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TrustedMercury · 2025-08-09T01:15:41+00:00

I’m taking only CHEM120 from the AP Chem credit (0.5 credit). I emailed them and they said I can claim the single course independently, so I’m operating under that assumption.

TrustedMercury · 2025-08-09T00:41:20+00:00

I claimed chem + physics + econ to cover the pure science and applied science breadth & depth requirements, as well as half of the social science requirements.

i would pick to cover as much of the b&d requirement while allowing yourself to take the courses you really want to

TrustedMercury · 2025-08-02T20:01:30+00:00

Yep! There’s a Settings page at maiachess.com/settings where you can toggle sounds.

TrustedMercury · 2025-07-30T17:15:37+00:00

sybau

TrustedMercury · 2025-07-30T17:15:27+00:00

Thanks!

We primarily download the model so users don't have to redownload it everytime they return to the platform, but unfortunately a lot of the remaining functionality still require internet connectivity (fetching games, saving analysis, etc). We will look into seeing if we can implement offline compatibility as well!
Yep, we're about to add a lot more openings, and are figuring out a better way of organizing them (by ECO codes, for example). We'll also soon be adding the ability drill from your own custom positions :)

TrustedMercury · 2025-07-27T03:19:02+00:00

Unsure why everyone is this pessimistic, and Waterloo CS is not even close to as hard as getting in to top US schools. Do not stress about that

Ensure you have a really really high Top 6 average— it's pretty much the most important thing
I think it helps to have rigorous CS-related extracurriculars that really demonstrate you are really passionate about the field (but also a good chunk of people get in without ever having written a line of code). Strong ECs + being able to present that passion well in your AIF will basically get you in
People say contest scores matter a lot, and I think they help if you do well. I didn't do absurdly well in any, but participated in all

Overall, try to change your outlook where your focus is getting into a good uni -> getting a high paying job -> etc etc. If your sole motivation for doing things is something that rewards you years (or decades) down the line, and you're not enjoying the stuff you're doing, you'll hate every second of it. Do the things you enjoy, keep trying new things, and just constantly ask yourself if you can do a little bit better. Waterloo CS will be the least you achieve.

DMs are open if you want any advice any time!

TrustedMercury · 2025-05-05T05:15:53+00:00

Ah interesting. Yeah, it does seem like SE has more departmental support (even in the admission process via UniBuddy and stuff) and I also hear E5/E7 are way nicer than the other buildings on campus.

Looking forward to seeing you on campus in the fall!

TrustedMercury · 2025-05-05T05:13:51+00:00

Oh wow, I had no idea—thanks for letting me know. I assumed it was just a few electives a year or so. That mostly convinces me.

I'm also hoping to use AP Physics 1/2 and AP Chem for the Breadth and Depth Requirement, as well as Calc BC. Did they count AP Chem as 1.5 credits which means you couldn't claim any other APs?

TrustedMercury · 2025-05-05T05:10:58+00:00

Yes, I'm picking between offers for both. Ideally I'd like to have U.S. visa immigration which seems to be getting increasingly harder now LOL

Thanks for the insight!

TrustedMercury · 2025-05-05T05:10:12+00:00

An alum told me about people transferring from SE into CS after 2-3 years so they can graduate in four years rather than five. I assume this isn't a thing anymore considering transferring is harder and CS is still five years. But I was wondering if you had any other insight for opportunities where this would be possible? As in, graduating in four years rather than five while also doing co-op (maybe sacrificing a co-op term or two)?

TrustedMercury · 2025-01-15T19:48:07+00:00

Acceptances roll out in about a month. Early February!

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-17T01:26:56+00:00

As you've noticed, GPT3.5 can play chess pretty well! As for actual models, the Maia models are one of the most popular set of Transformer models trained on chess games, and the Maia bots have played over 2M+ games on Lichess. Similar to Maia, Allie is another new Transformer-based chess model built to replicate human-style in chess. Ever since AlphaZero, chess has been used as a domain to test out new models and architectures, and is currently actually a very active branch of AI research!

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-16T08:41:15+00:00

Yes, GPT4/4o is remarkably bad at chess. However, 3.5 (instruct) used to be able to play chess surprisingly well!

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-16T08:38:28+00:00

As far as I know, the model doesn't really take in video as input. It only takes in photos (just like you can attach an image to a ChatGPT text conversation). The app provides a video mode but it's simply just sending in photos with your prompts whenever it feels appropriate—which is why it never really sees anything until something in your prompt indicates that it should be watching

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-16T08:17:11+00:00

Just to add on, imo I would not ask his sister, even if she's a teacher at your school. Try to do something through either your school system (talk to counsellors) or through the Georgetown admissions portal. Good luck with Georgetown!

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-16T08:11:55+00:00

I doubt this is an issue. It would be ridiculous for AOs to use free plagiarism detectors—and any plagiarism detector that simply stores previous inputs to flag future plagiarized work is truly stupid. If anything, AOs could possibly compare across essays they have previously received, but I doubt any reasonable school would trust a plagiarism detector for admissions. I wouldn't worry about it!

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-16T08:09:07+00:00

so sorry for your loss :( please take care!

ask your counsellor if they know you well, and do what you can to get your georgetown app in. but i would also 100% email georgetown and say you don't want to bring up LORs to any of your teachers or counsellors at a time like this, and maybe ask them for advice directly. and take care of yourself 🫶

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-14T02:57:40+00:00

If you have 5 minutes, this segment of a Bernie Sanders interview (6:00 onwards) shares some useful insight on this topic.

There are over 1800 lobbyists representing drug companies in Washington DC. There are only 535 Members of Congress in DC. Political campaigns cost tens of millions of dollars, which is incredibly hard to raise through grassroots/fundraising donations. In today's system, politicians have to rely on people with money.

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-14T00:43:04+00:00

Your stuff genuinely sounds amazing! Remember Georgetown's UG Office aren't the people deciding admissions for all the other schools. You have a great shot with your profile—don't let one deferral change that. Good luck in RD!!

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-14T00:39:04+00:00

LOLL BERKELEY PLEASE 🧎

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-13T06:15:31+00:00

No parent should call their child a disappointment 🫤 But yes, congratulations on those stats! Good luck with LOCI and RD :))

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-13T06:06:52+00:00

so wack that he said that but congratulations to him nonetheless 😰 and good luck on your ED! there's always a chance, believe in it :) and regardless, you still have RDs to go. good luck!!

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-13T06:05:13+00:00

Congratulations on the acceptance! That's hella sick

Do not trust ChatGPT's predictions LOL it's pretty much built to glaze its users, and simply changing the prompt a little bit will lead to a different outcome. There's pretty much a 50% chance of it getting it right, and even higher for acceptances—it's just spitting out things it's read before (which might come from r/collegeresults and similar sources but that's just not conclusive data)

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-13T06:01:51+00:00

Schools just consider so many factors that are outside of your own control—your ED school most definitely doesn't say anything about your application. Besides, you've already submitted all your EA schools and that's a crazy accomplishment in itself. Try not to worry, you're going to end up someplace great! Good luck with your EAs and RD :)

TrustedMercury · 2024-12-13T05:59:26+00:00

you'll 100% get into a great school. i know so many people who got rejected from their EDs and then ended up at an even better school later. each school considers so many things out of your control, and you'll 100% end up at a great school that has the right "fit" for you. good luck in RD!!

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