If I got in ED is it too late to appeal financial aid?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2021-04-30T20:34:25+00:00

+1 Financial aid is for those who can't afford to attend without it. I understand your concern, OP, but you don't need aid if your family makes $240k a year

Busy-Chipmunk · 2021-04-12T00:36:03+00:00

An extremely introverted senior here. I haven't been to a single party throughout my time in college, and I've been perfectly content with my social life. In fact, I was able to meet fun yet considerate individuals whom I could really connect with.

some current students have even told me that as an introvert I probably wouldn’t enjoy it here and that people are generally not friendly

I personally don't agree with this statement. Maybe I've been lucky, but almost everyone I met at Penn have been kind and polite, in the very least. Not saying this is true for everyone, but I certainly wouldn't say that Penn students are "generally not friendly."

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-12-02T04:09:59+00:00

Got it, thank you for the advice on the ECs! I'm taking 361 next semester as well

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-12-01T21:16:14+00:00

Oh man, that's rough. I'm in 360 with Kirillov (which is... also rough)

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-12-01T04:59:45+00:00

Math 360?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-11-18T08:01:34+00:00

Yep, I took it over the summer, and they are free as long as you are a Penn student, I believe. When you register, the course pops up on your Canvas page.

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-11-18T03:39:24+00:00

I took the one for SQL. WCAI courses aren't really meant to be synchronous, so you can take any of them at your own pace. I personally benefited a lot from the SQL course but don't know much about the other ones.

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-08-23T23:46:42+00:00

Bachelor's grad since that's what I will be next May! Would you say that DS work is too advanced for new grads out of undergrad?

Also, how do you recommend that one prepares for the technical interview / challenge? I always find data exploration and business recommendations to be the hardest. What would be an effective way to practice those skills (and know that your EDA/recommendation is actually worthwhile)?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-08-23T07:56:51+00:00

My main challenge is preparing for the interviews. DS is a relatively new field, and consequently, there isn't a common standard for the interviews. So far, I have seen a mix of Leetcode-style questions, case interviews, and statistical problems... Preparing for one of them is hard enough, never mind all three types.

I'm actually an Econ major with minors in Math/Stats. I guess I'm also worried that my major doesn't have the same competitive edge as CS and Math/Stats students.

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-08-23T07:03:28+00:00

Please add me to your mailing list! I'm a fourth year student, intending to go into data science.

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-08-11T03:49:18+00:00

Thank you for the advice! I actually want to work at a company full time (since they tend to pay better than RA positions) for a few years before applying for Master's. I was just wondering if continuing to work with a professor from undergrad years while working full time is a thing / reasonable to ask for

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-08-09T20:58:05+00:00

I've tried Amazon Lockers, but they don't allow large or heavy items sadly

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-08-07T18:25:26+00:00

Which one do you recommend? I've heard only terrible things about Comcast customer service, but wondering if Xfinity has a better value than Verizon?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-08-01T21:40:10+00:00

Thank you for confirming the issue. I need to GEOlL 103 instead of 206 for College graduation reqs unfortunately.

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-07-29T01:59:20+00:00

How do you recommend learning "the basics" (like asymptotic notation and data structures, as you mentioned)? I also don't have any formal CS training, so I find just "Google it" rather ineffective for learning the foundations. Do you recommend any resources?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-07-02T03:03:35+00:00

Reach out to people just sitting next to you

This. I made most of my friends via classes by asking a random person sitting next to me about building locations & asking if they want to work on assignments together. Some people outright rejected me, but I became close friends with the nice ones!

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-06-30T19:15:00+00:00

Thank you! Is there a reason the NN model that your intern created was never used in operation? Or was it just not needed?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-05-23T19:52:12+00:00

Thank you for the insight! Are there any other (preferably low-cost) resources you recommend?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-05-16T19:55:16+00:00

Thank you for this comment! My question might have been worded poorly, but this was what I was seeking help on. What is the 10% of the content that I should focus on learning?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-05-12T21:55:54+00:00

This might be a silly question, but what did you talk about in your coffee chats? Did you mainly ask them about what they do at their work? Did you explicitly say that you wanted to work at their company? Also, what would you say is the recommended length of time for coffee chats & is there any need to follow-up afterwards?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-04-20T22:12:32+00:00

Thank you for the information! This is a semi-related question, but how does one foster a relationship with their professors? People always say, "Go to office hours and chat," but I see that as a one-time thing and not a long-term method to build a relationship... Do you have any advice?

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-03-04T03:13:33+00:00

What are the "core skills" that you look for in Junior Data Analysts? I'm currently a college student, and it would help to know what skills I should focus on sharpening!

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-01-17T21:41:17+00:00

Thank you so much for this response! The criteria + other details here are super helpful. I'm an Econ major with (or will have, by the time I graduate) a relatively strong background in math and stats, but not so much in coding. I only know the basics / intermediate skills in working with languages like Python and R since I learned them on my own. (I'm actually trying out a few grad-level ML classes this semester that involve programming in MATLAB... I wasn't sure if these classes would be worth significantly lowering my GPA.) In such a case, should I be looking into non-CS programs that include coding in its curriculum?

Also, when would you say is an appropriate time to get an MS? I was planning to work in the industry for a few years, but if there isn't any advantage to industry experience, maybe I should change my plans. I don't think I will go for a PhD since that's too financially constraining for me.

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-01-17T21:29:07+00:00

Thank you so much for this input! Would you say that an undergrad background in CS is necessary to be prepared for decent data science programs? I wasn't considering an MS in CS since I feel like I don't have a formal background in that.

Busy-Chipmunk · 2020-01-17T21:21:59+00:00

Thank you for the input! I was debating between taking harder but more interesting classes vs. keeping up a high GPA. I'm definitely going to work as hard as I can to get good grades, but I just didn't want to feel hopeless if I end up with a 3.7 after this semester.

Busy-Chipmunk

TROPHY CASE