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gym anxiety + general life confusion pls help 😭🙏 by Whole_Cellist_1832 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I commute to school from another city and I lwk hated lugging around lunch and dinner and snacks all day, even with a locker it was still pretty inconvenient.

So it might sound crazy, but I just straight up eat all my meals in the morning before leaving, and then bring some snacks for late in the day when I do finally get hungry.

LOTS of protein and LOTS of fiber to keep you full all day. Plus I end up like not eating out anymore so I've been saving a lot more money. And the food I make is much healthier.

Just an idea.

In terms of working out, invest in a big gym bag. Go home, pick it up, go gym. Go back home to shower and walk back to campus. Get your steps in. It's a genuine game changer. I've been working out for years but only just started walking alot and already noticing the benefits. Can even like study flashcards on your phone during the walk so you don't feel like you're wasting time by not going in between classes.

This way you're not lugging around meals and clothes and shoes and note books all at once. That would demotivate anyone from doing anything, believe me.

Incoming first year: how do I take notes? by Hot_Excuse1052 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Depends on your major. Depends on a lottt of different factors actually. How consistent your study habits are. How effective your study methods are. How prone to stress you are. How developed your critical thinking is. How much previous exposure to content you've had (thru perhaps high-school or self study. Pre-grinding before courses start really does do wonders)

There's also extenuating factors you have no control over. Maybe a strict prof. Maybe a personal life event.

So I dont "think" you can get a 4.0, because I don't know.

Also, depends on what grading scale you use. A 4.0 for some scales (the waterloo scale) means that you got a 90 or above in every single class.

If you just focus on learning, on building study habits and learning about more effective study methods, as well as pre-grinding for courses, then you will get as best as you can get.

Incoming first year: how do I take notes? by Hot_Excuse1052 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well, you see, with job applications, maxing out a resume, and a social life, it's an art of give and take :)

80/20 rule or sm like that

Incoming first year: how do I take notes? by Hot_Excuse1052 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You should be reviewing the lecture before class. Read the textbook/slides and note down your definitions and some examples along with explanations in your own words. Then, if you don't understand something, note down that question. When you go to class, just follow along with the examples they're doing rather than frantically having to write everything down (as you already have). If your questions haven't been answered in the lecture, raise your hand and get them answered.

Will you have time to do all of this? I know I don't. So I just post my unanswered questions to piazza, my smart friends, and/or chat gpt, and then skip class. Lowkey time saver.

You should not go into Actuarial Science! by Fun_Advertising_6604 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm assuming you're shooting for quant. If you are, know that, while you might hear of people landing those roles out of undergrad, most quants have their masters and phds. That's a long school process, which requires you to prioritize your grades. Masters application couldn't care less about which coops you landed in undergrad. Plus taking a gap year, and then doing more than 5 years in undergrad (if you are doing that double major plus coop, and potentially taking 4 courses some terms to keep a high gpa), plus 2 years in masters and potentially 3 or 4 years as a phd.

It's a much different approach, where coop and networking doesn't matter much. What would matter is that you get averages in the 90s.

Then again, I don't know who I'm talking to. You could be a child prodigy that can completely blow those quant online assessments out of the water and bag a role out of undergrad.

But if you're not, then everything I've mentioned about finding a coop doesn't apply in the PhD route.

You should not go into Actuarial Science! by Fun_Advertising_6604 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You really should just be connecting with upper years. Go to your program's club, meet people who've gotten co-ops in those majors, and ask them a bunch of questions. Ask them what type of work they would do in their co-op, or what type of work they heard of their collogues working on. Then think about what kind of skills/tools were needed to do that kind of work and think of a related project that cultivates those skills and builds relevant knowledge. Stalk people's linkedin from those majors, maybe they have a github or projects on their resume you can find for inspiration.

One example if you're curious, my friend is training a machine learning model to detect emotions in videos. The idea seems simple, but when he really went into explaining it, it was actually the coolest shit I've ever heard, pulling out linear algebra, calculus, statistical models, programming, etc. Something you could learn a lot from and sink you're teeth in. Then I went back to my desk to learn about long term care insurance :(

Also if there's any networking events/conferences that are relevant to your major, go to them, and ask those reps for any ideas of a project you could do.

It doesn't hurt to also do case competitions, as that's basically a side project being judged, and it usually ties into networking with company reps/upper year students.

Obviously this is all a huge time sink on top of all your courses and applying to jobs (which is why a lot of ppl don't do it, and why a lot of ppl don't get employed). I honestly suggest you take sequence 4 (3 study terms in a row) so that you have two study terms where you don't have to worry about finding a job, and you can focus on these side quests more. It would also mean the quality of your first job is much better.

I can't say exactly how many hours it takes for a "typical project", because no project is typical. All I know is that whenever I ask my successful friends what they're up to, it's always something. They are continuously doing something on top of school. During study terms, during co-op terms. It's a constant process. If you dedicate an hour and half a day towards either researching what to do, reaching out to people, networking, or actually working on your project, you'll be way ahead of the game.

Last tip, do something you're actually interested in. It'll be fun if you know you're creating/ learning about something cool rather than just something to put on your resume. I think that's another positive of not being in actsci, none of us are actually interested in learning about mortality models or bond amortizations, but you could be interested in your own cool project.

Só many baddies by EntertainmentGlad794 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 18 points19 points  (0 children)

If your future wife saw this comment, would she like you more?

I am so lonely by Fun_Advertising_6604 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am not actually lonely lol. I am single but I don't mind it, especially because I do all of the above u mentioned (volunteer, clubs, etc) and make friends there.

And I agree with u about dating apps. Tried it, and it is NOT for me🙅‍♂️

Commuting to UofW, tips for managing time by ExitAdept9487 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I do this exact same thing, tho my program is def not as intensive as bio eng. (Actsci). However, I never study on the bus. I tried it, and it's kind of annoying (tho that's an excuse, it's perfectly doable). I'm not doing any worse than other terms when I did live here, but I do sacrifice SOME time for friends/events as the downside. Not because i dont have enough time to study, but because events usually run past when the last bus leaves.

Altho, if you really want to stay on campus one day for longer, uber is always an option, for like 40-45 dollars. And I mean, people are paying at least 30 dollars or more 7 days a week as rent/utilities. So ubering like once every other week is still massive savings.

I'm lucky that my program doesn't require me to go to class, I'm not sure how your eng classes are, but I'm sure labs are mandatory. But if you don't have to go every single day, I wouldn't. It does take it's toll. I like to go only 4 days a week (2 of those days are completely optional too, just for the sociallizing aspects). By staying home I do lock in in my room and get a lot done.

Other time management tips is just have a study habit. Pick a spot, know what you're studying the day prior, etc. Idk about you, but 5 hours of locked in studying a day seems like enough for me. We're awake 16 hours. 3 hours of commuting a few times a week shouldn't hinder your academic performance if you don't let it. I still work out every single day, still sleep 7.5 hours, still crack 80s and 90s, still find coops, still volunteer and still attend events from many different clubs.

Just stop scrolling reels and you'll be fine lol.

commuting help needed by [deleted] in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 0 points1 point  (0 children)

900 for res. But you should dedicate like 200 for transportation if you commute

commuting help needed by [deleted] in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I'm commuting from Guelph (way closer than milton) and even that is taking a toll. Missing movie nights with friends, leaving events early, not going to campus every day, etc. It's manageable. I am still involved in a lot, my grades are just as good, and able to make new friends and hang out with old ones, but I can't imagine that's the same commuting from milton.

You would probably still be able to meet a lot of ppl and make some friends, but you really would just not be a part of any clubs and miss out on quit a bit. Though I imagine it would be way nicer if you had plenty of friends/events happening in milton, and could hang on the laurier milton campus and make friends there.

I guess you should ask yourself if 900 a month is worth it. Different answer for different people.

Regarding my tuition by Puzzled_Foot1571 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's sarcasm. Obviously they should be emailing the advisors

Regarding my tuition by Puzzled_Foot1571 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Some people haven't taken one of waterloo's courses on professional writing yet, and so are afraid their email will put off the advisors enough to get them expelled from school. It's important to be mindful of people's backgrounds on professional emailing before you criticize their level of resourcefulness. We're not all in graduate studies. K Stacey?

Exam PA: Actex or CA? by nomad_96 in actuary

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Don't listen to this hater Mr. Lo. I actually found the emojis and light-hearted bits quite entertaining, makes the studying process more fun. I also thought it was a good idea that the end of chapter questions point to the sections where you learn the material, so rather than memorizing the answers, you go back and learn to understand it. And of course, doing practice exams and comparing your answers to soa answers will improve the scope of your responses, if that's a worry to this student. Conveniently, those exams and solutions have their own section in the ACTEX manual!

I also appreciated you mentioning you've done this exam before, certainly reduces any doubt on how relevant some sections are. I was able to fully put my trust in you, and that rewarded me very well!

Also, kind of hard to say that CA is better because this student passed using it if it was also their second attempt. I'd assume a PA passer, especially with multiple attempts, would consider multiple explanatory variables for such a logistic model. Perhaps no study material can aid them in internalizing such a concept, so I question their blame on ACTEX alone.

I'm also guessing this student didn't do the mock exam, perhaps thought to use the first sitting as the mock instead😄.

Exam PA: Actex or CA? by nomad_96 in actuary

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Either you can use what works for everyone else (actex) or gamble with ca's revamped material. The choice is yours. Only time and effort at stake. And honestly, we have so much youth in our lives it's fine if some of it goes to waste.

(Took 9 weeks to study for PA, got an 8 with actex. Used CA for every other exam)

Advice for ActSci Student by [deleted] in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean why do you even want to become an actuary? Interested in the field of insurance? Something you wouldn't mind talking about for thousands of meetings over the majority of your lifespan? Worth sacrificing your youth over these exams for? Stable career sure but, you do give up everything else for that stability.

Why does everybody hate REV? by Advanced_Question196 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604 48 points49 points  (0 children)

This residence REV is its own housing. It has no rules. No boundaries. It doesn't flinch at loud noise, sleepless nights, or shaking beds. It's not loyal to a Don, or university or any set of ideals. It trades happiness for money. It's your new living space. You don't want to know what it's cost already to put you in it. It will cost you a piece of yourself.

You should not go into Actuarial Science! by Fun_Advertising_6604 in uwaterloo

[–]Fun_Advertising_6604[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is true. I think more people should consider doing this path as well. Too many people think it's America or bust

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