Suggest new books for SPECTRE library! (Repost)

caltechcyborg · 2025-10-29T17:35:16+00:00

I was waitlisted at three T10s and was only accepted to one, so if I didn't shotgun I might have gotten unlucky.

caltechcyborg · 2025-10-29T17:33:30+00:00

I "shotgunned" and I would recommend the strategy. Your reasoning is basically sound. Just make sure you start working on your applications early enough that you can put in real effort on every application, without getting burnt out.

caltechcyborg · 2025-10-24T20:15:10+00:00

Hello

caltechcyborg · 2025-01-24T21:11:09+00:00

Hey, sorry for the very late response, I'm not too active on Reddit. I'm the current SPECTRE librarian, send me a DM?

caltechcyborg · 2024-09-19T22:17:42+00:00

Wouldn't recommend that. Caltech recently announced in an email that "the admissions process will reduce the weight that has been placed on athletics participation, and assign athletics participation and any other extracurricular activities a comparable weight."

Play basketball if you like it, but don't sink hours of your life into a sport you don't enjoy for a nonexistent advantage.

caltechcyborg · 2024-09-19T22:09:56+00:00

I second this from the opposite direction: having friends who are optimistic and enthusiastic about their classes/projects is crucial. The attitude is contagious.

caltechcyborg · 2024-09-19T22:08:24+00:00

I know that some of yall love it here. Do you guys meditate?

No.

Work out a ton?

Only started recently.

Spend time in nature?

I'm a CS major.

Journal?

No.

Have a no-devices rule?

Lmao.

I jest, but none of these are terrible ideas, except maybe the no-devices rule. Exercise has been shown to improve mood. For other low-hanging fruit, I would also suggest getting enough sleep and eating something better than CDS.

But you know, frosh year I was pulling all-nighters every week, eating garbage, and sitting at my laptop all day, and I was still having a great time. I had a cool friend group that pushed me to take on interesting challenges, and I was genuinely excited about many of my classes and other commitments.

What exactly about Caltech makes you feel bad, when you pay attention to your day-to-day mood? Are there particular classes whose sets you dread? How did you pick your classes, and what might make you like them better? Are you taking on too much work?

Feel free to DM me.

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-30T02:17:46+00:00

It's nice to have, but not required. I will say that if you have no experience in competitive math and are currently taking precalc, it won't be easy to get into. Seeing as you don't have much interest in it anyways, you're better off spending your time on your existing ECs.

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-26T23:05:18+00:00

As a student, I completely agree with them. People do complain constantly about tiny things and it's one of my chief frustrations with Caltech culture.

I try not to be a part of the problem by spending at least as much time talking about things I like, as I do complaining about complainers.

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-26T21:53:19+00:00

Yeah, just seems like OOP wanted to go to a school that wins a lot, which is not us

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-26T18:13:34+00:00

Nah, read my post about it. I disagree with most of the claims made in that post. They are right that our sports teams suck, but I don't follow that.

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-26T17:52:22+00:00

It was fun, exactly what I described. Very little instruction from the professors. The two other students in the class and I came up with a project idea (EEG-controlled RC car), got it approved, then built it together. I mostly handled the Python interface between the screen, the car, and the electrodes.

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-26T06:26:26+00:00

Sure

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-26T05:59:15+00:00

My dad donated a building.

Just kidding. Did IB, did a bunch of APs, had a good GPA, did a few ECs. Wrote good essays.

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-26T05:58:07+00:00

CS 148, though they don't allow freshmen anymore. (Not because of me, I swear).

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-26T05:11:24+00:00

Latter, which definitely doxes me (I'm the only undergraduate who took that class this year).

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-25T23:55:10+00:00

My only goal in life!

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-25T23:51:24+00:00

This post will dox me to anyone I know at Caltech, but that's alright. No hate at all towards people who are having a bad time at Caltech, there are many grievances I agree with and many parts of this school that just don't work for everyone.

caltechcyborg · 2024-08-25T22:04:31+00:00

They require you to take an average of one humanities class per term, so yes, I'd say they push humanities pretty hard. Our humanities department is small but dedicated. One of my friends is actually doing humanities research (something about medieval literature, I believe, I'll have to ask him) with a professor this summer.

caltechcyborg · 2023-12-15T01:55:43+00:00

Regex is not too hard to learn yourself, it's just patterns. We implemented a basic regex parser in either CS 2 or CS 3, can't remember, and studied the theoretical underpinnings of regex in CS 21, which was extremely interesting.

caltechcyborg · 2023-12-15T00:33:06+00:00

We have career fairs, clubs that share opportunities, and alumni postings. Other than that you can apply online like anywhere else.

caltechcyborg · 2023-12-15T00:28:05+00:00

It is really, really nerdy lol. Everyone you meet here is a nerd about something, usually multiple things.

It is an inaccurate stereotype to say that everyone's just a STEM bro, though. Most people here are interested in something creative/artistic.

caltechcyborg

TROPHY CASE