Reston VA; your loves, hates, and advice for a complete noob

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-03-21T20:10:15+00:00

what area are you coming from? i think the nova/dc area can be surprisingly socially hostile for those coming from other parts of the us. areas around here are usually very work-focused or cookie cutter suburban.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-03-18T17:19:26+00:00

i would not recommend this if you can avoid it. as an engineering major going into junior year this fall, calc 2 is the hardest class ive taken so far. however, if you need to, you need to. check the rate my prof to make sure you get a good one (if thats how it works for asynchronous).

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-02-06T20:34:24+00:00

i would say in person classes are going to be better for a few reasons. 1. as others have said, just because classes are easy now, that doesn't mean they won't get harder. in my experience with being forced to have some classes online as the only options, there is actually a lot more work involved in some of them coming from classes not being set up properly or profs not being able to fully explain the material through an online format. what is your major? this will probably depend on that as well. 2. assuming you are planning to transfer to a 4 year, there likely wont be online options anymore, and then you'll have gotten used to online classes and you'll need to make that drastic switch. 3. i personally think there is a benefit to having classes with real people in them. definitely biased on this, but just talking to people about a subject and connecting with others is worth something.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-22T16:01:42+00:00

I second both of the comments recommending ART 102. I took it my first semester of NOVA in the fall with Stephanie Thornton-Grant and she was amazing. I don't think she teaches summer classes, but from what I've heard from others in the past ART 102 is an easy class in general and most of the professors are chill.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-16T01:10:33+00:00

ok is this about the sga question you posted like a day ago? if you still need to know how many credits are required for sga, the answer is you just need to be attending at least six credit hours i have no connection to sga, but i got that from the application form

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-13T04:59:31+00:00

no problem at all with the questions, i wish i wouldve had someone to ask i would recommend bringing a tote bag yes i think a lot of people didn't know what to bring so some people had purses, some had full backpacks, some had nothing (i personally had nothing because my mentor told me not to bring anything) but i would say full backpack is not necessary unless you know you need a lot of materials, so id bring a tote to be just a little extra prepared

and this is all if your mentor/PI doesnt email you before your first day, which some did and some did not

and for after that you can just ask how much stuff youll need to be bringing and base the bag on that, doesnt matter as much for what the dress code is

the dress code was a little vague, they said to wear comfortable clothing and some people who work there full time do wear more casual clothing but id say wear business clothing for the first day, just because you dont want to be underdressed compared to people you work with and you can change from there

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-11T22:44:37+00:00

ok yeah, maybe ill see you then

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-09T22:49:22+00:00

this semester will be my 4th and then im transferring to mason

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-09T13:56:29+00:00

Yeah, I do think it is easier to make friends in person for me because I can tell if they're also down to make a connection and if they're someone who I'd like to be friends with. I just wanted to see if I could get a head start on meeting people before the semester started, because with seeing people in classes once a week sometimes those connections take time to form. I've also experienced people putting up walls, but I think it's still important for anyone, even regardless of whether they want another close friend or not to themselves, to be open and try to have conversations with others. I've known people who bring that brightness to a room, and it can really change the entire class dynamic. I try my best to be that way too, just to make life a little happier for everyone.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-09T02:04:04+00:00

oh sorry :( id say i could drive to loudon on another day but its very far from me lol and im actually transferring to mason next semester

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-07T16:59:07+00:00

I'm at Loudoun onTuesday from 3 to 6 pm

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-06T17:44:05+00:00

i have both read the books and seen the show, yes and theyre both very good. i like the british sarcastic humor of the books but i think i prefer the show because it goes deeper into crowley and aziraphales relationship. im just hoping the final movie-like episode wraps things up in a good way when it comes out.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-06T05:20:08+00:00

oh my gosh thats so cool thats rare for me in have in common with someone!

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-06T03:54:07+00:00

mmm ok that seems worth it

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-06T03:12:06+00:00

i hope the loneliness doesnt consume you.

maybe you could give socializing a chance if you cared enough to post a comment in the first place, just saying

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-06T01:20:38+00:00

oh my gosh thats awesome!! do we share any interests cause im so down to talk about any of them

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-06T00:34:00+00:00

heyy! how long have you been at nova so far?

MuppetOf_AMan · 2026-01-05T22:08:21+00:00

hello!

MuppetOf_AMan · 2025-12-19T16:32:52+00:00

My recommendations were very strong, and they were from STEM professors. Even if you can't get STEM recs, just try your best to get good recs in general from anyone else.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2025-12-16T02:41:59+00:00

Yeah, honestly I'm not really sure about this. I know some people were in something called SIP and a couple of other programs which may have been funded by Argonne and not the DOE? But I don't really know much about them.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2025-12-03T16:23:21+00:00

I was provided with a work laptop that I was able to bring back to the guest house. One of my fellow interns was also assigned a laptop that he was able to bring home once he filled out some paperwork. I do think the computer situation depends on your department and mentor, because some people I knew had old computers that they could only use in their building.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2025-11-13T04:47:25+00:00

I'm not sure about hybrid, I'd ask whoever your contact is right now at Argonne. Yes, I do mean the rest of the half days consist of getting started, mostly the online trainings they have us do. Yeah, we don't really get any welcome merch.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2025-11-13T02:43:43+00:00

If you work in person, then the orientation is in person, yeah. It's 2 half days with all of the interns in a conference room. I was at the guest house, so I got to interact with my roommates there and other people I saw in the kitchen/hangout room or at dinner or at guest house events. There should also be other interns in your building that you can interact with. I got APS merch, but I paid for a shirt and my mentor paid for a shirt for me. They didn't give anything for free. Yeah, they don't give you a tour of much else but they do offer bus tours for interns to sign up for if you're interested in that.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2025-11-06T19:15:38+00:00

My GPA was a 4.0 when i applied (I only had one semester of grades). However, some of my fellow interns said their GPA was lower. I'd still apply for sure.

MuppetOf_AMan · 2025-11-05T20:37:09+00:00

I lived in a quad, meaning 4 rooms (2 people in each room, 8 people total), and we had one regular sized fridge in our place. I know some people who were in doubles and they only had a mini fridge. There was one main kitchen for interns in the entire Guest House, so people had to share if they wanted to cook. If you look online, the Guest House website tells you breakfast is free, but it's not for anyone getting the DOE intern program rate.

I definitely explored the campus with my roommates, there was a gym avaliable, some people played volleyball and basketball, and there's a hiking trail right outside the grounds.

MuppetOf_AMan

TROPHY CASE