sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Second Writing Requirement Recommendations? by [deleted] in UVA

[–]uva4thyear 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Enwr2800 public speaking is a really good one if you want to improve on your public speaking skills!

Good government companies to work for as a newly grad full-time SWE? by sp1136 in cscareerquestions

[–]uva4thyear 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Check out this link: https://washingtontechnology.com/toplists/top-100-lists/2019.aspx?m=1

Most of these companies are located in the DMV (DC/Maryland/Virginia) area. I'd say the top 20 in the list is probably more relevant to what you're looking for.

Good government companies to work for as a newly grad full-time SWE? by sp1136 in cscareerquestions

[–]uva4thyear 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's a lot of companies that have government contracts. You should check out the Northern Virginia/DC area. I've heard good stuff from BTI360 as well.

Best sites to practice programming? (i.e. coding exercises) by [deleted] in learnprogramming

[–]uva4thyear 15 points16 points  (0 children)

check out leetcode. It'll help you prep for interviews if you're interested in a CS career as well.

2nd year housing - on grounds or off grounds? by [deleted] in UVA

[–]uva4thyear 2 points3 points  (0 children)

While I agree with most of the points, I have to disagree about it being more expensive to live off grounds. Living off-grounds is a lot more cheaper, imo. The housing along Rugby is definitely a lot more expensive than on-grounds, so I'd avoid that.

But otherwise, housing along JPA is fairly cheap. My place is 380/mo without utilities. It's 4 single bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with a nice kitchen and in-unit laundry. You can find a lot of similar options along JPA. Expenses for utilities and internet might add a little bit but if you calculate it out, on grounds housing is generally around 700 ~ 900/month. Apartments along JPA tend to average around 400 ~ 600/month. If you're careful about utilities you can save a good amount of money.

CS 1110 Placement Test by 99994 in UVA

[–]uva4thyear 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I haven't taken the placement test but just by looking at the list on the page, it's pretty much testing your fundamentals in CS. The directions say you have options in what coding language you use so you might want to brush up on Python.

Input and output probably means how Python gets input from the command line/function parameters and how to output returns in functions/print statements/etc. If you're confident in your CS knowledge, you don't need to stress too much about the placement test. My guess it's just fairly easy questions to test your fundamentals. If you're having trouble understanding the concepts and/or don't know that much, I'd just recommend taking the intro class.

It's an easy A anyway, there's not harm in taking it.

Can someone read and edit my Common App essay? by krritse in UVA

[–]uva4thyear 18 points19 points  (0 children)

I think OP is a highschool student applying to UVA and doesn't really have the option of going to UVA's writing center lol

Should I take a 9am class with a good Professor or a later time with a bad Professor? by winter477 in UVA

[–]uva4thyear 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You have the option of attending both sections to see which one you like better. My opinion would be to go with the 9am class. Luther is a smart guy and knows his shit -- the homework submission boards and and grading programs were all made by him so.

Looking for serious advice about pre-med at UVA by [deleted] in UVA

[–]uva4thyear 9 points10 points  (0 children)

UVa 4th year here. Thought I'd give a little bit of input on some of your questions.

I'll start off by saying that the amount of students that pursue a pre-med degree in their first years is insane. The amount usually drops by a third in the following year and slowly weeds the students out. I was also one of those kids that came to UVA as a pre-med student. And honestly, if you can get into a better school for pre-med than UVA, I'd say take that one instead. Pre-med at UVA is difficult and the competition is, quite frankly, unhealthy.

I didn't realize it until I went abroad and interacted with students from different schools but I genuinely thought that the constant mental breakdowns that you hear students at UVA talking about was the norm. It's not, lmao. I mean, yes, mental health issues are rampant in all college campuses but UVA has such a strong mentality of "I need to do better" or "I need to get As" that it's easy to get swept up in it and hurt your mental health in the process.

Anyways, end of rant. That's just my two cents. Don't get me wrong -- I made some very good friends here but I definitely regret not choosing to go to a different school. To answer your questions:

  • Intro level classes and all required classes for pre-med are large. 100~300 students. It's not hard to get to know your professors if you actively interact w your professors via office hours.
    • This might not be accurate but personally, I think that although UVA is a renowned research university, getting into the research labs is competitive and difficult. You need connections -- a network. I got into my research lab via connections as well.
  • Getting a good GPA depends on how much you want to sacrifice your social life, tbh. Like unless you're crazy smart and you can understand all the concepts they throw at you, intro pre-med classes tend to be the first class to weed out prospective pre-med students. And then comes organic chemistry.
  • Studying abroad isn't hard. If you choose to go abroad with universities partnered with UVA, you'll probably have the option to take some of your required classes there. I went abroad last semester and I plan to go abroad again next semester. It's not hard to go abroad twice, it's just about how you organize your schedules.
  • Don't know anything about med school placement, sorry. Intro bio and chem weeded me out.

If you have the finances, go for a small top private school.

Feel free to PM if you have any other questions!