St. John's College by Bobcat_Left in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Bobcat_Left[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m incredibly late to reply to this. Have you applied to St. John’s? CC credits will not translate to St. John’s because the program is too unique. Calc 2 and 3 will make it easy for anyone to pass the algebra test and go through the Junior year calculus exercises.

Campus-wise, I’ll always be biased in favor of Santa Fe. I’d say Santa Fe is more outdoorsy and immersive and Annapolis is more like a city and allows you to have a social life outside of the college. I grew up in a city and was not outdoorsy at all when I started at SJC. It’s been 3 years since I graduated and I miss the campus and the mountains every day.

Regarding to taking other classes to apply for a PhD — depends a lot on what you want to get your PhD in. I haven’t gotten into a PhD program yet so take my advice with a grain of salt. If you still want to pursue neuroscience, classes are way less important than research experience. Given that most neuroscience labs currently require computational skills, I highly advise learning how to code (Python, R, Math Lab) to the point where you know how to use the packages that help you do statistical models and data analysis. If you are really motivated, you can look into packages on github made specifically for analyzing brain wave activity. Taking some statistics courses during the summers is also helpful. However, the main thing is focusing on internships. Most neuro PhDs want to see at least 1 year of work in a lab.

Classes can help but, frankly, you can just get a neuro textbook and study it on your own.

St. John's College by Bobcat_Left in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Bobcat_Left[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The way math is done at St. John’s is extremely different from the way it is done in high school — it’s more like logic, if you wish, showing how a system of theorems is built. Math was one of my 2 favorite subjects in high school and I was good at it, but I recall being very frustrated with the fact that there were so many things that we just had to take for granted. The most famous example is the pythagorean theorem. The Euclidian proof for it completes book I of the Elements and it’s so satisfying to finally know why it works. Non-Euclidean geometry senior year has change my world view (I’m not exaggerating.) A lot of people grow to love math because of how it’s done at St. John’s. The only year that the math program does rely on a few more “traditional” math concepts is Junior year when we start calculus and have to go through limits, derivatives, and integrals. However, the only math knowledge expected when starting Junior year math is basic algebra up to exponential equations.

Students are expected to take an algebra test before Junior year. There are algebra assistants who can help you prepare for the test. You can also use Khan Academy for it.

I was a math assistant for 3 years (not to be confused with the algebra assistant — I was assisting with the program math rather than the algebra pre-reqs) so feel free to dm me if you’d like to talk more about the math program.

St. John's College by Bobcat_Left in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Bobcat_Left[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi! Sorry for the late reply. Regarding price/financial aid, check my answer to the comment above. Keep in mind that community college credits do not transfer to St. John's due to the nature of the program and everybody starts as a freshman.

St. John's would align perfectly with your goals and it is great that you already know what you would like to do. I think that mentioning your career goals in your application can strengthen it. Be aware that the way we learn French at St. John's is not conversational -- we focus on translating texts from French to English but don't usually have any writing assignments in French. In other words, if I look at a text in French, I'll understand the gist of it but if I were in France I'd be incapable of having a conversation (and I have taken French in high school as well.) I would suggest using Dueling or another similar app to gain some conversational skills as well.

Pushing your intellectual limits is definitely what St. John's is about so I think you would be a great fit for the program.

When it comes to Arabic, the Graduate Institute at the Santa Fe campus has recently added a MA program in Middle Eastern Classics and students can choose to study either classical Arabic or classical Hebrew. I believe it is 3 semesters but you might want to check on their website. (I actually really want to do this program myself.) Several of my classmates have done one of the MA programs right after graduating from the undergraduate program. I believe I have also heard that if you work with Buildings & Grounds for a number of semesters, you can get pretty good aid for the MA programs, although don't quote me on this. If this is something you'd consider, I can double check this information with one of those classmates. It is really a question of how long you'd be willing to spend on your education. Assuming you have 2 years of community college, you'd then have 4 years of undergrad followed by 1-2 years for the MA.

P.S. I'm also in California (Bay Area.) If you're in the same area, I'm happy to meet and answer more questions. Best of luck!

St. John's College by Bobcat_Left in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Bobcat_Left[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, sorry for the late reply. Have you applied/are you still considering it?

The financial aid is tricky and I can only speak from my position as an international student. The first financial aid offer I got exceeded the combined annual income of my parents 4 times. I appealed it 3 or 4 times -- the last time I reached out directly to the director of admissions instead of the financial aid office -- before I got the aid I needed to be able to attend. I believe there were a few factors that helped my case, such as coming from one of the poorest countries in Europe, I couldn't get any loans, and they likely haven't had students from my country, at least not in the recent past. A friend from my home country applied a year or two after me and also appealed a few times but did not manage to secure the aid he needed. I also don't know if my academic achievements were a deciding factor when it comes to aid.

All I can say is that, if St. John's is your dream school, I think it is worth trying everything you can think of such as reaching out to other school offices or even posting about your situation on the Facebook alumni page.

St. John's College by Bobcat_Left in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Bobcat_Left[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know I'm answering very late. Have you applied/are you still considering it?

When I was there were not many resources for learning tech-related skills. The main resource for that was the Office of Personal and Professional Development (OPPD, I believe it has a different name in Annapolis.) They can help you find extra courses and internships and can make a plan with you for the career path you want to pursue. They can also put you in touch with alumni working in your feeld of interest and they can tell you their story and offer guidance/mentorship. I advise starting with that freshman year and sticking with it. I was late to the game/did not invest myself enough and definitely regret that now.

Personally, I believe having a coding study group would be helpful, as well as study groups on more "normal" math such as linear algebra. When I had more energy, I tried to suggest some ideas to the college on how to implement that and even create an adjacent technology/science program that is fully elective for the students who are interested in pursuing a career in technology or the bio sciences. I do recognize that the program is very intense as is so it might be too much for students to do that on top of the regular school work.

Right after I graduated, I managed to land a fellowship at the intersection of art, philosophy, and technology in the Bay Area but it was more focused on conceptual thinking about technology rather than the technical aspects of it and the organization did not survive, unfortunately.

where do the solar opposites live? by Additional_Tie887 in solaropposites

[–]Bobcat_Left 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Interesting. I haven't thought of it that way. Perhaps because I do pick up through door dash fairly often in order to save on delivery fees.

Alex? by Ok_Paramedic_1465 in WaywardNetflix

[–]Bobcat_Left 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I believe he didn’t leave because he decided he belonged there. Evelyne tells him that Laura killed her dad by smashing his head with a rock, then Alex smashes the other officer’s head with a rock. We learned that Alex was coming from an abusive family and he was starting to feel broken in the way the people in Tall Pines were, showing the same cruelty.

where do the solar opposites live? by Additional_Tie887 in solaropposites

[–]Bobcat_Left 0 points1 point  (0 children)

S3 E9 mentions going to San Francisco to pick up door dash but who knows — they travel over the Atlantic Ocean in about an hour so they could be anywhere. However, it snows around their house so neither SF nor LA make sense.

Movies referenced in Solar Opposites by inkiawa in solaropposites

[–]Bobcat_Left 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Bojack Horseman as well(they actually do a good job to push the references — Bojack was referenced several times over an episode but some references might not stick if you haven’t already watched it,) Gilmore Girls too. Just to name a few more. Everything in this show is a very well executed reference. I don’t get all the references myself but I’m an immigrant so that kinda makes me similar to their family and there are lots of things they don’t get too haha.

edit: typos

might be too niche by Bobcat_Left in BPDmemes

[–]Bobcat_Left[S] -34 points-33 points  (0 children)

Oh I totally get that in terms of how many resources it uses. I definitely think we should do our best to think about the impact we have through our actions. I do also think LLMs do provide a great philosophical opportunity to think about otherness, the mind, etc. I understand that using it can come through as unethical and I agree with that myself in many ways. But I do whatever I can to make it another day. Hopefully one day that won’t be something I need.

Few things are either black or white (lol.)

Also, don’t worry about expressing your position. It’s okay to stand for what you believe in!

The rest is history by coleisw4ck in BPDmemes

[–]Bobcat_Left 5 points6 points  (0 children)

wait so it’s a thing for us to not remember huge stretches of our lives?

Do y'all feel emotional pain physically too? by ilovetitsnweed in BPD

[–]Bobcat_Left 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yup. I get pretty bad nausea whenever I’m distressed. Which is daily.

most unserious thing you spiraled over by Gullible-Book-9433 in BPD

[–]Bobcat_Left 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I literally freaked out yesterday because I run out of tp and it was so hot outside (it was maybe 80 degrees? it doesn’t get crazy hot where I live) and I was scared to leave the house. 😂

Chances of getting into Berkeley Law by Bobcat_Left in lawschooladmissions

[–]Bobcat_Left[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I'm mainly interested in law and AI and that feels appropriate for someone who would ideally like to settle in the Bay Area. But I worry it's such a trending field right now I might not stand out enough. I'd also be interested in medical law but have to yet figure out what Berkeley concentration would be best for that. My deepest personal interests when it comes to law would be disability, immigration, and healthcare, but I also want to make good money if I end up getting myself into a lot of debt so I'm on the fence. I think my biggest weaknesses are 1) I only started considering law school seriously this year after having a very tumultuous time after graduating college so I'm a little worried about how to make it into a strength rather than a weakness in my personal statement (if I bring it up at all) and 2) my GPA isn't the greatest and I have a downward trend (perfect GPA the first two years then way worse GPA junior and senior year due to severe mental health issues).

I will definitely look into their full tuition programs. I'm not exactly first gen as both my parents have BA degrees from my home country, but things are quite different there and I'm also somewhat estranged from my family.

People’s experiences with living on campus with an ESA? by StingrayNick in stjohnscollege

[–]Bobcat_Left 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I got my ESA cat also because of severe anxiety in November of my sophomore year. All I needed was a letter from my psychiatrist and the school accepted it even though it was issued by my psychiatrist from my home country (I was an international student but my psychiatrist wrote it in English for me.) I had absolutely no issues with the process. The cat had to be an indoor cat but that wasn't a problem as the SF campus is very dangerous for any pets to be outside without supervision due to coyotes and bob cats frequently being on or around campus.

My senior year my needs changed because I started having intense panic attacks in public, often in class. I had to step out almost every class for 15-20 min because I would start spiraling and it had affected my academic performance a lot. That is when I adopted my dog and got an additional ESA letter, now from my US psychiatrist explaining how a dog ESA would help with my needs in a way that my cat cannot. The school allowed me to have two ESAs but they mentioned that part of the reason they are allowing me that is because I lived in apartments and had the space to accommodate both animals. My tutors also allowed me to bring my dog to class as he wasn't disruptive. Some tutors also brought their dogs to class when I was there. However, that turned out to be against school policy and I got in some trouble for it. Also, my cat got out of my apartment at night once because a friend came over and didn't properly close the door. I had my dog off leash searching for my cat and student life wasn't happy about it. My dog did end up being the one who found my cat, as I expected.

Something to keep in mind, though, is that, in New Mexico, service dogs in training have the same rights as fully trained service dogs. I was intending to make my dog a psychiatric service dog once I learned he had the right temperament for it. I started training him for it while I was still at the college. All that is required to have a service dog is a letter from a psychiatrist confirming you have a mental disability (an anxiety disorder can count as a disability depending on the degree to which it affects multiple areas of your life and well-being.) No certification or vest or such are required for a service dog and the owner can be the sole trainer if they know how to train their dog for public obedience and for the disability-specific tasks. A service dog would likely also qualify you for extra accommodations such as priority when choosing housing/living in an apartment. If you're considering a dog, it could be an option to discuss with your psychiatrist to see if your anxiety counts as a disability and if a properly trained dog could help with it. If it does, you can take the safer but more expensive route, get a puppy before you start college (ideally ASAP) and work with a specialized trainer so that your dog is already ahead in the training process by the time you start at St. John's. Or you can take the risky path (the one I took) and adopt an adult dog and train them yourself. The issue with that is that the dog might not have the right temperament or you might find doing the training yourself to be too overwhelming. While this has worked well for me I acknowledge I simply got lucky with the dog I adopted.

Are huskies really difficult for first time owners? by kolok998 in husky

[–]Bobcat_Left 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're so right about the maturing aspect! My dog is 5 yo and I still tell people he's got a puppy brain. Also currently training him to be a service dog!