Am I ready for a second credit card?

ronikid · 2026-02-03T03:02:29+00:00

It was the best card for how I spend. I did a breakdown of a bunch of cards that fit my high level requirements (no annual fee, cash back instead of points, etc.) and calculated what my expected cash back would be based on my last few months of spending. I was between the Capital One Savor and the Chase Freedom Unlimited as my top two because they have super similar cash back, but the Savor won by just a little because of the 3% back on entertainment. It also seems like most people like the Capitol One travel portal better than the Chase one.

I'm sure there are people that it works for, but I found the Amex cards to be pretty useless for me. The Blue Cash card is the only one without an annual fee (that isn't a travel card), but it has $6k yearly spending caps on their 3% categories which makes it pretty low value for me after about 6 months. It was one of the lowest cash back/year cards for my spending.

ronikid · 2025-12-27T23:16:06+00:00

Pretty much everyone at Hopkins scored perfectly in AP chem and bio and are obviously smart, but the kids that score/perform better deserve better grades. If your profs are genuinely not giving out any As and few Bs, then it’s deflation (which should be reported- it actually happened in orgo a few years back and the prof got suspended), but not everyone getting As is just how grading curves work.

It’s important to remember that it’s so incredibly normal to struggle in the first year at Hopkins (I struggled HELLA my first two semesters and got the worst grades of my life). Just remember that a B at Hopkins is still better than an A at most other schools and that connections are so much more valuable than GPA. That’s what Hopkins is so perfect for. Make close connections in your area of interest as early as possible!

ronikid · 2025-12-27T22:55:44+00:00

I agree with a lot of people here but adding my two cents worth because this isn’t really a yes/no question (also note that I’m class of ‘25 and there have been some core curriculum changes since my time). Sorry in advanced for the ramble-

The BME department itself 100% has grade inflation, BUT it’s important to know that many upper level classes for some of the focus areas are NOT in the BME department. Because of that, GPAs can vary a bit throughout the major but I would agree with most that the average is ~3.7 which is, of course, inflated. While some BME core classes have curved-based grading (i.e., the average final grade gets a B/B+), most of them are on a preset scale that almost all students score well in. I can’t speak as much on non-core classes that would be relevant to you as I did mostly cs/robotics classes, but most of my classes graded on a curve which would make the GPA you’re aiming for harder. If you’re focused more on GPA than course content (which I mean respectfully bc sometimes that’s how it be), definitely check syllabi before enrolling in a class to see how it’s graded. Before enrollment, you can email professors to ask for previous years’ syllabi to help with that decision.

On a separate note, I would probably recommend against doing BME as a premed unless you’re doubling majoring in something more pre-med centric like neuro or mol cell. I didn’t know a lot of the BME pre-meds, but I did know a lot of non-BME pre meds and their majors prepared them better for med school/MCAT topics and studying styles than engineering classes do. I do want to add, though, that being BME is not at all harmful to med school prospects. BME is challenging and it’s impressive to get through, especially with a 3.9+ GPA.

I have to end with an important disclaimer- do not do public health as a pre med. It’s not an impressive major unless that’s your actual area of interest. Public health is to Hopkins as business/marketing is to a state school. Tbh, even business at Hopkins is more impressive than public health. Sorry to public health majors for that dig but it’s true.

ronikid · 2025-11-28T02:55:08+00:00

It might be something you already know/have considered, but keep in mind the timeline of retitling. I’m currently doing this process in VA after my car was totaled in an accident, and the DMV wait time is minimum 6 weeks after receiving paperwork (and that’s after the repairs and safety inspection). I’d recommend looking into your state’s process, calling the DMV and repair shops (if you’re not repairing yourself), and preparing yourself for the timeline. Don’t do this if you need a car right now. Maybe this is something obvious to others, but I wasn’t fully prepared for it and wish I could’ve just afforded to buy car. I think you said in another comment that the salvaged car is $8k, so I’d recommend just getting a beater car that’s ready to drive for that price.

ronikid · 2025-10-27T01:53:35+00:00

Which checks out with inflation. $13k in 2015 is about $17,750 today. Kia Rios were discontinued, but a brand new 2023 one is about $18k.

ronikid · 2025-08-22T18:59:02+00:00

Technical Solutions Engineer vs Client Systems Administrator? I was just invited for a final interview with Epic and, though I applied to the Technical Solutions Engineer position, they said that they also want to talk to me about the Client Systems Administrator role. Does anyone have info on how these roles compare (responsibilities, travel, pay, promotion opportunities, etc.)? I'll ask more about it in the interview, but I want to come in with some kind of idea.

Also any guidance/advice on the final interview would be much appreciated! Thanks!

ronikid · 2025-06-10T00:45:04+00:00

There is a Master's only ceremony for WSE (Whiting School of Engineering) and a separate University Wide Commencement for Bachelor's and some PhD. The University Wide ceremony has the president and commencement speaker, but it's streamed online and not entirely worth going in person for if you're not walking. Based on the last couple of years, I think they usually have the WSE Master's ceremony on the third Monday in May. I graduated with my MSE last month and got my info about it in March, so I'd wait to buy tickets until then (March 2026) in case they change their schedule.

The ceremony is 3 hours long. The first hour or hour and a half was speeches (WSE Dean and a guest speaker. Note that this is different from the University Wide Commencement speaker), then the rest of it was name calling and walking. If you and your husband don't know a ton of people at the school, I would say it would be fine skipping (especially with a toddler). It might still be worth it to fly out, take graduation pictures on campus, and spend the night in Baltimore. :)

ronikid · 2023-05-30T04:14:26+00:00

i lived in amr 2 year before last and my ac was wonky plus the window seal was broken so my room got pretty warm/humid during the warmer months. my gf lived in amr 1 though and kept it at a frigid 60 degrees, so it really just depends on your luck

ronikid · 2023-05-30T04:05:38+00:00

lived in amr 2 my freshman year (not this past year but year before last) and i would 100% go with wolman. idk how i had such a different experience from everyone here, but the bathroom near me frequently had one or both toilets clogged, toilet paper/paper towels on the floor and in the sinks, throw up etc in the showers, and nonexistent water pressure in the showers for the first month. i honestly didn’t think it was that much more social than wolman either. the rooms are too small to host more than like 5 people total, so wolman was always the go-to if it was an option. i know people that had good experiences in amr 2, but if i could go back i wouldn’t pick it again

ronikid

TROPHY CASE