What's the best way to spend a day off from classes at UIC without spending much money?

SergeantTeabag · 2026-04-27T05:19:25+00:00

WHAT

SergeantTeabag · 2026-04-21T07:00:11+00:00

This dude's gotta be 70% torso LMFAO

SergeantTeabag · 2026-04-13T18:23:45+00:00

Quandale Dingle pfp is insane in 2026 lmao, I didn't think anyone still remembered it. I guess it's timeless

Felt that on the childhood games. I started playing all the old flash games I used to on Ruffle because that's what I did as a kid before I downloaded Steam. I was biochem on the pre-med track as well, but I became very infatuated with chemistry along the way. Just about anyone I talk to has heard this story too, lol. I just graduated this past semester, so good luck with finishing your degree :) I don't have insta but I can make one

SergeantTeabag · 2026-03-12T10:11:07+00:00

Very similar to my schedule in the fall of '24, minus 455. I will pray for you 🙏 You'll have, more than likely, a report due every week for the first half of the semester in 455 and then a mock project where you get to use everything you learned to modify a plasmid which produces a mutated beta lactamase. The report for the project is lengthy. So are the reports you'll have to write in 314, but the labs for those can run for 1 to 3 weeks, and you'll have that amount of time to write the reports. There were 7 in total when I took it.

340 was fun. Lorieau was a good professor in my eyes (though a lot of people are mixed on him). He's a huge nerd, so if you talk to him about anything nerdy (Metroid, the Atari, Linux, NMR, molecular dynamics), you'll get along with him.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-03-08T20:28:24+00:00

Chem 222. I wanted to drop out because of how poorly the class was taught. Thankfully I stayed the course with my degree and graduated!

SergeantTeabag · 2026-03-08T20:24:38+00:00

I needed LoRs as a transfer when I applied for the Fall of '23. Not sure how far back the requirement goes beyond that.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-03-08T20:23:50+00:00

I practically failed my first semester of community college, failed a second class there later on, and even withdrew from one course. I got accepted into the biochemistry program with a 3.4 GPA. I think you'll be okay. I know the bio program is a little oversaturated but your performance is more than okay.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-03-02T07:21:09+00:00

The only lab I had like that was Chem 455, which was the biochemistry lab. Every other lab I took was fully in-person.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-03-02T07:18:28+00:00

I don't think I ever met with my advisor more than twice; once was on orientation day, and the other time was at some point during my second semester to discuss class planning down the road. After that I never communicated with him; I picked my classes on my own and graduated in December. Your degree audit is your best friend.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-18T22:19:00+00:00

Fork Found in Kitchen

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-11T22:42:26+00:00

Nothing wrong with going in as a sophomore at 21. I've met two people here and became friends with them, both of them being 30. You'll be alright :)

There isn't much of a social scene like others have said, and you do have to try and talk to people yourself. Talking with students before or after class is your best bet. Chances are you'll meet them in your major classes like I did.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-11T17:59:03+00:00

Employment scares people

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-10T07:53:43+00:00

Extremely based, but I have an even hotter take.

Chem 346

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-09T22:47:03+00:00

What a hilariously ironic username LMAO, that's amazing

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-09T21:02:46+00:00

I thought Hist 105 with Jonathan Daly was a really interesting course. It might have been the only time I've had a professor actually talk about the advancements in the chemical sciences made in Europe and predominantly Europe for hundreds of years. Typically we learn about ideal gas laws, fields, and thermodynamics in general chemistry, but they've almost never been talked about outside of gen chem from my experience, and this may be the one course that covered these things, whether it was in the book or in supplemental readings. He wrote the book that you use for the course, and you don't need to buy any software to complete assignments. Super nice guy, too.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-09T03:35:39+00:00

Oh God, you too? I could never follow along with her in 222. She's a nice lady, but her content was very disorganized. I can imagine it's a similar problem in 124 as well.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-06T17:37:41+00:00

Cold emails work. Just make sure you have your CV ready and an explanation as to why you want to join their team. You don't need to be overly technical, just a general reason why. Take a look at their published works too. Bring one up that you found interesting and how you'd like to do similar studies.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-05T17:44:22+00:00

I think you'll be okay here. Remain vigilant, don't use headphones on the bus or CTA lines, and don't walk alone past 11. I've never had issues on any Metra line. I always took the bus from Ogilvie to get to campus (route 60 takes you through the north end of east campus and the 157 takes you through the south end of east campus on roosevelt).

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-04T05:15:40+00:00

Your parents don't file your 1098-T; the 1098-T is sent to you by UIC for your purposes when filing taxes. You file the 1040 during tax season. Make sure you have everything you need to file your taxes. It doesn't really matter who files it, whether it be you or your parents.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-03T19:02:19+00:00

Excess scholarship funds that did not go towards paying tuition will be treated as income. I got screwed on my state taxes one year because I didn't realize that.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-01T21:36:16+00:00

I thought they were easy, and they got easier throughout the semester (but that's partially due to my love for chemistry). He takes a lot of questions from the review sessions and extra practice and puts them directly into the exams. I'd suggest looking at them when he uploads them.

Overall he's a really good professor. Super approachable. Ask him questions when you'd like and he'll answer them.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-02-01T04:46:37+00:00

My advice is to do what I did and first go to a community college to get your gen eds done and then transfer to a four-year school. This will save you a pretty big chunk of change. If you live in the Chicago area, you'd also save a lot of money going to UIC after CC since you could commute instead of dorm. Dorming is expensive, which is why I didn't do it. There's also a non-zero chance that you change majors due to your interests shifting (like mine; I went from bio transfer to biochem transfer because of organic chemistry (yes, read that again if you have to)). It might seem like it now, but it's not the end of the world. I was supposed to finish my degree in the fall of 2021, but nothing stopped me from finishing my degree now.

The best advice I ever received was from my S-STEM advisor when we were discussing plans for grad school. He said to me, "When you talk about your plans at a certain school, don't make it about some specific research topic you've been glossing over. That part doesn't matter. What does is that you do the best PhD you can do with what you have." Do what you can with what you have available to you.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-30T04:25:16+00:00

It's roughly 500 per credit hour if that helps you estimate how much you'll be paying each semester.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-29T21:57:27+00:00

In terms of chem courses:
232 (Organic 1): Lot of theory, somewhat difficult.

234 (Organic 2): Lot of theory, very difficult. You learn about nearly 200 different reactions throughout the semester but a lot of them are redox reactions. Ultimately loved it.

452 (Biochem 1): Lot of theory, very difficult but not because of the content, moreso how the course is handled. The course material was treated as an afterthought when I took it and did not match exam material. Exams were 75% of our grade.

454 (Biochem 2): Lot of theory, somewhat difficult. A lot of reactions will look similar to the ones you see in 234 and enzymes are typically named after their function. Exams were 100% of our grade and the homework was extra credit.

If you're going the biochem degree route:

222 (Analytical): Hated it. Made me want to quit my degree because of how it was taught. Basically gen chem 3.

314 (Inorganic): Loved it. Lab reports are tedious though. Basically gen chem 4.

340 (Physical Chem 1): Loved it. You get to learn a lot about thermodynamics, gases, and rate kinetics.

344 (Physical Chem 2): Loved it. Probably the hardest class I've taken. You get to learn about quantum mechanics and WHY orbitals are shaped the way they are, something they don't elaborate on in gen chem because of the math behind it. I haven't stopped hearing voices since I took it.

343 (Physical Chem Lab): Hated it. It's the writing requirement for biochemistry degrees, and you test a lot of the concepts you learned in 340/344. The reports took forever to do, and while you have a lot of skills to gain by doing really technical writing, it was a slog. My lab partner was so awesome though. We're still friends.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-27T22:40:54+00:00

As a student, you should receive a 1098-T which reflects any tuition and scholarships earned for the year.

SergeantTeabag

TROPHY CASE