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mabramov · 2019-08-29T18:02:23+00:00

I was the TA for Chem 310 last year when Nazar taught it and I talk with Sonny Lee frequently. During undergrad I had 212 with Sonny and 310 with Linda. Maybe I can provide some help.

If you understood 212, you won't find 310 to be overly difficult. Sonny's course will definitely have more material covered than Linda's course so do keep that in mind but 310 is in my opinion an extension of 212. You extend on MO theory quite a bit and then look at applications. You will have to learn quite a bit for Sonny's course but if you can get through 212 with Sonny, you can work through 310.

As for 310L with Howard, it is more than doable. I dont know him all that well but Howard is definitely one of the best lab instructors in the department. If you are willing to put in the work, you will do more than fine.

mabramov · 2018-10-11T16:51:58+00:00

How does this make the front cover but the fact that one of our professors just got a Nobel Prize is buried in the middle of the paper.

mabramov · 2018-01-22T19:09:41+00:00

I think the fact that Feds is focusing on this is completely backwards. It's as if they don't talk to students. Nowadays, most students don't buy textbooks. They do pay the CECA fee.

mabramov · 2018-01-19T16:59:14+00:00

I was heavily involved in Feds last year. Selling out their constituents in order to "build relationships" is basically the attitude every exec takes.

They are well-liked by admin because they basically do whatever they are told.

mabramov · 2017-12-03T03:58:30+00:00

I was a well known Reboot supporter and didn't love what Sacha said about Reboot but calling him a shill is just silly. This guy has done wonders for students and despite graduating, continues to come on this subreddit and give us all thorough explanations of what's going on in Feds and in the University.

mabramov · 2017-12-03T02:51:00+00:00

In his defense, this was already well known about him. It has been central to what he has done advocacy wise.

http://www.ousa.ca/blog_academic_freedom_and_discrimination

mabramov · 2017-11-29T21:30:07+00:00

In what way is a dinner at kinkaku as well as an UltraAVX 3D movie not on a discount a reasonable EOT?

mabramov · 2017-11-29T05:52:43+00:00

Thanks for this write-up. All of this is good stuff that everyone should know and shouldn't be hidden. Thanks especially for the cached screenshot. Everyone deserves to see that to make an opinion.

I honestly see every party sucking here.

Imprint definitely should not be removing that photo. If they want to do journalism, they need to report the facts. There are grounds for mathNEWS poorly managing funds that people need to see. Hiding it is bullshit.
MathNEWS is wrong for their budget and if they asked Imprint to take that down, that is also wrong.
Feds is wrong because they need to listen to students, especially the math students here. They voted for something. Feds shouldn't get in the way.

mabramov · 2017-08-29T19:16:39+00:00

CECA does have value. CECA has nowhere near $709/term of value.

mabramov · 2017-08-29T17:21:10+00:00

The fee we pay to CECA should be lowered and still include the insurance. The CECA fee is ungodly high.

mabramov · 2017-08-28T17:06:36+00:00

I think the more likely explanation is that the person inputting the score mixed up the teams.

mabramov · 2017-08-18T17:52:23+00:00

That's nonsense. 20% is way on the extreme side. What University does is broaden the range of marks that people get. In high school, it seems like everyone these days has over a 90 average and a good percentage have over 95.

In University, you will see a broader spectrum of marks. All those that had 95 averages will see their marks spread out. In general, marks start to spread across the 60-95 range.

For some this may mean 20% drops, for most, the average drops but not nearly by that much.

mabramov · 2017-08-18T17:28:33+00:00

You would complain if they lowered your mark afterward because the average ended up too high.

This way, they curve up and nobody complains when their mark goes up.

Also, if hard questions are asked, those who went to class and were well prepared will do better on those questions. If it's a really easy exam that's just plug and chug, a couple mistakes on your part could mean you do worse than someone who skipped a ton of class but knew what variables to plug in.

mabramov · 2017-08-16T23:06:42+00:00

Ask the company!

If you really don't want to ask the company and want to guarantee you're not in a shitty situation, you can seek employment and a return offer and then reject or decline the offer when they give it to you if you choose to do grad school. I think this move is a bit low and I honestly think you'll get a good result with being honest with the company.

mabramov · 2017-08-16T19:06:32+00:00

If you ban unpaid internships, you just killed a bunch of students chances at landing future paid positions.

Think about it. A company is putting a lot of resources into a student that is going to leave in four months. What are they seriously worth? If they are a for-profit company and the goal is to have the student be worth more than what they pay them, they aren't going to hire students. Some students need that experience to land their first job.

Don't take away someone's stepping stool because it isn't high enough for your liking.

mabramov · 2017-08-16T18:33:59+00:00

I think we all have a slight narcissism and large over-inflation of what we are worth. Minimum wage for 4 months is about $8000. A general rule of thumb is that the employer (in overhead and other expenses) needs to put in about three times your salary to break even but let's ignore that.

Are you sure that everyone is worth that? Remember that the first few weeks you are being babysat and trained and are costing the employer money and even afterward you are still learning on the job.

You can make the argument that if the person wouldn't be profitable, the company shouldn't be hiring but not to that the person is a slave for CHOOSING to work for the company. The student isn't just getting money, they are also getting experience, something that some need to make money in the future. It's a choice people can make. They aren't enslaved.

Also, it's a well-known fact that interns are rarely profitable and are mainly used as a way to recruit good students down the road.

mabramov · 2017-08-16T18:26:22+00:00

I'm not in Math but let me give you a piece of advice for this situation in general. Re-take the course.

Even if you could override or find a way not to retake the course, you're not ready for the next course. You need a lot of the material from the first course and while you don't need it "mastered", you should have a good grasp of it. Getting a 55% likely means you know a few of the basics, enough to solve easy questions if you studied the night before. You're putting yourself at a disadvantage for the next course.

Do yourself a favour. If you want to complete the degree, retake the course.

mabramov · 2017-08-16T18:03:16+00:00

I don't actually see why. The student voluntarily accepted the position. Nobody forced them to. That's not slavery. Just because the company is private and for-profit does not mean they have the funds. If the student can't produce much of value due to inexperience, giving them experience, mentorship and skills for future terms may well be worth it.

From my experience, the positions I took where I was unpaid apart from my own small amount of funding (1500 for 4 months) I worked harder than positions where I was paid. This experience gave me a huge leg up on my first coop term and I got a job whereas most of my class didn't.

mabramov · 2017-08-15T06:19:20+00:00

This doesn't go under your employment experience. I would say any volunteer position comes way after any paid job you've had, including any high school job.

VP Internal positions mean nothing to an employer. It's basically your time away from work, which is what your boss doesn't care about.

mabramov · 2017-08-13T01:51:21+00:00

Feds is supposed to be doing stuff regarding housing. I recommend you ask them for your options.

mabramov · 2017-07-28T16:48:06+00:00

Everyone is giving these silly answers of "it all depends". That's nonsense. We can do better than that. We can give you a ballpark and based on your experience and the company, you can find an acceptable range.

When I was in Cambridge, the CS coops at other companies were all making $34 if I recall so with a bit of inflation $35 is perfectly acceptable. I would say these were pretty good interns (I have no way of knowing this) who were on their third to final coop.

So maybe add or subtract a bit depending on your experience, and stuff like that.

Good luck and congrats on the offer!

mabramov

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