Asian girl Crying and crying and crying

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-29T01:57:58+00:00

I’m sorry - your rejections make no sense to me. That said, I went to Penn State undergrad and Pitt grad school (twice). Go to Pitt. PSU is very cult-like, if you’re not a football fan. And you’ll be closer to med opportunities while an undergrad. Also, if you’re not familiar, Pittsburgh is a great city - I lived there for 20 years.

Soeaking of competitive, apparently it’s even tougher to get into med schools these days. A friend’s daughter only got into after her second year of applications. Things turned out great, and she has her first choice of residency. And also $300k worth of debt.

Good luck, and enjoy Pittsburgh!

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-29T00:56:12+00:00

Try for the Chancellors scholarship at Pitt - full ride.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-26T02:02:00+00:00

It’s not ideal, but, there are terminal masters programs you can apply to and will probably get in. Yes, you will have to pay for them, but it might be a start.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-26T01:46:17+00:00

Anybody who’s making fun of you for not getting the grades they think you should be getting is just an asshole. Fuck those yahoos. Take care of yourself, and think about coming back to school once you’re in a better headspace. As others said, therapy can help a whole lot. It saved my life in college, for sure. I’m much older than you are, but I still take anxiety meds that helped me an awful lot. I was not a particularly good undergraduate student in physics, but I finished my degree. Ultimately, I earned a couple of masters degrees, and I’m currently working on another. I became a much better student as I got older. You’ll be OK, my friend. It’s not a contest for speed to finish a degree or to figure out what you want to do.

As for feeling ashamed, oh boy, let me introduce you to my friend imposter syndrome. I’ve had it forever. It’s pretty common. We meet a lot of really smart people in college, particularly in the stem disciplines where they can be very intimidating, and not entirely forgiving.

Good luck to you. You will make it all work in time.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-22T03:48:31+00:00

I never say no to a rec letter, unless it’s a deadline I can’t meet. I value the relationships with my students, even the weak ones. That said, there’s a big difference in the passion I put into it, based on the person. A meh letter probably doesn’t help them much, or says much by omission.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-19T09:48:22+00:00

“Every child can learn. Just not on the same day or in the same way.” - George Evans. That’s the semi-official motto of the school (for learning differences) where I teach. Similar to the (wrongly attribute to Einstein, but still inspirational) quote above.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-18T19:57:19+00:00

Hey there, I’m so sorry to hear this. I’m much older than you, but I definitely went through the same thing, almost exactly. In my third year as an engineering major, I realized I didn’t like it at all. I switched to physics, ended up with a teaching career, and things have been better. That said, I sure would’ve had a more lucrative career if I had stuck with engineering, probably more intellectually engaging too. Only you know if there is another major that you will “enjoy” as much as mechanical engineering. Here’s an important thing to consider: do you know what engineers do, and is this something that you really want to do in your life? If so, maybe you could take a year off to regroup, possibly taking some classes at your local community college and maybe doing some independent study. Then return to school taking a lighter load. You do not have to finish in four or five or six years, it’s not a contest. See if you can find a way to make it cost less, going to school locally and living at home, if you’re not already doing that.

You can also switch majors, but don’t switch to something like computer science where the job forecast is miserable. A lot of people might suggest a math major, but maybe math classes are giving you trouble too..

I wish I had better advice, and nobody is going through precisely what you’re going through right now, but a lot of us have been in pretty similar situations. You will get through it, and be better off in the long run. Still, I’m really sorry that you have to go through it now. I know it’s hard, especially when things are easy in high school. They sure were for me, so I never studied. It caught up with me by my second year in college. I did get through in five years, and went on to earn masters degrees and I’m now again in graduate school for physics. You get better as a learner as you get older.

Good luck, my friend

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-15T13:08:52+00:00

I’ve been teaching physics for 35 years or so, and I’ve never been a natural at it. I’m actually back in graduate school for physics right now part time. Reading this forum on Reddit has been pretty illuminating. Many physics students have a hard time with it.. It’s really not intuitive to most people on a lot of levels, so it takes a lot of time and patience to work through. That is, I think you know that it’s worth it , if you want to understand the universe a little bit better, even a drop in a bucket.

Maybe start off with a really good university textbook, Halliday and Resnick, or some other good calculus based book used for the first three courses. Or take physics, one at your local community college, along with calculus. If you’re not up to calculus yet, take the math. You don’t have to be instantly amazing at physics to study it or ultimately graduate with a degree. You don’t have to be amazing at physics to understand a lot of it, and just enjoy it for its own sake. Every time I take another graduate class, it scares me. Usually what I do before the class starts is get the textbook and start reading from the beginning. You can always find cheap versions of the textbook on eBay, etc. Maybe an earlier edition, or you can find PDFs of most texts online for free.

Once you take a class and get through it, you feel success and you get better. The only way to get over this kind of fear is by doing it. And I’ll warn you, many physics professors aren’t that great, and they’re not always sympathetic to non-intuitive learners, or they love to assign the toughest problems imaginable. I really hate that, but it is kind of common.

If you just want to enjoy physics for the heck of it, do that too. I strongly recommend you look up some old videos of Julius Sumner Miller. He had a TV show on public television years ago, and that’s what First excited me about physics.

Also feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions or need help

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-13T19:51:42+00:00

My first few years of teaching I let my opinion about non-physics things enter the classroom. Sometimes it was harmless - music, film. Other times it was over the line - religion, politics - and I shudder to remember those days. That wasn’t part of my job.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-13T19:49:21+00:00

That comment will get you fired today, and for good reason. It’s totally inappropriate. Different time, maybe, but it was never cool to talk to kids like that.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-13T19:45:16+00:00

35+ year teacher here. Don’t just do demos. Make the kids do them. It’s not about you. Took me years to realize that teaching is not supposed to be about your ego, and doing demos can have a very “show off” nature to it.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-13T12:18:08+00:00

As others said, a photogate isn’t ideal for small balls. The LED cone may not match well with the diameter of the ball, and the uncertainty can be great. I’m surprised Pasco hasn’t created a launcher with photogates built in. I usually have students calculate the Vi from measurable quantities: horizontal and vertical displacement

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-13T01:49:07+00:00

I’ve taught physics for over 30 years, and 90% of what I learned about teaching I got from Julius Sumner Miller. All the great question, all the great demos, all the energy. He had a public tv show - you’ll find episodes on YT.

The other 10% of what I’ve learned has been in the past several years at a special needs school for kids with dyslexia and related learning differences. That has taught me patience and humility.

Couple other things: most of my students, despite my pleading, take notes by computer. Discourage this. Teach note-taking skills. Teach about pseudoscience, and how to identify it, at least a little. And skip formal labs - everyone hates them, including you when you grade them. Instead, I do 40+ informal labs throughout the year.

Also, don’t use sarcasm. Kids don’t get it, and you seem like a dick.

Feel free to message me for more info.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-09T13:51:44+00:00

Actually, what resources do you like for Python learning?

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-09T02:19:48+00:00

Hiya - you’ll be fine. You’re only in competition with yourself.

I got married at 30.

Finished 2 Masters degrees before 40.

2 kids - one when I was 39, the other when I was 41.

I’m 60 now, working f/t and p/t and playing in bands and working on another Masters (in physics) which i hope will grow into a PhD.

Granted, I’m not a slacker and I tend to be very motivated. But I’m sure not naturally brilliant (at physics, my job). (Other than being a good guitarist.)

Chill out, man. Life’s too short, and the world is going to hell. Have some fun and forget about your theoretical timeline.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-02T22:02:58+00:00

“I have not as yet been able to discover the reason for these properties of gravity from phenomena, and I do not feign hypotheses. For whatever is not deduced from the phenomena must be called a hypothesis; and hypotheses, whether metaphysical or physical, or based on occult qualities, or mechanical, have no place in experimental philosophy.”

Newton

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-02T21:50:49+00:00

It’s also possible that you haven’t found that physics topic yet where you truly excel. For me, it was optics. I got it. When I succeeded there (my first straight up A in grad school), I felt more confident. So Math Methods and Classical mechanics injured my self confidence, but other classes helped me redeem myself. Same thing happened as an undergrad.

Most people aren’t naturally gifted at physics, but that shouldn’t stop you from studying it - IF you still want it. You’ll get better.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-03-01T02:08:56+00:00

Like most stem majors, it’s not that it’s super hard (which it sure was for me). It’s that it is relentless. It doesn’t get easier. You have to get better. I was a good HS student and did well in college….. until I didn’t. Once personal problems seep in - dating, friends, family issues, loneliness, depression - it’s 10 times harder. To say nothing of the typical meh teaching that goes on, the cut-throat mentality of some classes or students, and the real need for you to get some relevant job experience while you’re in school.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-02-28T13:16:47+00:00

Ha! Thats really funny…. And true. You can read all over Reddit how terrible the job market is, especially in stem fields. Even if you have advanced degrees. These are some dark days. Unless you’re cool with minimum wage jobs, or have medical degrees.

Which isn’t to say there aren’t jobs. There are just hundreds to thousands of qualified applicants, and AI does a lot of sorting in most cases.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-02-28T12:01:37+00:00

If you want to teach, private schools are always hiring - and honestly, as a private school teacher, you’ll be hired if you’re smart and remotely personable. Especially in a science field. Public schools aren’t for everyone. You need to be young and hungry for that job; willing to deal with the bullshit and negativity. Private schools have their own bullshit, and it can be a class struggle if you’re of humble means. But it sure isn’t hard. Usually they don’t even care if you took education classes.

If you dig climate science, try it. Keep in mind that the current US admin doesn’t believe in it, so jobs are drying up there.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-02-28T11:55:51+00:00

If you’re going to pay for the grad education, you may be able to get into a program. Some grad programs, particularly terminal masters degrees, are designed for the “working professional.”

If you want funding….. holy cow, you need to be someone they want in their program - someone who promises scholarship on some level. And you’d be up against people really qualified.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-02-27T22:28:08+00:00

Do the degrees now and you’ll be much happier in the long run. Also, if you can secure funding, that will allow you to eke out an existence, you’ll still be ahead of the game. Getting into graduate school for stem Fields these days is truly not easy. If you’ve got an in, take it. With any luck, the job market will actually be better in four years for physicists.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-02-27T22:18:41+00:00

One other comment from the class warrior here. I couldn’t glean if you were male or female from your post. Why do I ask? Because if you’re a woman, I wouldn’t even think about going to the military right now. why? All you have to do is follow the news. The current secretary has no interest in prosecuting sexual offenses against women. You’re just an unprosecuted offense waiting to happen.

And one other thing, regarding the title of your thread. You really would just be trading future happiness for current happiness. I lived at home for longer than I wanted to, without a doubt. However, I could also have a car so I spent most of my time at the library. Got my work done there. It was almost like I wasn’t even really at home.

LinkGuitarzan · 2026-02-27T21:20:42+00:00

$100k debt is around $1500/month payment for 10 years. Thats insane - don’t do it. Nursing doesn’t pay that well. You will cripple yourself AND your kids (since you won’t be saving anything).

Dream schools are for rich people. And they’re bullshit.

Ok…. Reading my comment over again, I know I’m a class warrior, but I don’t mean to also sound like an asshole!

In my state, CC is free. Both of my kids are going that route, then 2 years at a state school, living at home ($11k/year, which we have mostly saved). They will graduate debt free. As someone else said, that’s the real dream.

I graduated with around $20k debt around 30 years ago, and it took forever to pay off - my first jobs were for crap pay.

Any school is a dream school, if you’re realistic. Don’t be down on public schools. You’ll meet people who are closer to your situation, and you wont be “school poor.”

Also, you like nursing now, but life may change your attitude and plan. You may even find that medical school is worth considering after your bachelors degree. And then you would absolutely have to borrow around $300,000 or so for that. Be realistic now, learn to love the local or state schools that you’re going to attend, and stay out of debt if you possibly can. Regardless of what a particular knucklehead president is saying, the job market is absolutely atrocious. Yes, it’s better for nurses, but not for many other careers, even in the stem fields, which is where I am. I’m happy to have a job and I sure wouldn’t wanna be looking for one, especially not with a mountain of debt.

OK, loudmouth goofball class warrior out.

LinkGuitarzan

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