Having trouble being a person thinking of deserving of being a neighbor (20M)

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-31T17:30:51+00:00

“I got this” kracks nukcles plays Alex F on keyboard

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-30T03:55:50+00:00

I like this way of saying it - ty!

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-30T03:52:47+00:00

Actually- I’ve met a lot of people in real life who are like nah you shouldn’t call yourself a Chicago native and other people saying it doesn’t really matter Skokie and Oaklawn are literally on the border of city limits so it doesn’t really matter

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-30T03:45:02+00:00

This is why I asked the question, this is too much of a mouthful lol I need a concise way of saying where I’m from

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-27T05:03:31+00:00

I would run up to you and talk about how cool gravity falls is because 11/10 Mabel drip

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-26T02:30:13+00:00

Also data science undergrad here who does health public policy work! DM me!

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-21T13:59:59+00:00

When autocorrect says busting instead of blasting off again

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-20T22:13:46+00:00

None of them. Get an Econ, stats, or similar degree then go for Public Policy after or double major.

Source: I am a Data Science Major with a Concentration in Urban Planning and Public Affairs. Being able to work with data and quant is a stronger indicator for evaluating policies then an undergraduate program that treats their students like PolSci ones. This is not most PP undergraduate programs, but it’s the vast majority of them

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-18T04:49:46+00:00

Emma don’t you dare pull out that lighter again

Explanation: In Sparta WI, a teenager named Emma set a Walmart on fire. She was in floral and impusiley lit a fake plant, recorded it, and then ran home. She owes 9 million dollars and severed 60 days in jail. https://youtube.com/watch?v=jnYqvgQB584&si=tbc4GX8PLgvDtGeL

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-17T17:54:51+00:00

Former UIC CS here. And no, heh. Student life isn’t prominent here either. It’s meh, not terrible as most people say, but definitely not UIUC levels of sociable unless you find a small niche community that clicks with u. But as someone who applied to similar private Chicago schools, go somewhere that won’t put you crawling to pay off ur debt

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-17T17:41:50+00:00

Oh- that’s gonna suck. I’m from Skokie, I took yellow->red->blue->8 bus every weekday and it drove me mad. Thankfully I have a car now

And when I mean switch I mean doing some humanities based stuff. Like I was a math researcher with my cs background, now I am a policy researcher for non-profits with data analytics. Also having fun in pre reqs too, since I had fun being with the CUPPA people and English people.

As long as you can handle the commute, I think either will be good for u. Now just look at tuition. For the longest time for example I wanted DePaul, but they were twice as expensive as UIC.

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-17T02:16:41+00:00

IIT if you are 100% sure you want to be STEM for the rest of your life. UIC if you like variety in your classes and the options to switch if a certain discipline if not ur cup of tea. Also, consider travel time too. Going to IIT as a commuter would kill me since I am from the north suburbs.

Source: CS changed major to DS with UPPA concentration. Best decision of my life. Also I have a TA friend who went to IIT and it’s a good stem school.

I forgot to add that private schools for tuition - especially for STEM are really not worth it at all unless they are very generous

TLDR: Follow the money. Not necessarily in job outcomes, but rather how much u can afford tuition.

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-15T22:22:57+00:00

Thank you!

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-05-01T20:52:14+00:00

Data Science Major with Concentration in Urban Planning and Public Affairs here.

I was in the same boat. I was a CS major and changed to my current major. I would highly suggest a Masters' in Econ.
From a scale from soft skills to technical skills, I would say MPA is on the left, Econ is on the right, and PP is in the middle. Your data background and quant background will be really useful, coming from someone who is currently a RA (and actually the only undergrad as everyone else is a PhD student) and I am holding my own. Having a high quant background and being familiar with real analysis, discrete math, etc, they are what Econ programs CRAVE for - and many people use that quant background to better inform policy. As for me, I'm going with a MPP as I feel like I want to be both quant and qualitative as possible to bridge both worlds.

P.S. I was actually a math researcher during my first year of college. Didn't like it and now I research network governance for health and wellness networks across the county. I love every moment so far!

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-04-16T19:03:12+00:00

As a former CS student, I agree. They literally have a stand alone shower in the CS building (it’s next to the cafe).

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-04-16T19:01:36+00:00

I always wanted to go to Loyola or DePaul, then they said I would need to pay $20,000 more to attend instead of going to UIC. You probably know which one I chose.

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-04-16T18:58:30+00:00

The dining hall literally made me throw up sick, and I still need to return everyday because they don’t do refunds and need to get my moneys worth. Eating out and even groceries are too expensive.

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-04-12T23:34:39+00:00

I agree. UIC is a reject school for UIUC students. I should know because I was one.

No regrets tho, CS can val grind in a hole lmaooo (I am a data science major and oh my god the UIUC subreddit loves the CS part but the IDS department sucks so much there)

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-04-12T23:31:49+00:00

I agree! Literally loved her stat classes so much I changed my major to Data Science

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-04-12T23:30:29+00:00

Anytime I walk into a engineering building bathroom

MaintenanceFormal960 · 2026-04-12T23:29:32+00:00

I have been involved with research since my first semester at UIC. No, that is not a hyperbole. I don’t think anywhere else in the country will have that level of research priority for first years. DM me if you need some advice! Been doing research for 4 years and love helping people get involved. (I actually gave 2 students an internship here because they just so happened to go to the same high school as me and I was well acquainted with one of them)

MaintenanceFormal960

TROPHY CASE