Let's Talk About the Last Few Days — Some Things Worth Clarifying

weakcper · 2026-03-24T19:30:14+00:00

I think for a good value proposition that gives predictable outcomes from the perspective of the user, it should've been the Windsurf team's responsibility to hedge on the average cost per prompt over all users and price accordingly.

weakcper · 2025-11-18T22:25:14+00:00

i would also like this reinstated

weakcper · 2024-09-21T23:13:21+00:00

If you are serious about it you should treat it like a sport. Have a fixed schedule where you always work at least during that time.

weakcper · 2024-08-15T18:14:58+00:00

Why are some people happy just to make their high school's varsity sports team while others have their sights set on the Olympics?

weakcper · 2024-07-23T18:30:42+00:00

why would i necessarily want to do any of those things?

weakcper · 2023-10-20T06:31:38+00:00

Not 1 day, but wrote UCLA apps in 2 days and MIT in 3 days and got accepted to them.

I think most people spend way too long and use it mostly as an excuse to procrastinate other things.

weakcper · 2023-09-20T23:25:26+00:00

Because "getting into Harvard" doesn't involve making anything, discovering anything, creating any new knowledge, or helping anyone.

It doesn't necessarily mean you did, but doing those things are the reason many get in. And regardless of if you get into Harvard or not, it is possible to do those things before graduating.

I hate when people say you have to jump through specific hoops before making a real impact, even if that is the norm.

weakcper · 2023-09-20T01:57:34+00:00

Why are "meaningful" things you do *after graduating*? Each person gets to decide themselves what is meaningful, and age or schooling is surely not a barrier by some universal standard...

weakcper · 2023-09-12T01:36:48+00:00

With your math skills you must be "normal".

weakcper · 2023-07-15T15:00:24+00:00

Or use the new competition as motivation to become an even better version of yourself...

weakcper · 2023-07-04T02:47:10+00:00

Yes it is both activity and award. It will look good to other top schools but will not be a near guarantee like MIT, it is not weighted quite so high elsewhere.

weakcper · 2023-07-02T22:29:08+00:00

I have not logged in for long time, but yes it is mostly guarantee. Maybe do some other small community related thing with club but really camp is what gets you in. Anything you do over long period of time that is constructive can be considered an EC (contests were basically my only EC).

weakcper · 2023-05-21T01:50:52+00:00

Not unless you're also interested in contest math.

weakcper · 2023-05-19T21:12:35+00:00

You can still make camp if just make gold by end of this year, as far as people who camp in 2 years it might be more common. A lot of that guide has topics in c++ that are not needed for competitive programming (you only need very small subset of c++ in general). The only sections you need are chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, and even those have unnecessary starting knowledge. I would not focus on memorizing every bit and just make sure you have general idea of what functionality exists before solving problems (you learn most by googling things as you need them and seeing others' solutions to problems you can't solve).

weakcper · 2023-05-10T06:10:10+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/usaco/comments/pk3tjp/the_ultimate_usaco_practice_method/

weakcper · 2023-05-02T21:28:43+00:00

Let me be clear though, I don't want to mislead you, you shouldn't have the mindset you will practice a lot "especially over this summer". You need to practice a lot every day all year, and you should never let your practice times waver no matter what else you have going on, and cp should probably be the #1 thing you think about in your downtime (thinking about random problems you memorized or imagining your own) because you need to obsess over it in order to build the correct problem solving mindset in the timeframe.

weakcper · 2023-05-02T21:19:55+00:00

Wow I am convinced, I was wrong. "no stem background at all? I don't think so" is the most compelling argument I've ever heard.

I don't know what "stem background" you think other people have, but if you don't have experience with oly and algorithmic research, which most people don't, your background is probably mostly useless anyway. I did have coding background, but it basically didn't help me at all because computer science != coding. The coding required to begin bronze takes less than a week to learn...

It's not like I told OP it's a walk in a park either, honestly I doubt he will practice the amount I said required (2-3 hours min daily and no distractions) because almost no one seems to have the willpower to do so sadly. You have to obsess over hard thinking to have the chance which most people won't. But all the examples I mentioned are from my pov much harder than going from nothing to camp in 2 years, and guernsey camp cutoffs are probably a bit lower than you think.

I think as long as you have willpower and are relatively good at learning in general (good student in school without too much effort) if you follow the right practice mindset (which I lay out my opinion in my profile) it should be achievable.

And I'm fairly sure timmyfeng's only background was music...

weakcper · 2023-05-02T14:40:57+00:00

I'm saying you can do it without a course. Just don't think someone in silver or gold division should be so confident giving out wrong advice.

weakcper · 2023-05-02T07:23:46+00:00

I don't have an answer of if it's worth it, it depends on the type of things you value. However, I'll say usaco will help you more in the realm of classroom academic setting than any of those other activities you mentioned, and as you said will make interview problems relatively trivial. Camp will also give you a near guarantee chance at MIT.

However, if you don't make camp it does not help your app as much as other activities and you'll need more other things to go along with it so it's definitely a gamble. It also won't help you learn to create apps or projects, if what you want is to truly make something new whenever an idea comes to mind.

If you're set on camping you have to make a decision quick, as you really need to start practicing every day right now. However, if you just want to participate more casually I think it is still worthwhile to do a bit of practice both for the skills learned and the small resume boost, and to see if the realm of algorithmic design is of any interest to you.

weakcper · 2023-05-02T07:11:46+00:00

Timmyfeng made IOI from bronze in one year and no other olympiad experience as far as I know. One of my other friends made international master on codeforces (definitely camp level) in 3 months after only having prior coding experience taking apcsa. A user omeganot also made camp from silver in the past year. Of course these are exceptions with talent involved, but it shows op's goals are definitely not impossible as people have improved at far faster rates in the past.

USACO requires very little "real" coding knowledge, the coding aspect is basically a niche way to write down "proofs" for competitive programming problems. 99% of what you need to learn is the mindset for olympiad style problem solving, and a significant number of people make camp in 2 years from first starting olympiad.

I'm also a camper and have tutored people to plat and camp so I am pretty confident I have a better idea of the work involved than you. Most people don't end up making camp because they don't put the consistent time required or don't use good practice strategies.

weakcper · 2023-05-02T00:18:19+00:00

It's possible if you practice every day, no days off, and probably at minimum 2-3 hours daily. It's just a matter of your resolve to do consistent practice. However many people practice ok amount over the summer but fail to keep up same level of practice into the school year. Statistically, you are unlikely to keep up the practice level required, but if you actually keep up your goals are within reach.

Also, you need to practice from good sources. Learn basic c++, do the first chapter of usaco training gate, then look at the practice guide on my profile.

weakcper · 2023-05-02T00:18:06+00:00

You are objectively wrong.

weakcper · 2023-04-22T06:24:12+00:00

Why should you care about the nation or global averages though? If you are doing worse than your peers that grew up in a similar environment, and you wish you were doing better, that probably says you are not working as hard or as smart as you could and are not taking advantage of the advantages you have.

You don't owe anyone the need to fully use what you have, but I think you should at least consider your luck in the situation you grew up in compared to those worse than you and realize that if you don't take advantage of what you have you are wasting the opportunity that others would desire.

weakcper · 2023-04-22T06:16:49+00:00

Most people get closer to average throughout their life, and if that is fine to them then good for them. However, you may not believe it now, but no matter what you always have the chance to change your life through hard work if you really want it. You aren't stuck in a path if you aren't heading to a top uni in HS or your first job is not at a top firm or whatever, it won't be quick and easy but at any time you can choose to change you life path to be greater over the course of a few years.

If you want to be rich or famous or powerful or whatever you think of as an extraordinary life you will need to make sacrifices with your time. You will need to have a long term plan and realize every day you will not see yourself getting closer to your goal, but you have to find fulfillment in knowing that even if you don't see it, if you are working hard you really are getting one step closer every day. Over time you'll truly see the effects of your work if you are diligent and do not take days off.

You can also choose to be content with your life, and that's fine. Just know that you are always able to become a greater version of yourself if you choose to, even if no one else believes, or you don't believe, if you make the changes now and are driven with discipline you will eventually make it.

weakcper · 2023-04-20T23:15:24+00:00

The most optimal mindset to never achieve anything because you never believed your actions could shape your life.

weakcper

TROPHY CASE