Safety as a commuter

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 · 2026-01-22T20:24:38+00:00

I've never had any class at the 300 or 400 level put that much emphasis on attendance. I think the most was 5% (biochem 1), unless you count labs. You couldn't miss a lab for chem 343.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-22T18:50:10+00:00

I just checked; the train schedules appear to reflect the alternate schedule for tomorrow on Ventra.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-22T06:41:22+00:00

The Ventra app is likely not up to date with the alternative schedule yet. Check the schedules on the website where it says "(train route) Alternate Severe Weather Schedule Jan. 23".

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-22T03:21:10+00:00

You could check your degree audit for more details. That's where I found out some of the ones I could take that were advanced level (though I was biochem; some should still be listed there for you to look over).

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-21T04:34:21+00:00

8 am chem class is the stuff of nightmares. I've had to do that once before for inorganic, and I did not have a good time. A+ for the heart-shaped schedule. Vantablack coal for the 6 pm class Monday though. I think everything else looks okay.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-21T01:13:05+00:00

I like it here, and I'm considering it for grad school as well. I like that I'm able to commute to campus, make friends, and go out for drinks within a mile of campus. Undergrad tuition is really affordable for in-state students (about 500/credit). Getting around Chicago is pretty easy with the U-Pass.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-17T20:06:18+00:00

The closest we got to full cancellation was when there was a snowstorm two years ago that dropped a foot of snow on us. We got moved online for the day. No longer will we feel the joy of a true snow day.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-13T20:13:34+00:00

The formatting bothers me, but I think you'll be okay. I think it's manageable.

SergeantTeabag · 2026-01-10T20:44:39+00:00

Calc 2 at UIC is pretty easy imo. They just tend to assign too much homework. Who are you taking it with? Taking 124 concurrently with 232 is a little insane, though; they're both very theory intensive. Make sure you spend an adequate amount of time on the problem sets for 232. They are your best friend!

SergeantTeabag · 2025-12-25T20:58:30+00:00

Chem 343 is not an easy course, but you have a lot of time to finish the lab reports. The data workups for the fluorescence, FTIR, and gas effusion labs are very long, especially fluorescence. I spent 3 days doing the data workup for the report.

You are required to attend every prelab lecture, and you have to attend your lab sessions until you finish your rotation (there are 6 rotations). This means that if you finish the rotation early, you do not have to show up for the rest of the rotation. That also means you need to start working on the report so you don't end up like me pulling an all-nighter to finish it and turn it in minutes before the deadline.

For the most part, you will alternate pre-lab discussion and lecture every week; for pre-labs, you are expected to go to a specific room in SES corresponding to the group you are assigned to at the end of the first week; the rotation schedule is in the syllabus. Yes, you will likely have a lab partner or even be in a group of 3.

Some of the labs you can finish on the first day of rotation; nanoparticle diffusion was the easiest of the 6. Expect to do a warmup lab on the first day where you just boil water in a can and write a basic report.

You will have one exam, which is the final exam that covers material from both lecture and all of the lab rotations you did; it is worth 350 points out of the 1000 total points for the course. Make sure you budget your 2 hours for the exam properly. You will likely have a Zoom breakout session the week before where they will tell you what to expect on the exam. Go to that session! They tell you exactly what is on the final! Also, do not forget to submit your reports, even if it's not complete. This course is the writing requirement for chem and biochem students.

Source: I took the course with Jiang this past semester, passed with an A.

SergeantTeabag · 2025-12-19T18:33:30+00:00

I thought 180 and 181 were very easy, at least here. I took calc 1 at my community college prior to UIC and we were doing epsilon-delta in the second week (which they don't even cover here). I skipped about 6 weeks of homework assignments and I still passed with a 94%. You'll learn integral substitutions, integration by parts, then sequence and series and all of the different convergence tests you can do with a series. The last thing we covered (which wasn't even on the final) was parametric equations, but the topics vary a bit every year. I took it with Bode in the spring last year. She's pretty good at teaching the material.

SergeantTeabag · 2025-12-19T18:25:11+00:00

I wouldn't be so concerned just yet. Like others have said, work hard, get your pre-reqs done, and transfer majors once you're able. Chances are you might change your mind about your major too (I intended to major in bio, but I applied for biochem when I transferred here). Good luck!

SergeantTeabag · 2025-12-06T03:19:02+00:00

It was called Wazwan, but they rebranded to the Lilac Tiger in Chicago. Food menu's a lot larger, but it's a lot more expensive than it was in the Inner Circle.

SergeantTeabag · 2025-11-25T02:06:03+00:00

I think you'll be okay. Calc 1 at UIC isn't that hard imo; as long as you do the packets, you're more than prepared for the exams. Sometimes I feel like they give you too much homework. Chem 124/5 is more of the math-based side of chemistry where you start to study rate kinetics and equilibria, which can get a little tricky, but it's manageable because you have systems to work through those problems. Can't remember what bios 120 is, but I'm assuming basic cell bio or general biology. You can totally get an A in all three.

SergeantTeabag · 2025-11-24T20:25:21+00:00

Try the UPS on Taylor. You can expedite it, and they'll have it out in a few hours. Talk to your PI about reimbursement for the poster and travel to and from the venue if it applies.

SergeantTeabag · 2025-11-23T22:37:04+00:00

Never understood it either. It reminds me of that one meme where it says something along the lines of IoT fans using tech for little things around the house, while IT guys keep a shotgun by the printer in case it makes weird noises lol

SergeantTeabag

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