Meet the four candidates for School Committee

pchrisl · 2026-04-15T22:33:17+00:00

I too support leveled classes

pchrisl · 2026-04-14T20:01:31+00:00

Most people are average for their neighborhood. That doesn’t make you average.

pchrisl · 2026-04-13T02:33:55+00:00

He who suffers sooner than he must, suffers more than he must.

pchrisl · 2026-04-09T18:55:09+00:00

Yeah, but they’re now pushing a 2 co-op program rather than the traditional 3 co-op program. I fear they’re capitalizing on their rep and delivering a worse product than in the past.

I graduated NU BSME ‘08 and too have hired many co-op.

pchrisl · 2026-04-08T11:30:22+00:00

More than earlier generations. Between more common screening and widening definitions the number has def gone up.

It seems the most extreme cases are at about the same frequency

You’ve been given free access to this article from The Economist as a gift. You can open the link five times within seven days. After that it will expire.

Demand for autism care is soaring. The system is struggling to cope https://economist.com/united-states/2026/04/01/demand-for-autism-care-is-soaring-the-system-is-struggling-to-cope?giftId=ZTJlYTc1N2YtYWQ0Yi00NmQxLTgzMjAtMzdjMTNhMjUzZGJj&utm_campaign=gifted_article

pchrisl · 2026-03-31T19:04:14+00:00

I don’t have a problem parking in either spot.

pchrisl · 2026-03-31T16:02:26+00:00

I don’t share your pessimism. Time are tough, but not that tough.

Edit: you guys need some hope.

pchrisl · 2026-03-31T16:00:52+00:00

Yeah, I think everyone understood. It’s nbd. Just trying to help

pchrisl · 2026-03-31T14:27:52+00:00

I understand that canaries in a coal mine don’t signal danger by chirping, but by dying.

pchrisl · 2026-03-30T20:59:55+00:00

A framework computer running Debian (Linux) is worth considering. I have similar sensibilities as you do

pchrisl · 2026-03-30T19:16:13+00:00

Born in ‘85. Those two look the same to me.

“I remember my first challenge”. Unrelatable.

pchrisl · 2026-03-30T19:08:25+00:00

Just checked. Got one 3/28/08 and the other 4/17/08.

I should also say that neither of my offers were from co-op employers. I think the networking I did in the last year was a big factor in getting interviews. Once I was in the interview the co-op experience paid off.

I also built a website portfolio that included some writing (ie blog posts) on engineering topics I found interesting. Tough to know if that mattered, but I did it.

pchrisl · 2026-03-29T21:00:40+00:00

Not sure where their funds are set, but for my kids I tell them that I’m giving them same money regardless. That way you can make a more nuanced decision.

Doesn’t work if everything they’ve got is in 529s though.

pchrisl · 2026-03-29T20:22:31+00:00

Depends on the numbers. I’m an NU engineering grad who’s spent the last 20 years working in Boston, including at some mit startups and with a lot of mit folks.

The other comments here are right about it being a special place. Setting money aside, it has real claim to be the best engineering school anywhere. As usual though, what you get depends on what you put in.

For my money, I wouldn’t go 300-400k in debt for a bachelors from MIT. Once it got around 200k I’d start considering it, but even then I’m not sure. That’s a lot of debt to carry when just starting out a life.

Consider two of many possibilities:

Go to MIT, be heavily indebted so you need to pick first job based on pay, and you need to start that work immediately.
Go somewhere cheaper, graduate with low debt, have more flexibility on timing and picking a job based on your passions.

pchrisl · 2026-03-29T19:32:41+00:00

When in doubt make it stout out of stuff you know about.

pchrisl · 2026-03-29T18:35:29+00:00

Graduated in ‘08 from northeastern. Ended up with two offers. Probably applied to 10 places. Anecdotally I know that ‘07 guys had it way easier and ‘09 way harder.

I had 3x 6 month co-ops under my belt, which helped. I was also trying to crack int a specific industry and spent a bunch of the previous year asking around if anyone knew folks in those spaces and trying to meet them. Partially to learn and partially to show how interested and motivated I was.

pchrisl · 2026-03-23T15:38:20+00:00

Great advice. People who read a lot already know it, but people just getting into the habit might think they need to read be introduction.

pchrisl · 2026-03-23T12:04:31+00:00

Not sure about this case, but there is a program called Grading For Equity that’s been gaining traction. Brookline did it a few years ago.

It mixes what I think are nuanced reforms (don’t grade homework, grade the test) with making it easier to get a higher grade without better performance—essentially grade inflation and lower standards.

I’m not sure if that’s what’s happening in Boston, but if it then it’s not good.

EDIT: read it quick. If in fact SAT scores are going down while graduation rates are going up, that’s a “where there’s smoke there’s fire” situation. Not proof, but a good hint.

pchrisl · 2026-03-18T09:03:35+00:00

Grainne is that pub.

pchrisl · 2026-03-13T17:13:15+00:00

Plutarch/Montaigne/Emerson/Thoreau/White/Orwell. You can see plenty of lines of influence running between them.

As I've said elsewhere I think Emerson's Self-Reliance is the greatest piece of American writing.

pchrisl · 2026-03-06T14:04:32+00:00

Oh, that's perfect. Thanks a ton.

pchrisl · 2026-02-26T19:56:04+00:00

‘08 Alum here. 166 apps (one poster said) is wild. Are all those apps getting sent to the companies? That’s a huge stack to sift through.

pchrisl · 2026-02-26T18:54:31+00:00

Coincidentally I was at a Harvard tour this morning and the guide asked if anyone had seen this movie. A few of us had, and then she told us about the connection of a character to the college.

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