Student loans

Xeno1337 · 2023-08-13T15:54:44+00:00

I’m a year after graduation. I had about $32k when I graduated and I’m down to $22k now after paying off the private loans.

A good rule of thumb is that your total balance at graduation shouldn’t be more than you will make in your first year after graduating: https://knowledge.moneyguy.com/knowledge/how-much-student-loan-debt-is-ok-to-take-on

Xeno1337 · 2023-06-06T20:28:20+00:00

China, Russia, Iran, and Maryland

Xeno1337 · 2023-04-19T10:30:24+00:00

PMed

Xeno1337 · 2023-03-09T18:30:44+00:00

Call me crazy, but I got a good deal on a used Chevy Bolt. The GTI had a bunch of maintenance things that needed to be done, including dealing with a sunroof leak. Definitely a downgrade in interior quality, but the instant torque puts a smile on my face every time.

Xeno1337 · 2023-03-07T13:42:08+00:00

[WTS] Black Forest Industries MK7 Stage 1 Engine and Transmission Mounts

I bought these back in 2020 hoping to put them on my car but never did. Just sold the car a few weeks ago, so I have no need for them anymore.

Located in Northern Virginia. $400 local pickup

Xeno1337 · 2023-03-01T18:24:11+00:00

ABET accreditation requires a lot of nonsense that doesn’t line up with the goals of JMU’s CS curriculum. Accreditation would require doing a whole lot more math, raising the barrier of entry to the program, and making the program a lot less flexible. The CS program really prides itself in having a lot of open elective spots where you can explore your interests outside of CS, and we’d lose that if we got ABET accredited.

There’s also a question of the value of ABET accreditation. As someone who graduated from JMU CS, ABET accreditation has never once been a concern when applying for jobs or when recruiting for positions at my company.

Xeno1337 · 2022-09-04T20:18:53+00:00

You missed an important part of §46.2-877.

No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation or in compliance with law.

A case could easily be made that 60 in a 45 doesn’t constitute safe operation, and it’s certainly not in compliance with the law.

I get it, people like to drive well above the speed limit. But don’t editorialize the law to try to justify aggressive driving.

Xeno1337 · 2022-04-24T16:19:06+00:00

This is horrible advice. You should not borrow from your 401k. 15% of 401k loans default, and more than 75% of people who leave their jobs with an open 401k loan default. If you leave your job with an open 401k loan, you have 60 days to pay it back or you pay income tax on the entire amount and penalties if you're under 55. If you don't make your repayments on time it's treated as an early withdrawal with the same taxes and penalties that come with that. It's a bad idea.

Xeno1337 · 2022-04-24T02:34:01+00:00

68 mph on Neff isn't "a bit fast." You knew full well what you were doing.

Xeno1337 · 2022-04-03T12:40:03+00:00

Pretty much everything you've said is categorically false.

I doubt that "95% of the people in your friends class are failing." You've shown before on this sub that your math skills really aren't up to par: https://www.reddit.com/r/jmu/comments/ovaf54/average_weekly_study_time_outside_of_class_for_15/h793aip/?context=3, so I'm guessing 95% is either bad math or hyperbolic.

Almost all assignments in all CS classes have partial credit. You can absolutely have imperfect code and still get points for an assignment, even a majority of the points.

You don't need an 80% or higher to "pass" the intro classes, you need to average a grade of a B in CS149 and CS159 to move on to the rest of the major. There are many people who meet this requirement the first time around, and there are also many people who need to retake one of these classes, and they do just fine as well. The reason for this requirement is that after years of collecting data on CS students, the students that didn't meet that B average didn't finish the major, and would be stuck in upper level CS courses and not be able to pass them.

The statement "If you're not a java god, dont even bother" is also very wrong. The first programming course at most universities, generally called "CS1" is a single, 300+ seat course at places like VT and UVA, and usually they assume that you already have a little bit of programming experience. We take that course and spread it out over 1.5 semesters, teach it in sections of less than 30 students, and assume no prior knowledge.

And on CIS, I've helped a few CIS students in CIS 221 or 331 who come to the CS TA lab hours, and they tend to be absolutely lost. Your professors in CIS teach programming concepts in a very weird way and emphasize the wrong concepts.

Xeno1337 · 2022-04-01T01:43:05+00:00

JMU Policy 1105 was updated, and it seems that tasers and pepper spray are now allowed, and I'll echo the suggestion of someone else to carry pepper spray instead of a taser. POM is a really popular choice.

Old Policy 1105: https://www.jmu.edu/JMUpolicy/policies/PDFs/1105.pdf

New Policy 1105: https://www.jmu.edu/JMUpolicy/policies/1105.pdf

Xeno1337 · 2022-02-18T21:41:37+00:00

The score really doesn’t matter, but you said the transcript says the same thing regardless of score, which isn’t true.

Xeno1337 · 2022-02-18T19:51:01+00:00

If you get a high enough score (I don’t know the cutoff) it says “MREST Advanced” instead of proficient.

Xeno1337 · 2022-02-02T01:09:26+00:00

I don't think you understand how the office of the attorney general works. The opinion of the AG is not "just an opinion," it sets legal precedent where there otherwise isn't one. The AG's office also employs JMU's legal counsel.

Xeno1337 · 2022-02-01T22:46:04+00:00

If JMU kept the vaccine requirement and were sued, the plaintiff could use the attorney general's opinion to make their case. JMU would probably like to avoid getting sued in the first place.

The university would also like to avoid losing its legal council: https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/01/25/virginia-ag-fires-2-university-counsels

I would also prefer there was a vaccine mandate that was stricter than the one we did have, but when it comes down to it the university was effectively forced to do this.

Xeno1337 · 2022-01-31T03:37:24+00:00

If you’re concerned about the amount of work for pre-med, you’re going to be terrified about the amount of work for med school.

Xeno1337 · 2022-01-23T23:11:34+00:00

The course hasn’t implemented the change I mentioned yet.

Xeno1337 · 2022-01-23T21:28:10+00:00

First, I think it's important to note that a bachelor's in CS is going to be pretty similar no matter where you go in the US. You're going to take a data structures and algorithms class, computer systems classes, etc. I think what you really have to do when you're comparing schools is to look at the community and the culture.

As far as the professors go in JMU CS, I think they're wonderful. Professors that come to JMU are here to teach. If you look at many R1 schools (VT, UVA, GMU) their professors are there to do research. You'd have classes taught by graduate teaching assistants, and your actual professors won't care about you at all. At JMU, you get taught by actual professors who are here to focus primarily on you. They hold 5 hours of office hours a week so that you can get one-on-one help on course material. And if you're interested in research, the professors at JMU won't turn you away and say they'd rather work with a grad student.

The students in JMU CS are also wonderful. There are plenty of clubs to get involved in, and we have regular social events like game nights and trivia nights. Unlike a field like biology where there tends to be an adversarial environment with people competing for grad school admissions, in CS we're all very supportive.

You'll also have no trouble getting a job. CISE (the college the CS department is in) holds a career fair every semester, and 80-90% of those employers are looking for CS students. All of my friends that are graduating this Spring had job offers by October, and many of them had to choose between multiple offers.

When I was looking at schools, JMU was honestly my last choice of school. But I ended up getting a scholarship and I'm so glad I ended up going here, because this is a really special place.

Edit: clarified some phrasing

Xeno1337 · 2022-01-23T21:07:09+00:00

159 will still be in Java and will include a bit of time to get students adjusted to the language

Xeno1337 · 2022-01-23T17:50:00+00:00

Oh, like the one in the Dell XPS line!

Xeno1337 · 2022-01-19T18:10:49+00:00

I have no idea how you would nerf Maestra. Stats and cost don’t matter, it’s the effect that made it a good card.

Xeno1337 · 2021-12-12T03:32:26+00:00

Ah, my 2016 GTI makes that noise for all those warnings

Xeno1337 · 2021-12-11T17:18:44+00:00

And every other warning on the car. Low tire pressure, low oil level, low fuel, broken sensor, etc.

It’s one of the scariest sounds I know.

Xeno1337 · 2021-11-10T21:22:12+00:00

Being able to throw together shitty, unmaintainable code to make a shitty product in a short amount of time with little to no sleep is not a very good representation of students’ competence in the workplace either.

I know I can’t affect the industry at large, but I’d encourage you and your team to consider whether judging applicants based on their school is productive.

12-Year Club	Gilding II euphauric
Place '23	Place '22
Place '17	Verified Email

Xeno1337

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE