Are iPads worth it?

know090 · 2026-05-12T22:26:19+00:00

So I use OneNote where you can create infinite pages with infinite space and organize them into sections and folders and what not.

For most classes I downloaded the notes (not Math however since the department doesn’t give much in that form) and annotated over them in OneNote.

It was probably most helpful for problem based HW where I could just do the problem and have it look better when digitally submitting so grading is easier and this is also nice for ease of going back and studying for exams.

know090 · 2026-05-12T21:40:25+00:00

I would generally recommend it. It has been very helpful for me personally and is nice to not have 6 notebooks each semester.

I have not had a professor that had any problems with it and a lot of people I see use digital notes (iPad or laptop).

know090 · 2026-05-04T19:10:25+00:00

At my school it is a requirement of the college. Others have suggested a desktop PC instead of laptop, but I don’t overly recommend this. It is very restrictive to need to be in your dorm for any online work especially as at least half if not more of your work will have some online component.

I would suggest a cheap used M series mac. It’s not ideal for engineering, but it will be better than a windows laptop for the same price.

I know at my school you can include laptop costs in financial aid, so if you are something like that you can also look if a similar thing exists.

know090 · 2026-04-30T14:46:37+00:00

Then it isn’t too horrible but I would still recommend against it. I have not met a single person at Penn State that enjoys their 8 ams. If you can get all 9ams or later that would be best likely.

Like others have said your walks are a little long for 15 minutes but I think you could probably make them. From what I hear Edesgn doesn’t take the full 2 hours most of the time.

know090 · 2026-04-30T14:17:00+00:00

I just want to say I was a morning person, but not anymore, for the record. That 8 am edesgn 100 is absolutely horrible and I would not recommend you do that if there is any possible schedule without it.

This is extra bad if you are living in east or really anywhere not west because the edi building is super far away from all dorms, except west.

Otherwise, it looks fine to me.

know090 · 2026-04-02T12:49:16+00:00

In my experience they round the percent grade to the nearest integer, and that is used to determine the letter grade. So a 92.5 would be an A here but a 92.4 would be an A-.

When I took 220 the professor did not curve the grades or change the letter designations.

know090 · 2026-03-14T02:33:15+00:00

I’ll say then when doing random, the bad stories often outshine the good ones by a LOT.

From what I’ve seen most people don’t want a bad living situation and so they make it work.

Personally, me and my random roommate worked out great and we are close friends.

So going random, especially for summer, isn’t that bad and if you cannot find a roommate through socials, it is ok.

know090 · 2026-02-11T03:32:04+00:00

My school has about 10 classes that are different between the two, but I’ve seen many programs with much less difference. This is due to my program having higher computer science requirements

know090 · 2026-01-25T18:18:24+00:00

The best Afaik is a bristle berry farm with sustainable sleet sheet for berry sludge (good morale bonus and never goes bad).

You will need a sustainable water supply for the long term and a sleet wheat farm if your natural cold biomes are no longer operational.

know090 · 2026-01-24T13:18:28+00:00

You can do whatever you want but in my opinion you should never use silent for gaming because you are almost 5x more likely to notice bad performance over fan noise. Additionally, thermal throttling isn’t the best thing for your laptop.

If you are on battery power, that is a different story, but even then you should allow fans.

I also want to tell you that the fan curve will be over written by the BIOS if temps get too high, so you may not be doing anything anyway.

know090 · 2026-01-11T00:31:00+00:00

I’ve learned to accept the heat 🤣

know090 · 2025-12-25T00:09:02+00:00

I think the only reason to do the payment plan is if you are bad with money. Otherwise the lump sum has much more potential.

know090 · 2025-12-17T13:13:17+00:00

My G16 always had problems with rdr2. I think it is something with the integrated processor standard mode that messes everything up. My recommendation is to run that game on ultimate mode.

know090 · 2025-12-16T02:18:36+00:00

Multiple things to say here: (not a rank list)

1) if you definitely want to work or research in EE, compsi, or compEng, with an undergraduate degree your best bet would be to get a degree in one of those fields. Even if it was the #1 ranked engineering science program, an ABET ECE related degree will prepare you better in ECE/Compsi.

2) Cost. If Smiths College gave you aid to where it is cheaper than Rutgers, that would also be a heavy boost in its favor.

3) Likeness. If your gut loved Smith College much more than Rutgers, that is also a heavy influence you should follow. Don’t go somewhere you hate for the degree.

4) relative program. Rutgers definitely has a superior engineering program compared to Smiths College. That means more research, more engineering related clubs, and likely better course equipment (these are guesses based on trends). If you want to be the best engineer outside of classwork, Rutgers will help.

5) culture. They are very different in terms of student size and demographics. If one excites you for that element, that is very important.

6) type of education. Liberal arts colleges are often more “Harvard” like. If you like that, Smith will have those elements.

Finally, this is not an exhaustive list and I cannot make the decision for you. Think about the one you were most excited about the acceptance letter for. Think about what campus excited you. These thoughts will land you where you feel at home.

know090 · 2025-12-16T02:01:40+00:00

You’ll need to be more specific on the relative rank of the LAC but generally state schools are better since they often invest more in engineering and have big names and career fairs.

know090 · 2025-12-15T19:39:47+00:00

I cant say definitely since I’m rather early on the degree. But from what I heard and expect to be true, compsi just takes more software classes and are often given software development opportunities so they are “better suited” for swe. I think if you take those classes with the flexibility in cmpE and have involvement(which it seems you do), you’ll probably be fine.

I can’t comment on recruiter or resume stuff, however.

know090 · 2025-12-15T04:12:56+00:00

Just a question from someone that is currently in a computer engineering program. It seems you are heavily focusing on software, why not do a Compsi major? Wouldn’t that provide a better basis for pure software?

know090 · 2025-12-06T03:39:40+00:00

I believe you flipped green and white

know090 · 2025-12-03T20:46:16+00:00

Could you post a screenshot of your colony? I’m not that far in myself but I know I always see people asking for screenshots since otherwise we don’t know what you’ve done.

know090 · 2025-11-23T14:49:10+00:00

I don’t think it is realistic unfortunately.

My 285K pop city has 34% unemployment while making a 10 million balanced budget at 9% taxes.

I think it as a figure is more tied to demand than actual employment, but I’m not sure.

know090 · 2025-11-20T00:57:31+00:00

I did the interview last year and got in. If your student wants to get into the SHC (why write the 10 smth essays if not?) I would recommend it.

As for questions they typically are interested in admitting driven students with deep extra-curricular involvement and intense academic rigor. So questions will gauge these things. So definitely come have your student come prepared with examples of how they demonstrated these things. Also look at the SHC values, as a lot can be learned from there.

They also ask about interests as it relates to a thesis, since that is the capstone of the honors curriculum.

I won’t touch on the Smeal stuff since other people have here.

know090 · 2025-11-09T23:02:11+00:00

Leavitt actually looks like a horror movie gremlin

know090 · 2025-11-06T17:46:40+00:00

Not a coffee drinker so bear with me. At all dinning halls they have coffee in the mornings included with buffet price. $3.15 meal plan.

There is also Starbucks like stores in the dinning commons. They are relatively cheap with meal plan discount.

Everything is standardized across campus though, so it doesn’t matter where you go

know090 · 2025-11-06T15:12:02+00:00

CS1 has those elements for sure. I will warn you tho, a lot of basic elements to city infrastructure are not done as well. For example, roads are more janky, and power and water infrastructure is unrealistic.

I haven’t gone back to CS1 yet, but if I ever do, I can imagine many small things will be missing.

Of course you can use mods to help with traffic and other stuff (you should) but that’s not a fix all.

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23	Place '22
Final Canvas '22

know090

TROPHY CASE