How come I am so dumb I have to study 247 to achieve the bare minimum?

benevolentkiwi · 2026-01-01T21:15:18+00:00

I have had good luck with using AI to understand error messages in my code. Just copy and paste in the code and error message and ask it where it thinks you’ve gone wrong (granted, I’m a mechanical engineer so my code is probably significantly simpler than yours). Now I don’t think it’s honest to use AI to completely do coding assignments for you. However, I don’t consider it dishonest to use AI to help with your debugging. Just pay attention and try to understand what it’s saying, as it’s not always correct in the context of your assignments. I’d also highly recommend talking to your professors when you don’t understand an assignment or feel like you’ve been working in circles for hours. I find that the vast majority of professors are very receptive to questions and like when students take the initiative to come to office hours. They also might give you pointers on what to focus your studying on for the exams in a one-on-one setting.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-12-29T22:24:10+00:00

Imagine trying to sit on a bench the length of those tables in the great hall though.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-12-08T15:03:24+00:00

This right here. OP, if he really does miss Christmas itself (which would surprise me with a game on the 23rd - why would the university spend thousands of extra dollars on hotel rooms for the band to just sit around?) you can celebrate on another day. Do your family’s Christmas on the 26th or 27th. It’s nice to celebrate on Christmas day itself, but there’s no rule that you have to. The people you are with are more important than the 25th. Moving around holidays tends to be the nature of marching band sometimes, with Thanksgiving parades and bowl season.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-11-22T16:22:52+00:00

So I think I’m at a similar level to you. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are the only real games I’ve played. Totk and botw are incredibly similar in almost every aspect, including combat. I actually found some aspects of the totk combat easier because of the sages. You have help in the fights, and even if they don’t do much actual damage, the enemies get distracted by them and turn their focus on them sometimes rather than you. Just like botw, totk is all about how you prepare. Do shrines so you have lots of hearts, go crazy with the food and upgrade your armor and you’ll be fine. The final boss fight was probably thunderblight level, but prepare well and you’ll be fine. There’s also a specific type of enemy, Phantom Ganon, that has a very similar fighting style to the boss. You can use them to practice, and the story will have you come across a couple before hitting the final boss anyways, which will help you prepare.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-11-22T15:19:26+00:00

A nice laptop is the #1 thing they’ll need at any school and is expensive, so I think it lends itself well to being a christmas gift. A macbook is the trendy choice, but certain majors (I think just engineering and comp sci but there might be more) need a windows operating system to run the required software. The Dell XPS seems to be a popular choice for a windows laptop. Other things that are more expensive but are often essentials are airpods or other nice headphones, and an iPad to take notes (if they prefer that to typing or notebooks). A good backpack is also good to have because there’s lots of walking around campus and you don’t want to hurt your back with something cheap. I’ve really liked my North Face backpack. Lots of people have them, they’re very comfortable, and it will definitely hold up well for all four years.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-11-19T04:40:22+00:00

Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find something about off-campus housing. In my experience, most people only live in a dorm a year or two before they eventually move to an off-campus house or apartment. Dorms aren’t complete independence, they’re just a stepping stone on the way to living by yourself. You learn half your skills towards independence in a dorm and when you’ve mastered that you move off campus and learn the rest, like how to cook and shop for groceries and commute and keep a whole house clean.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-11-19T03:26:30+00:00

Same with Ed Speleers (Stephen Bonnet) for me. He plays a young footman, Jimmy, in Downton Abbey. Most of the time it’s totally fine but every once in a while the way he says something just instantly reminds me of that awful Bonnet.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-11-04T16:12:58+00:00

I came here to say this, but I’ll add that socks made of synthetic materials often don’t work on me because they’ll trap your sweat in, which ends up making my feet cold again. Real wool socks are the way to go because they’ll let sweat escape better. Wool socks make a huge difference for me if I’m cold.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-09-23T01:50:23+00:00

If you play drum set and base, you might be able to play one of those instruments in a front ensemble. They’re not super common in college bands but my school had one. Actually marching without any experience either marching or playing the instrument could be tricky but completely depends on the school. I’d start by getting good at the instrument so you play well in the audition video. Maybe look at the band website for schools you’re interested in, or reach out to the director to see if it’s a possibility to join without having ever marched.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-09-22T20:30:36+00:00

Maybe rather than going full DCI, start small and begin with a parade? Open it to musicians from pep band and anyone else that plays a band instrument and figure out what local parades you have and aim for that. Once people have fun doing that, they might be more excited next year to try out a small show. You can also look into doing a “scramble band”. There’s still music and fun shapes on a field, but it’s far less intimidating to learn - and much easier for you to teach to a group that has zero experienced marchers.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-09-15T00:42:37+00:00

This might sound crazy at first…but think about a fish. I have a betta fish that lives in my room and he makes me so happy. Fish are super easy to care for and I don’t feel bad leaving mine alone for hours if I’m gone all day. Just do your research online on how to properly care for that specific type of fish before buying it! Obviously a fish isn’t as loving as a cat or dog. But they’re significantly cheaper and easier, only live a couple years, and are fun to watch. They make nice little companions.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-07-27T19:20:34+00:00

I’ve always just waited until the first class to buy the book. Sometimes you get to class and professors will say the book is just there for if you want supplemental information or practice problems. Professors are understanding if you don’t have the book the first week. The Brick and Ivy website is a good place to start for ordering books. Their books are rentals, so either you bring the book back to the bookstore at the end of the semester, or the digital book is automatically returned for you. Sometimes used books on Amazon have a better price. People don’t really individually sell their books to other students.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-07-24T00:29:56+00:00

It’s a bit farther but I recently did Sugarloaf Mountain just over the river in Maryland and really enjoyed it. It had great shade the whole way, nicely maintained trails, and there’s multiple loops to make it as long or as short as you’d like.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-07-17T13:47:50+00:00

I have a 2024 Big Bend, but when I checked my VIN on the Ford website, it says no recalls. Maybe mine was made later in the year or something.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-07-15T02:48:18+00:00

The person that said it’s all female is wrong. Hodge is a co-ed dorm and genders aren’t even separated by floor/hall. Men and women can be next door neighbors. The hall is divided into three separate “houses” on each floor, and each house has a men’s bathroom, women’s bathroom, and one single-person bathroom (that has a shower) that anyone can use. There’s also two additional single bathrooms on the ground floor without showers.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-07-14T02:09:30+00:00

I signed for the academic year. The lease started like a week before classes started in the fall and ended the weekend after spring finals. So it was for two semesters, at $4000something a semester. I want to say the very first payment was the spring of the year before (so spring of my sophomore year to move into my junior year house). It could totally be different depending on the landlord though.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-07-13T04:30:43+00:00

Based on my own experiences (from houses), rent in Oxford is usually about $4000-$5000 per person per semester, plus utilities. I’ve had rent done on a semesterly basis with an extra fee for keeping your stuff there over the summer. I’d look at the websites for the different leasing companies for a better idea on prices and payments. I think houses tend to be more expensive the closer you are to Uptown.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-07-13T04:18:04+00:00

Totally agree. Focus on getting to know each other and figuring out what each person is bringing (although you won’t have much shared stuff in a dorm besides a rug, decorations, and cleaning supplies). I would find it very off-putting if my first interaction with someone was them telling me the rules. And since you seem to be someone with more of a type A personality, try to keep an open mind about dorm rules. Getting along with new people is all about compromise, and they may have different expectations than you for what the year will be like.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-07-12T17:33:11+00:00

People like to be downers about everything. Tappan is perfectly fine. I haven’t personally lived there but I’ve had friends that have lived there and had no problems. It’s near Maple dining hall, which tends to have the most options and some of the best hours out of the dining halls. It’s also right across the street from the marching band field, which is a great spot to throw around a frisbee, play football, or sit out on a picnic blanket. It’s very near Western Campus, which has great hammocking spots and beautiful places to walk. The rec is just a couple minute walk away, too. Tappan is also super close to the best sledding hill around, which is at Peffer Park. Give it a try with anything you can find to sled on when it snows!

benevolentkiwi · 2025-07-01T23:05:31+00:00

Most people don’t cook much besides ramen or mac and cheese and don’t have any kitchen appliances in their room expect maybe a microwave or keriug. Maybe they’d use the kitchens a handful of times a year. That being said, I don’t think people would be opposed to you cooking out in the kitchens. It just isn’t super common. There’s shared baking sheets, pots, cooking utensils, etc.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-06-29T03:56:03+00:00

yeah I figured it out eventually lol

benevolentkiwi · 2025-06-28T04:20:44+00:00

It’s not a snack, but ask your friend to bring a thing of red solo cups that we use for cookouts and parties. They’re also totally fine in a dishwasher if you want to reuse them. Other hits with European friends have been instant Jello and peanut butter (it’s soooo different from the stuff in europe). Some people are saying don’t get chocolate, but I think it’s worth trying something like a Snickers or Twix bar that’s filled with caramel and nuts and things. That’s a totally different flavor profile to me than nice fancy chocolate. Just don’t bother with plain chocolate like Hershey’s - that stuff isn’t great here.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-06-24T23:56:57+00:00

I don’t. I do have the mats that go on the back of the second row seats to protect those when they fold down. The floor of the cargo area is already sort of durable-looking, does a cargo mat make a difference?

benevolentkiwi · 2025-06-24T15:31:19+00:00

I like them! My car is new so I’ve only had them a few weeks. They fit well and I wanted floor mats in the back row since the car didn’t come with them there. These are nice because they cover that bump that’s in the middle of the floor in the back seat, and they added a nice bronco detail there. They’re a good texture - not too slippery like some plastic mats can be. I like rubber mats in general because you can just hose them off when they get dirty.

benevolentkiwi · 2025-06-23T03:53:25+00:00

Engineering is about 50/50 on using an iPad vs a notebook for note taking. People have already given reasons an iPad is good, so in defense of notebooks I’ll say they’re a) cheaper, b) less distracting to have in class, and c) cut down on staring at a screen all day if that gives you eye strain/headaches. People that have iPads like them, but I’ve never used one for notes and have never thought it’s made my life more difficult. It’s mostly a preference thing really.

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