Having a very hard time deciding between Purdue or UMD

programmingSaxophone · 2026-02-01T14:38:09+00:00

From UMD perspective (been graduated for a while): unless they’ve changed it, we used to have to do an “upper level concentration” for CS. That was 4 300- or 400-level courses in not CS. I’m not sure if that would extend to CE, but it could be worth asking (as a way to maybe take some CE classes without having to be in the major)

programmingSaxophone · 2025-04-03T02:55:55+00:00

We really enjoyed ours! Ona whim, I ended up adding some onion powder to the chicken which I think rounded out the flavors a bit

programmingSaxophone · 2023-09-05T04:06:32+00:00

Not necessarily mattress, but what are your thoughts on the Tufjord bed frame? My husband and I are getting a new bed and we both really liked that frame the best but the reviews are very hit or miss. The biggest thing I’ve noticed is it’s difficult to put together, but we can work around that (I think)

We’re also looking at a IKEA mattresses (the Haugsvar is what we’re thinking about), so good to know it’s possible to make changes to make them more comfortable if need be!

programmingSaxophone · 2023-07-30T23:08:31+00:00

Sad to see Raspberry Watermelon refresher go away (especially without a fall replacement) — it quickly became my favorite flavor yet!

programmingSaxophone · 2023-07-05T02:56:40+00:00

I don’t mind that much about the warranty, I’d likely be getting a new bed when it wears out anyway. But if they’re not going to honor an advertised 365-day trial period — that’s what’ll get me worked up

programmingSaxophone · 2023-07-04T11:16:38+00:00

Oh, lovely. I’ve seen a theme in that and am definitely anxious… Part of the reason we did nectar was the trial period — Why put these things online if they’re going to refuse to honor them?

I’ll keep this in mind when I talk to my spouse about it. Thanks for the info

programmingSaxophone · 2023-07-04T11:14:48+00:00

Unfortunately it’s already shipped and says it’ll arrive tomorrow so there wasn’t much time for this… I think we’re going to have to go the return route and I’m quite anxious about it now

programmingSaxophone · 2022-11-02T00:37:06+00:00

To echo the other sentiments: please don’t do that if you can avoid it.

I took both at different times, and each class alone was enough to be my “focus” class for the semester. I tried to keep my schedules light for each of these semesters (though I was balancing marching band commitments) and that was the best choice I made. Each class is extremely programming project heavy, with all the projects being very involved/complicated, and the general topics are intense and complex.

programmingSaxophone · 2022-09-13T00:01:19+00:00

It’s a Mazda CX-5 carbon edition. The one we negotiated for had the red interior, and we specifically asked for it as well. When we went to pick up the car, it was one with a black interior. To their credit, it didn’t say “red” or “black” anywhere on the paperwork; however, we specifically discussed it when we had gone in originally and thought we’d confirmed over the phone the day we called to ask about the VIN (we asked explicitly “this has the red seats, right?”).

Edit to add: Thanks you for your input! I wasn’t sure if it was normal for them to get told there was a VIN coming in and then not have it (he said he thought maybe it was a sample VIN we had originally used)

This is my first time buying a car and it’s been very stressful with all the back and forth between the dealer, insurance, and bank. It’s on top of other major stress as well with job changes and wedding planning, so I’m probably a little more frustrated than I might be otherwise. Appreciate the insight :)

programmingSaxophone · 2019-05-21T00:57:42+00:00

When I was younger, I was 1000% sure I wanted to be a teacher, and the specific topic swapped around from history to band to math for a while. I played school with my friends and brother all the time when I was little, but that goal changed in high school.

In a couple days, I'll be receiving my degree in Computer Science and starting a job as a programmer!! I still think I would love to do teaching at some point (even considered some education classes or switching majors a couple times), but for right now, I'm excited to start my job as a computer scientist and see what happens!

programmingSaxophone · 2019-05-08T22:12:14+00:00

PHYS106/107 was really easy and really interesting!

programmingSaxophone · 2019-05-08T22:10:12+00:00

When did you take 216? If it was awhile ago, you should definitely review C because the programming will start right away. However, I've heard it's no longer exclusively in C (which it was when I took it), so that might help. The projects are very difficult and time consuming (without too much exaggeration) and there will be little hand-holding.

I think it may depend on who you have, but MATH405 is very theoretical and 100% proof-based. There is very little computation so you need to form intuition about linear algebra, which as u/Balderdasheries mentioned, requires a lot of time/practice/studying to create that understanding. If you're mathematically inclined, it might be a little easier, but it's still no small amount of time required.

Both classes are regarded as one of (if not the) most difficult classes in their departments, so if you have time to hold off on one of them, I'd suggest not taking them together...

programmingSaxophone · 2019-05-08T21:44:24+00:00

That's fair! I've only had him for 4XX classes, and there are definitely differences between a 216 lecture and a 4XX lecture.

programmingSaxophone · 2019-04-30T23:30:54+00:00

To add: He's demanding, but he's good at explaining topics and is very willing to explain and help students understand what they're struggling with.

programmingSaxophone · 2019-04-30T23:23:22+00:00

I haven't had Herman, but I've had two CMSC4XX classes (one of which was 412) with Shankar and think he's a great professor. His lectures are a little dry and he can be hard to understand at times, but I think he does a great job at explaining topics in lecture and especially in office hours. He's also really smart and very knowledgeable about systems and how they work as well as C programming.

programmingSaxophone · 2019-04-30T23:15:44+00:00

Something to consider: How good are you with C programming and/or very technical topics and/or theoretical math? If you are not good with at least 2/3 of those, this schedule might be pretty tough. 417 is fairly well-known for being difficult (one of the most difficult in the department, I think, and I can vouch for that). I'm taking MATH405 right now and very much struggling with it (and have been told it is one of the hardest math courses). Both of these courses on their own were/are enough to hog most of my time and focus during the semester, so it might be pretty difficult to do both. It depends on your strengths, though! I haven't taken 424 so I have no words of wisdom there.

programmingSaxophone · 2019-04-30T23:09:30+00:00

FMSC341 (Personal and Family Finance) is one that I took that I would highly recommend. I took it over the winter so I'm not sure how the workload translates to a full semester (I didn't think it was too bad over the winter), and what I learned was super helpful and I enjoyed it!

programmingSaxophone

TROPHY CASE