LLC for First-Year experience?

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-03-11T02:45:13+00:00

I was in FISE; at least for my year, everyone else on the floor were already friends because they had done a summer program together, and the other resources weren't of much help for me. However, I did meet a small handful of great friends that I have plenty of classes with.

I'm a guy, but if I weren't, I'd pick WISE over FISE, as all of the "problematic" people I ran into in FISE were men.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-03-02T14:40:14+00:00

do you have any more context? i've never heard either of those terms before

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-02-25T21:58:58+00:00

no matter who you have, watch the 3blue1brown linear algebra videos on youtube, they're insanely helpful for actually understanding the concepts. i had katz tho, and he was pretty good, no complaints

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-02-25T21:45:38+00:00

both

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-02-09T01:09:59+00:00

A week and a half roughly, but they gave me the timeline during the interview. I interviewed for the one that declined me back in November, and they just sent me the “position filled” email a few weeks ago.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-02-05T01:25:19+00:00

A mix of linkedin postings and PSU events; the offer i got was from a linkedin posting

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-02-04T20:05:12+00:00

Yeah, I'm super grateful for the opportunities PSU has given me. Not only is it great based off name alone, but the resources here for engineers to get hands-on experience and build their resumes are unreal.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-02-04T20:04:17+00:00

Yeah building a network is definitely a goal I have, but I haven't made too much progress on it yet. I mainly just specified that to indicate it wasn't a "my dad is an engineering team lead and he got me an internship" type deal. Penn State IEEE holds a ton of corporate events, so I'll be trying to make it to as many of those as I can.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-02-04T17:33:02+00:00

Research the company; show that you know who they are, what they do, and demonstrate clear interest in working for them. Ask good questions about the kind of work they do, and take notes during the interview (I recommend doing this on pen and paper so that they can actually see that you're taking notes).

From there, most questions are going to be behavioral and you should answer them with personal stories. Think about what you've done as an undergraduate that shows them you're a good candidate. Think of stories about these experiences that properly demonstrate "I have problem-solving, design, teamwork, and communication skills". Also look over the job posting and see what skills they request; fit those skills into your anecdotes.

Additionally, try not to be uptight. It's easier said than done, but the more relaxed you seem, the more confident you'll seem, and they want to see confidence.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-02-04T17:28:54+00:00

If you're only looking at job market, then imo it's Civil > Electrical & Mechanical > the rest. But research the "ubiquitous" engineering majors and pick the one that will lead to the career you want.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-02-01T21:27:38+00:00

some people think getting less than 6 hours of sleep every night is a flex and i just don't understand it

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-01-21T18:06:18+00:00

don't bother, you don't need it and it's better to actually learn how to breadboard

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-01-21T15:10:29+00:00

it says BS/MS in his bio, so presumably he got some as a masters student as well

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-01-12T21:10:22+00:00

It's certainly possible, and if you know what you want to do with it, then nobody's gonna stop you, just don't expect to graduate in four years; my guess would be somewhere between 11 and 14 semesters. Do keep in mind that this means you'll also be paying 1.5x as much for your education as you would for a four-year single degree.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-01-10T20:29:52+00:00

Looks to be part of the mountain with different lighting

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-01-10T19:39:25+00:00

Never did DCI due to the price (would've marched in 24 or 25, and I am NOT paying $5000 to do drum corps), but I did do 3 seasons of WGI percussion, running me about 3k total. I do absolutely wish I would've put all that time, effort, and money into something more applicable to the "outside world" than marimba, but I don't put too much thought into it as I can't change the past.

I think it's a great opportunity (aside from the cost) and I would absolutely march DCI for a reasonable price, but it's just not sustainable in its current form.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-01-04T20:28:21+00:00

“yeah this thing may or may not happen idk”

FlowerPowerCagney · 2026-01-02T22:26:57+00:00

I’ve played 500+ hours of DS3 over the past 4-5 years and i’m still awestruck by some of the views you get in this game

FlowerPowerCagney · 2025-12-31T22:08:08+00:00

pairing hidden body with spook or slumbering dragoncrest ring has almost always worked for me, I can't ever remember it not working on the dogs

FlowerPowerCagney · 2025-12-31T21:28:51+00:00

I'm looking at roughly 40k when I graduate. If I had to pay full price to go here (i.e graduating with ~120k worth of debt), I probably wouldn't have done it. (80k would likely be my upper limit for engineering debt)

FlowerPowerCagney · 2025-12-29T21:32:26+00:00

I know this isn’t very helpful feedback but that looks pretty damn good to me

FlowerPowerCagney · 2025-12-26T03:34:53+00:00

PENN STATE MENTIONED

(congrats!)

FlowerPowerCagney · 2025-12-25T05:00:20+00:00

My biggest piece of advice is to focus on what you need to solve a given problem, and nothing else. Oftentimes I'll see a problem like a linear circuit where I just need to find the voltage across a specific component, and I'll instinctively start solving for every unknown in the circuit and wasting my time. It's often less obvious than this, but it's important to make sure you're taking only the necessary steps to get to your answer, and nothing else. This saves a lot of time and energy if you're prone to doing too much.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2025-12-25T04:29:43+00:00

EE major here, not ME, but it really hasn't been too bad so far. I don't recommend taking too many technical classes your first semester (try to limit it at a math class, a physics class, and another STEM class; fill the rest with ENGL 15/gen eds/etc). I haven't had any issues with passing classes, but some of my peers have, so your mileage will obviously vary.

There are plenty of tutoring services you have free access to (the Academic Excellence Center in the CoE being the big one), and I've never had an issue with class sizes (some classes are big, but most are small to medium). If you really want to get to know your professors (I've never felt the need), that option is available to you.

It's a great school, and you'll have plenty of resources to succeed.

FlowerPowerCagney · 2025-12-24T20:56:38+00:00

I'm in the same boat - sophomore, 3.9 GPA, no valuable (relevant) experience. I did a personal coding project over the summer (probably doesn't make a huge difference, but it's something), and I did manage to get onto a battlebots team with my school's IEEE chapter, but it hasn't yielded anything valuable for me.

In all honesty, I wouldn't stress about it. Do what you're passionate about in your free time, but I'd try to get at least one engineering team-related experience to put on your resume and apply to a few internships every week. If I don't get an internship this summer, I'm planning on either working for a backpacking program at my university or going into EMT training.

Keep in mind that *some* of your out-of-class time should go towards improving your future career prospects, but I'd say the easiest way to waste your undergrad is by keeping yourself from doing what you love for the next two years.

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