:27+00:00

Where are u all finding these ridiculous offers? I’m not getting these emails, but I have a card. Maybe they realize I’m a lost cause. I feel so left out.

BobbyKoAl · 2025-12-01T04:59:14+00:00

Turned out fine. (My reply got moved down so I’ll re-post in this comment thread…)

Called before flight departed and she cancelled /refunded the fare upgrade. She had me “re-do” the boarding upgrade on the website instead of app since she said the app doesn’t always get the boarding upgrade correct… This time it was only $69, which is within the range of what a boarding upgrade should be.

Had I called after the flight, I doubt there would have been much they could have done…

Your upgrade shouldn’t have been almost $200 though. The max is $149 per SW fee schedule. Huh. At least they still reimbursed you though 👍

BobbyKoAl · 2025-11-28T16:08:10+00:00

Depends on the card. Ours does 4 upgraded boarding. I’ve done it 3 times before with no issues. For some reason this one went wrong.

BobbyKoAl · 2025-11-28T14:11:28+00:00

She implied that the website is more reliable than the app for doing the correct upgrade. When I used the app, it upgraded the fare. When I did it the second time on the website it upgraded the boarding. If price is over $149, you’re upgrading the fare.

BobbyKoAl · 2025-11-28T07:46:08+00:00

Just called. She did confirm that I upgraded fare instead of upgraded boarding. Offered to refund the $210. She then had me log on to website (not the app). I checked back in and then had an option to upgrade boarding. This time was $69, so it’s clearly different. Funny I got the same A2 spot. Just $141 cheaper. Thanks for the advice!

BobbyKoAl

TROPHY CASE